The AA Round-Up: Stags Make a Statement

Thomas Curtis -

Cheverus reminds everybody that they're still a top team in AA.

Maddie Fitzpatrick's 22 point, 12 rebound double-double was enough to boost Cheverus past Thornton Academy in Emma Lizotte's return to Keegan Gymnasium, 54-40.

Lizotte was contained in the scoring column by a routine double or even triple team from Cheverus, although she led all players in rebounds with 14.

The Stags' suffocated the paint, leading to 19 Trojan turnovers.

With all the hype the Trojans got in the preseason Cheverus felt a little underrated. Seniors Fitzpatrick and Ruth Boles proved with their 35 combined points that they're still here.

It sounded like a playoff atmosphere in the gym.

Cheverus didn't keep the winning on the Girls' side. The Boys slipped by Thornton Academy 66-64 in Saco despite another explosive performance from Wyatt Benoit.

Benoit poured in 37 more to add to his season total, bringing his average to 29 PPG.

Cheverus' backcourt controlled the scoring, but their bench depth and size has been the story. They out rebounded the Trojans and protected the paint better than I've seen any team do this season.

Class A Falmouth visited South Portland and put on a clinic on their way to a 59-50 win.

Chris Simonds led the Navigators with 17 points, Manny Hidalgo showed out for South Portland with 28, but got essentially no help behind him.

The Red Riots drop to 0-4, Falmouth is 3-0 with a chance to make another statement Thursday when they host Gorham.

In other news, Portland got by Deering behind Drew Veilleux's 20 point effort, 56-46.

Deering has fought with TA and now Portland, so even though they're 1-3, they haven't played like a 3 loss team.

Thursday holds Cheverus-Portland at the expo, an early season match between two AA North Titans. If you can get there to see those backcourts clash, you should.

Cole and I just released the first episode of our weekly podcast. I'm sorry about the audio quality. I'm going to blame it on zoom for using my AirPods instead of my external mic.

We're going to try to drop it weekly, highlighting big wins and individual performances while also making predictions and picks for upcoming games. Hope you enjoy.