Newsletter #61...The seasons converge
If it's mid-November, it's time to keep one eye on the final days of the fall sports season, while turning the other to the start of winter sports.
And like it or not, the winter sports season is here.
The girls' hockey preseason is underway and countable games start late next week.
This coming Monday, practices begin for boys' and girls' basketball, as well as boys' hockey.
In three weeks, Dec. 4, the boys' hockey and basketball regular seasons commence.
But first things first...
Hail to the champions
Last Saturday brought the culmination of the field hockey and soccer seasons and local squads very involved in six different state games.
In Bangor, Yarmouth's boys' soccer team won its second straight Class B title, 3-0, over John Bapst, making it 10 crowns since 2014.
Cape Elizabeth's girls then overcame an early deficit to repeat as Class B champion, 2-1, over John Bapst.
The Class A soccer state games were held in Kennebunk (see below for links to game stories).
Field hockey crowned its champions in Auburn and Cheverus capped another perfect season with a fourth consecutive championship, 2-1, over Mt. Ararat. The Stags have now won 35 straight games and are unbeaten in their past 72 contests.
Freeport hoped to join in the fun as well, but for the second year in a row, it lost in the Class B state final, 1-0, this time to Nokomis, but the Falcons' playoff run won't soon be forgotten.
Softball standout officially heading to Florida State
Wednesday afternoon, in a ceremony at Brunos Restaurant and Tavern in Portland, Cheverus senior ace Addison DeRoche officially committed to attending and playing softball at Florida State University.
Michael Hoffer
"I'm so blessed with this amazing support system of family and friends, everyone who has supported me on the way," said DeRoche, the fifth-highest recruit in the Class of 2027 and the fourth-highest among pitchers. "It's a dream come true and it got real today. I think I always pictured myself in the garnet and gold. Tallahassee is an amazing place. I'm excited to be there and compete at the highest level."
Speaking of signings
Six Falmouth athletes also made their college plans official Thursday.
Ani Bush, left, will play field hockey next year at Amherst College. Carter Gillespie is heading to Wentworth Institute of Technology to play lacrosse. Liam Keefer will play baseball at Mount Saint Mary College in New York. Georgia Moon is off to Brown University in Rhode Island for cross country and track and field. Hadley Perry will run track at Colby College. Tessa Woodbury will play lacrosse at Skidmore College in New York.
LeGage replaces Russo at Portland High
The big basketball news from the week came Tuesday, when Dan LeGage was announced as the new boys' coach at Portland, replacing the legendary Joe Russo, who retired last month.
Michael Hoffer
"It's such an honor and I'm super-excited," said LeGage. "To go back and coach at a school I went to and have taught at is wonderful. The PHS culture and faculty are special. Very similar to what I experienced when I was a student there."
Capone says farewell
The other big coaching news from the week came at Cheverus, where Skip Capone, the Stags' football coach the past three seasons, announced his retirement after a half-century in the coaching ranks.
Capone, 71, had a record of 9-18 at Cheverus. This fall, the Stags went 3-6, losing at Biddeford (35-20) in the Class B South quarterfinals. Capone is best known for leading Lewiston to the 1987 Class A state title and for two-plus decades coaching at Bates College in Lewiston.
"It's just time," said Capone. "The game's been good to me. I've paid my debt. I'll still be involved on the periphery. As much as I love it, there are other things I want to do.
"I think football's the greatest game there is. Look at the amazing teamwork it takes. You have to have 11 guys all on the same page. There's so much work and communication that goes into it. In any other sport, the kids are pretty similar physically. On a football team, you can have a cornerback who is 5-foot-2, 150 pounds and a right tackle who is 6-6, 320. You have people from different races, religions, socio-economic backgrounds. It's phenomenal to put all those things together."
Game stories
Links to game stories you might have missed since last week:
Windham upsets Portland in the semifinals in the rain
TA boys beaten by Brunswick in state game
Scarborough girls lose in OT in state final
Features
Every Monday, Hoffer's High School Sports, in conjunction with partner cPort Credit Union, will name a "Player of the Week."
This week's selection is Cheverus senior field hockey standout Sydney Brunelle, whose heroics lifted the Stags to a fourth straight Class A state title last weekend. Brunelle finished her high school field hockey career with a record of 71-0-1 and she won four championships, a resume likely unrivaled in state annals.
Michael Hoffer
Each Tuesday, HHSS releases Super-Six polls for football, field hockey, boys' soccer, girls' soccer and volleyball. Here's this week's final polls for field hockey, boys' soccer and girls' soccer.
Michael Hoffer
Media
This Tuesday's WGAN spot:
https://wgan.com/morning-news/hoffers-high-school-sports-41/
Last Friday's Middays with Mannix and Mannix spot:
↓
Predictions
This week's popular, prescient Patriots pick (7-2 to date):
Lions 24 Patriots 20
Last week was dreadful (trust me, I was there) and now, the injury-plagued Patriots have to fly to Germany to play another team with an explosive offense. Not exactly a recipe for success. I expect a much better effort this week, but ultimately, there's not enough firepower to fly home with a win. Hope I'm wrong.
Closer to home, here are my picks for this week's high school football games (7-2 last week, 82-24 to date):
Freeport over Winthrop
Greely over Hermon
Thornton Academy over Bonny Eagle
Oxford Hills over Windham
(Eight-man large school state final) Yarmouth over Old Town
On a heater
The following teams have won at least five games in a row at press time:
Cape Elizabeth girls' soccer 7
Cheverus field hockey 18 (35 dating back to last year)
Gorham volleyball 8
Greely football 8
Greely volleyball 15
Thornton Academy football 10 (19 dating back to last year)
Yarmouth football 10
Yarmouth boys' soccer 14
Upcoming
Friday's playoff football slate includes Greely hosting Hermon in a Class C state semifinal and Freeport welcoming Winthrop with the Class D South title at stake.
Saturday, Yarmouth will look to cap its prolific season in perfect fashion when it takes on Old Town in Auburn in the eight-man, large school state final. Elsewhere, Thornton Academy and Bonny Eagle meet again in Saco in the Class A South Final. Windham, coming off its upset win over Portland, travels to Oxford Hills for the Class A North Final.
Next week will also see the release of our girls' hockey preview and the first of the fall all-star teams, volleyball.
Enjoy the weekend, everyone.
See you right back here, next Friday.
Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffersports@yahoo.com
Member discussion