Our Communities. Our Teams. Our Future.
We’re proud to make high school sports coverage free for everyone—because these moments matter. At Maine State Credit Union, we’re here for the people and places that make Maine strong. Let’s Go! Learn more at mainestatecu.org. 

AUGUSTA — Valley and Forest Hills. Forest Hills and Valley. 

The rural schools, tiny in size but large in their devotion to basketball, will square off for the Class S South boys and girls championships Saturday at the Augusta Civic Center after earning semifinal wins Tuesday.

Here are four takeaways from the day’s action:

Jaxson Desjardins is great, and his teammates aren’t too shabby, either

Desjardins, who surpassed 1,000 career points earlier this season, scored 23 points for third-seeded Forest Hills in a 64-60 win over No. 2 Pine Tree Academy. But the sophomore sharpshooter had plenty of help.

In a game that featured 13 lead changes, Forest Hills junior Maddox Cuddy swished a 3-pointer with 40 seconds left to snap a 60-60 tie. 

“I told him all day from Jackman this was his day,” coach Anthony Amero said. “He was phenomenal in practice (Monday) night, and he’s just turning the corner. As soon as he had the space, I knew it was going in.”

Freshman teammate Rory Danforth pulled down four of his five rebounds in the fourth quarter, and his free throw with 2.1 seconds left clinched it.

Aaden Nadeau, a junior who matched Desjardins with 23 points, made three tiebreaking baskets in the third quarter.

“He had to dial it in,” said Amero, who noted the 6-3 Nadeau has grown 8 inches since last summer. “It’s still all new to him about how quick he can get up to the rim and finish, and sometimes he still regresses to a little bit of the old way, ‘Oh, I’m going to to get blocked,’ and I’m just like, ‘No, you just bring the ball to the rim and you can dunk with two hands.’”

Valley may be peaking

Like Forest Hills, the top-seeded Valley boys have celebrated 1,000-point scorers in Harry Louis and Fisher Tewksbury. And like the Tigers, the Cavaliers have some outstanding supporting players.

Louis led the Cavaliers with 19 points, but junior Levi Short contributed 18 points, seven rebounds and three steals in a 72-44 win over No. 4 Islesboro. Collin Nichols added 13 points and three steals.

Defensively, the Cavaliers were a force all afternoon, outrebounding the Eagles 28-22 and converting loose balls and steals into fast-break points.

Forest Hills girls didn’t panic 

It would have been easy for the second-seeded Forest Hills girls to be frustrated after trailing 11-2 in the second quarter against No. 3 Vinalhaven. The Tigers didn’t make a field goal until Janessa Moffitt hit a 3-pointer 2:35 into the second. But Forest Hills clawed back to a 14-11 deficit at halftime and took the lead for good in the third quarter en route to a 42-30 win.

The senior duo of Moffitt and Addison Chaisson made it happen. Moffitt scored eight of her 18 points in the third, while Chaisson — all 5-foot-5 of her — grabbed four of her seven rebounds.

“They (the coaches) told us to stay calm,” Chaisson said. “They knew we could came back easily. We’re a second-half team. Just keep pushing the ball and make those steals and layups.”

Yes, you can make up for lost time

Valley’s Delia Hill — the third in a string of Hill sisters to star for the Cavaliers — spent much of the second quarter against No. 4 Temple Academy on the bench with as many fouls as points (two). 

After re-entering the game late in the quarter, Hill acted as if she had never left. The sophomore scored nine points in the last 2:37 of the first half to give No. 1 seed Valley a 32-10 lead.

Hill also scored the first four points of the third quarter and finished with 19 points in a 60-22 win.

And now the Cavaliers are one win away from a second straight regional title, after winning the Class D state championship last year.