Newsletter #19...Almost playoff time
If this recent bout of rainy, chilly weather wasn't enough to confirm it, a look at the calendar tells us that we're just a few days away from the end of the fall sports regular season.
With the exception of Class A football, everyone else's regular campaign comes to an end next week and the postseason promises, as always, to be memorable.
On the gridiron, Class B South and Class C appear wide-open with several local squads in the thick of things.
Westbrook, Cheverus and reigning state champion Falmouth are battling teams like Kennebunk and Marshwood in Class B South, while Greely, in its return to 11-man football this fall, has passed every test so far in Class C.
On the pitch, both the Class A South and Class B South top seed remains up for grabs heading into pivotal showdowns. Scarborough, the reigning regional champion, hosts Falmouth Saturday at high noon to determine who will be the top seed in Class A South, while defending state champion Greely welcomes Yarmouth Tuesday night with the top spot in Class B South hanging in the balance.
On the girls' side, reigning regional champion Scarborough and Falmouth are also jockeying for the one seed, but those teams have already played their one regular season contest (which the Navigators won, 1-0). In Class B South, Cape Elizabeth will be in the driver's seat.
Field hockey appears pretty clear cut, as four-time reigning regional champion and two-time reigning state champion Cheverus will be ranked first in Class A after another undefeated campaign. Yarmouth, the defending regional champion, has the inside track for the top spot in Class B South, but Freeport still gets a shot at the Clippers Monday and hopes to leapfrog them into first.
Volleyball might have the most unpredictability of all the sports, certainly in Class A, where Scarborough projects to be number one, but Cheverus, Thornton Academy and Gorham could finish anywhere from second to fifth. In Class B, Greely and Yarmouth are definitely in the playoffs, while Cape Elizabeth still has some work to do to secure a spot. North Yarmouth Aacdemy is poised to host a quarterfinal round match in Class D.
I'll have much more on playoff thoughts in next week's newsletter, once the final seedings and matchups are settled.
On a heater
Several local squads have produced long win streaks. Here's a list of teams who have won at least five games/matches in a row at press time:
Cape Elizabeth girls' soccer (11 in a row)
Cheverus field hockey (12)
Deering volleyball (6)
Greely football (15, including 2024)
Greely boys' soccer (9)
Scarborough boys' soccer (12)
Scarborough girls' soccer (9)
Scarborough volleyball (9)
Yarmouth football (5)
Yarmouth field hockey (12)
In case you missed it...
If you missed any of our recent game stories, you can find them here:
Scarborough rallies to edge South Portland in overtime
South Portland/Westbrook and Bonny Eagle settle for tie
Scarborough girls down Windham thanks to fast start
Cape girls surge past Greely to stay perfect
Congratulations in store
And in case you missed it, last weekend the Cheverus (Class A) and North Yarmouth Academy (Class C) golf teams brought home team state championships. The Stags, who are coached by Billy Goodman, better known as the school's girls' basketball coach, captured their first crown since 2005. The Panthers, coached by Charlie Hudson, won their first title since 1996.
Media
No radio appearances to share this week, as my last WJAB spot was included in last week's newsletter and there was no WGAN spot Tuesday due to me returning from New Orleans.
The Big Easy
Speaking of which, my weekend getaway last weekend was memorable. There's no place like New Orleans, where there is literally something for everyone.
I went with my wife, Angi, her sister Marcy, and Marcy's husband, Ron.
We ate beignets, went on a haunted cemetery tour, had a chance to go on a riverboat cruise (where I ran into Larry Baril, who was once part of The Forecaster/Sun Journal family), went to Preservation Hall, Pat O'Brien's and several other locations on and off Bourbon Street, had a memorable dinner at G.W Fins (I highly recommend) and best of all, got to see the Patriots beat the Saints, 25-19, from some great seats.
Here's a few photos...
Predictions
I'm now 3-3 on my popular, prescient Patriots pick, following Sunday's victory in New Orleans kept the team on a roll.
This week's guess:
Patriots 23 Titans 17
Can the Patriots win three in a row on the road? Coach Vrabel's return to Tennessee figures to lessen the chances of a letdown, while the Titans welcome a new coach. That will probably give them somewhat of a boost, but New England is more talented and should find a way. I wouldn't be surprised if the game was close well into the fourth quarter, however...
Turning to high school football, here are my picks for this week's games. I went 10-2 last week (54-13 for the season):
Mt. Ararat over Cape Elizabeth
Cheverus over Westbrook
Oxford Hills over Deering
Falmouth over Fryeburg Academy
Freeport over Poland
Gorham over Biddeford
Greely over Hampden Academy
Portland over Lewiston
South Portland over Scarborough
Thornton Academy over Sanford
Windham over Edward Little (played Thursday, picked Thursday morning)
Yarmouth over Waterville
Daily features
All season long at Hoffer's High School Sports, we'll have fresh, unique content every weekday, in addition to the myriad game stories.
This past Monday, HHSS, in conjunction with our partner, cPort Credit Union, named another "Player of the Week," Yarmouth quarterback Iggy McGrath:
Michael Hoffer
Tuesday brought the release of our latest Super-Six polls for football, boys' soccer, girls' soccer, field hockey and volleyball:
Michael Hoffer
Wednesday saw us feature Westbrook at Cheverus football as our Game of the Week:
Michael Hoffer
Thursday, our weekly Hoffer's High School Sports podcast featured an interview with legendary South Portland and Scarborough football coach Jack Flynn:
Michael Hoffer
Enjoy the weekend, everyone.
May we all experience as much joy as Scarborough's boys' soccer team did when it beat South Portland in overtime Tuesday night.
See you again right here, next Friday.
Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffersports@yahoo.com
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