Newsletter #53...Early surprises
Many of the favorites are off to great starts this fall. The Thornton Academy and Portland football teams are both 2-0 after squaring off in last year's state final, Gorham, Greely and Yarmouth boys' soccer are once-blemished, as are the Cape Elizabeth, Freeport, North Yarmouth Academy and Windham girls. Scarborough and Yarmouth's girls are perfect in the early going. So is Cheverus field hockey and Gorham volleyball.
But there are many other squads, most unheralded, that are off to promising starts and they deserve some attention for their accomplishments to date.
On the gridiron, one year after winning a single game, Cape Elizabeth's Eight-Man Large Division football team has started with a pair of decisive victories, putting up 108 points in downing Gray-New Gloucester and Mt. View. A showdown with rival Yarmouth looms this weekend. Freeport shocked the local football world last weekend by going for two points late to knock off reigning Class D champion Winthrop, 29-28, for its second consecutive victory.
In boys' soccer, Deering, a .500 team in 2025, has won its first four games, a resume which includes a 1-0 win over preseason favorite Gorham. The Rams get a huge test Saturday morning when reigning champion Scarborough pays a visit in a rematch of last year's quarterfinal round playoff game, won by the Red Storm, 4-0. Thornton Academy was mentioned by some league coaches in the preseason as a team to watch and they were most prescient, as the Golden Trojans have opened with three straight victories, highlighted by a 3-1 home win over Scarborough.
On the girls' side, let's stay with Deering, which is led by the best player no one talks about, sophomore scoring sensation Matilda Freeman. The Rams take a 3-1 record to Cheverus Saturday morning. South Portland has won three of its first four, with an upset win over Gorham Tuesday the most impressive to date.
The field hockey story is more about a pair of teams who have led the way in Class B South the past four seasons, but the surprise with Freeport and Yarmouth is that their still the head of the class in the region. By quite a bit.
Promising volleyball stories include Deering, North Yarmouth Academy and Westbrook.
There's a long way to go in the 2026 season, but there's a high likelihood that many of these teams are in it for the long haul and deserve kudos for stealing early headlines.
Game stories
Links to game stories you might have missed since last week:
Thornton Academy field hockey holds off Gorham
Thornton Academy football pulls away in second half for win at South Portland
Cheverus makes huge plays in all facets to down Falmouth
NYA boys surge late for win at rival Waynflete
Cape Elizabeth girls dominate Freeport in playoff rematch
Cheverus extends regular season unbeaten streak to 79 by rallying past Sanford
TA volleyball opens new field house with win over Cheverus
Hail to the Spring Players of the Year
Girls' Lacrosse Player of the Year Oceanna LaMarre of Thornton Academy got her T-shirt last week.
One more to come...
Features
Every Monday, HHSS, in conjunction with partner cPort Credit Union, will name a "Player of the Week." This week's selection is Freeport field hockey player Megan Ritz.
Michael Hoffer
Each Tuesday, HHSS releases Super-Six polls for football, field hockey, boys' soccer, girls' soccer and volleyball. Here's this week's rankings:
Michael Hoffer
Media
Last Friday's spot on Middays with Mannix and Mannix:
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My first WGAN spot of the school year, from Tuesday morning:
https://wgan.com/morning-news/hoffers-high-school-sports-33/
Predictions
This week's popular, prescient Patriots pick (1-0 to date):
Patriots 20 Steelers 17
Hopefully the excitement of a home opener can provide enough of a spark to prevail in an absolute must-win contest. I don't expect this to be easy, but the Patriots should do just enough to grind out a victory.
Closer to home, here are my picks for this week's high school football games (8-3 last week, 17-6 to date):
Bangor over Deering
Westbrook over Falmouth
Freeport over Poland
Marshwood over Gorham
Greely over Wells
Portland over Windham
South Portland over Scarborough
Cheverus over Kennebunk (Saturday)
Thornton Academy over Bedford, N.H. (Saturday)
Yarmouth over Cape Elizabeth (Saturday)
Upcoming
Looking ahead, the next week brings an abundance of compelling games.
Friday, Portland goes to Cheverus for an important early-season boys' soccer rivalry battle. On the gridiron, Windham at Portland and Westbrook at Falmouth top the slate.
Saturday is a day chock full of compelling matchups. First thing in the morning, Deering welcomes Scarborough in boys' soccer action. On the gridiron, Cheverus welcomes Kennebunk in a rematch of last year's thriller and Thornton Academy seeks to avenge its lone loss from a year ago when it plays host to Bedford, New Hampshire in the afternoon. In the evening, Cape Elizabeth goes to Yarmouth for a pivotal early-season Eight-Man showdown.
Monday sees Cape Elizabeth hosting York and Scarborough going to Biddeford in field hockey.
Tuesday, can't-miss contests include South Portland at Scarborough boys' soccer, Windham at Gorham girls' soccer and a terrific inter-class volleyball showdown as three-time reigning Class A champion Gorham welcomes York, last year's Class B runners-up.
Wednesday is highlighted by Thornton Academy at Cheverus boys' soccer and Cheverus at Scarborough and Thornton Academy at Biddeford field hockey
Thursday, Scarborough at Thornton Academy volleyball tops the slate. The Golden Trojans upset the top-ranked Red Storm in last year's playoffs and will be seeking revenge.
Enjoy the weekend, everyone. See you right back here, next Friday.
Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffersports@yahoo.com
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