Newsletter #58...It's playoff time and it's going to be awesome
Are you ready?
The fall sports postseason is upon us.
Volleyball started its tournament last night with the state preliminary round and a week from tomorrow, will crown champions.
Field hockey and boys' and girls' soccer prelims get underway today and continue tomorrow. The quarterfinals are Tuesday and Wednesday of next week. State finals in those sports are Saturday, Nov. 7.
Football is in the process of wrapping up its regular season, as Class B, Class D and eight-man finish up this weekend. Classes A and C have one regular season weekend left.
Compelling storylines are endless.
Here's a few things I'll be keeping a close eye on in the weeks to come:
Volleyball--A potential final four for the ages
If Cheverus, Gorham, Thornton Academy and Scarborough all win their home quarterfinal round matchups Saturday, we'll have a pair of state semifinals Wednesday which will be can't-miss affairs.
The Stags, semifinalists each of the past two seasons, just posted their best-ever record and are the No. 1 seed for the first time. The Rams, despite a few hiccups during the regular season, are peaking at the right time, just like they've done in each of the past three years which ended in championship celebrations. The Golden Trojans stumbled a couple times down the stretch, but after reaching the state match for the first time last fall, are ready to take the final step. Then there's the Red Storm, a preseason favorite, who appear to be surging at the right time, as evidenced by Monday's surprisingly decisive 3-0 win over Thornton Academy.
Any of those four teams could capture the Gold Ball a week from Saturday. Getting ot potentially see all four of them Wednesday at Sanford High School would be a treat for volleyball aficionados.
Boys' soccer--Will it be Scarborough again?
After a perfect run to a Class A state title a year ago, Scarborough brought back a very different team this season and the Red Storm stumbled early, starting just 1-2-1. Since then? There's been no one better in the region, as Scarborough won its final 10 games to shoot all the way up to the No. 2 seed behind Thornton Academy.
The Red Storm know how to win and that might give them a slight edge over teams like the Golden Trojans, Gorham, South Portland, Deering and Portland. If Scarborough does get to the Gold Ball game for the third year in a row, it will go down as some of longtime coach Mark Diaz's finest work.
Expect some upsets in this field, starting in the preliminary round. There are going to be some great games and ultimately, the regional champion might need to go to overtime, or even penalty kicks, to survive.
Girls' soccer--Is a Cape-Yarmouth regional final a done deal?
Back on Sept. 3, Yarmouth beat visiting Cape Elizabeth, the reigning Class B state champion, 1-0. One month later, at Hannaford Field, the Capers blanked the visiting Clippers, 2-0.
Other than that, each team has been nearly perfect, with only a tie versus Greely marring Cape Elizabeth's record and a regular season-ending home loss to Greely serving as a blemish for Yarmouth.
The Capers and Clippers played in last year's Class B South Final and the expectation is they'll do battle in that round again, Nov. 4 in Falmouth.
Greely, Freeport and possibly Poland could play the spoiler, but Cape Elizabeth and Yarmouth have been the two best teams in the region all autumn. If they do battle with a trip to the state final hanging in the balance, don't be the least bit surprised if more than 80 minutes (and possibly more than 110) are required to determine a winner.
What great theater that would be.
Field hockey--Is a Cheverus coronation inevitable?
Since the start of the 2021 season, the field hockey story has been Cheverus and everyone else.
In that span, the Stags have a state game loss to Skowhegan in 2022 and a regular season-opening tie at Biddeford at 2025.
They've won every other game, which is simply remarkable.
After going 14-0 again, surviving a pair of scares from both Biddeford and Sanford/Kennebunk, as well as a test from Thornton Academy, Cheverus is top seed in Class A South for a sixth consecutive season and is favored to win a fourth straight championship, but it won't be easy.
The Stags could match up with the Spartans again in the semifinals and either Biddeford or Thornton Academy could await in the regional final. Whoever comes out of Class A North would be a difficult state game foe as well.
But until further notice, Cheverus is the champion and is bound and determined to do it again.
Good luck stopping the Stags.
South Portland establishing Hall of Fame
South Portland High School is establishing an Athletic Hall of Fame with the plan to inaugurate its initial class next July.
The nomination process begins Nov. 1.
Game stories
Links to game stories you might have missed since last week:
Westbrook boys reach milestone with win over Kennebunk
Greely football hands Hermon first loss
Portland shut down at Oxford Hills
Windham continues to surge with win over Falmouth
Cheverus, Westbrook girls settle for 0-0 tie
Deering volleyball downs Portland in regular season finale
Yarmouth boys cap season in style with win over Greely
Greely girls stun Yarmouth in regular season finale
Falmouth sweeps Portland in volleyball prelim
Features
Every Monday, HHSS, in conjunction with partner cPort Credit Union, will name a "Player of the Week."
This week's selection is Yarmouth freshman field hockey phenom Julie Nasveschuk, who scored eight goals in three games the prior week.
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, which serve as the final regular season poll for field hockey, soccer and volleyball
Michael Hoffer
Media
This Tuesday's WGAN spot:
https://wgan.com/morning-news/hoffers-high-school-sports-38/
Last Friday's Middays with Mannix and Mannix spot:
https://thebigjab.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/MMM-10-16-26-Michael-Hoffer.mp3
Predictions
This week's popular, prescient Patriots pick:
Bears 27 Patriots 20
The game was played last night and unfortunately, I got this correct (the final score was 30-24), so I'm now 6-1 on the year.
Closer to home, here are my picks for this week's high school football games (7-4 last week, 61-19 to date):
Biddeford over Cheverus
Portland over Deering
Greely over Falmouth
Freeport over Lisbon
Massbesic over Scarborough
South Portland over Winnacunnet (NH)
Westbrook over Gorham
Windham over Lewiston
Yarmouth over Gray-NG
Thornton Academy over Bonny Eagle (Saturday)
Cape Elizabeth over Houlton (Saturday)
On a heater
The following teams have won at least five games in a row at press time:
Cheverus field hockey 14 (31 dating back to last year)
Cheverus volleyball 9
Gorham volleyball 5
Greely football 5
Greely volleyball 12
Scarborough boys' soccer 6
Scarborough girls' soccer 9
Thornton Academy football 7 (16 dating back to last year)
Thornton Academy field hockey 7
Yarmouth football 7
Yarmouth boys' soccer 10
Upcoming
Looking ahead, the next week features an abundance of intriguing games.
Friday's gridiron action includes Cheverus visiting Biddeford needing a win to quality for the playoffs. If the Stags do prevail, that means the "River Bowl," Gorham at Westbrook, will be a win-and-get-in scenario. Portland hosts Deering and Falmouth welcomes Greely in rivalry showdowns. Freeport hosts Lisbon, needing a victory to lock up the top seed in Class D South.
Saturday brings the football "Game of the Year,' Part 1, as undefeated Thornton Academy hosts unbeaten Bonny Eagle. All eyes will be on that one.
The field hockey and soccer playoffs begin Friday and Saturday, while Saturday brings state quarterfinals for volleyball.
Field hockey and soccer's quarterfinals are Tuesday and Wednesday. Volleyball's state semifinals, or Final 4, if you will, are on tap for Wednesday and this year, for the first time, that round will be contested at a neutral site (Sanford for Class A and Lewiston for Class B).
Even more will be at stake the following weekend and we'll chat about that in our next visit.
Enjoy the weekend, everyone. See you right back here, next Friday.
Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffersports@yahoo.com
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