BATH

Both the Morse and Falmouth high school football teams had plans of throwing the ball coming into Friday’s Western Maine Class B football contest at revamped McMann Field.

But, torrential rain put a damper on those plans but didn’t take away from the enthusiasm of the new turf field, which handled the deluge of water in the first half with ease, which makes one think back to years past, days when the old field probably meant postponing the game to Saturday or beyond.

Falmouth’s 7-0 win ruined the dreams of a victory for the home-standing Shipbuilders, but the night was special for those involved in the long venture to make the turf field a reality. There was a halftime ceremony, where those greatly involved in the endeavor were recognized, along with a ribbon cutting ceremony to make things official.

On the field, both offenses found life difficult, especially throughout a scoreless first half.

“The weather definitely played a factor, but Falmouth had to go through the same thing that we did,” said Morse coach Jason Darling, whose Shipbuilders dropped to 1-1 and host Gardiner this upcoming Friday at 7 p.m. “We are awful young, with just five seniors, and they are going to get better every week. This was a solid effort, and we will forget this one in 24 hours and move on to Gardiner.”

Field position

Morse faced a long field throughout the first quarter as its first three drives began on the 20- 20- and 7-yard lines. The Shipbuilders managed one first down and punted three times from the shadows of their goal line.

Meanwhile, Falmouth ran just one play on its side of the field in the opening frame (from the F-49). Still, the Shipbuilders refused to budge on defense, holding the Yachtsmen to no first downs and three consecutive three-andouts.

Falmouth punter Joe Goodrich did the job pinning Morse deep in its own territory. His third punt near the end of the first quarter went out of bounds at the M-2.

“We have a wonderful kicker, one of the best kickers in the state, and we had them pinned, but they were just so resilient and didn’t let us get in,” said Falmouth (2-0) coach John Fitzsimmons. “The conditions were just miserable. We have a very strong quarterback (Noah Nelson), but it was a running night.”

A fumble changed the field position as Trenton Moore stripped a Falmouth runner and pounced on the ball at the M-35 early in the second quarter.

Moore picked up a first down, but the drive stalled, forcing another punt.

Finally, a drive

Once again the Morse defense held, and the Shipbuilders followed with their best drive of the first half. Moore busted off a 46-yard run, and a personal foul infraction on Falmouth moved the ball to the Yachtsmen’s 11.

Moore gained eight more yards and Liam McDonough put his head down to get the ball the F-2. But, a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty pushed Morse back, and a field goal attempt was blocked by Falmouth interior lineman Tommy Torrey to keep the game scoreless.

“We have to keep our composure better than that,” said Darling of his team’s wasted opportunity.

Falmouth picked up its initial first down with 2:51 remaining until halftime on a 14-yard run by Connor Aube, and the Yachtsmen began to pick up big chunks of yards.

Aube ran for 20 yards to the Mo-43, and a 13-yard run by Tyler Rolfe advanced the ball to the Mo-26. However, the drive stalled after a holding penalty pushed the Yachtsmen back, and a 47-yard field goal attempt by Goodrich was well short on the final play of the first half.

As the heavy rains turned into a light drizzle, Falmouth received the second-half kickoff and went back to what worked near the end of the opening frame.

Rolfe ran for 13 yards and a first down, and Storm Covens found a hole for 17 more to the M-37. Aube picked up 16 yards, and two plays later swept right and won a foot race to the corner of the endzone for a touchdown. Goodrich tacked on the extra point for a 7-0 lead for the visitors.

“They pinch their tackles in, so we had to change our blocking assignments,” said Fitzsimmons of his team’s drive.

Morse answered with a nine-play drive, advancing to the F-14. But, a sack by Torrey and an incomplete pass gave Falmouth the ball on downs.

“I thought Falmouth came out fired up, but I was pleased to see us march right down and get deep in their territory again,” said Darling. “We just had some silly mental mistakes to take us out of contention.”

“I have a lot of respect for Morse,” said Fitzsimmons. “They play with a lot of heart, and they are physically tough with no back down. It was down to the final seconds.”

After allowing 82 yards on the ground in the first half, the Falmouth defense shut down Morse the rest of the way, holding the Shipbuilders to just 43 total yards in the second half.

Falmouth had a chance to run out the clock, but Josh McDougal intercepted a Nelson (2-for-4, 34 yards, interception) pass to give the Shipbuilders one more chance.

A roughing the passer penalty (Falmouth had 10 penalties for 102 yards) kept the ensuing drive alive, but Goodrich read a screen pass and made the tackle for a three-yard loss on the game’s final play.

Moore led Morse with 132 yards on 16 carries. Defensively, McDonough had a game-high 13 tackles, with Justin Trottier adding eight solo stops.

Falmouth rushed for 211 yards on 42 carries, with Aube (10 rushes, 72 yards, TD), Rolfe (17-64) and Covens (11-47) leading the way. Torrey had eight tackles to help Falmouth pick up consecutive shutouts to begin the season.

Falmouth 7,
Morse 0

At McMann Field in Bath
Falmouth—0070—7
Morse —0000—0
Third quarter
F — Connor Aube 14 run (Joe Goodrich
kick), 8:19.
Records — Falmouth 2-0, Morse 1-1.
Up next for Morse — Friday at home
against Gardiner, 7 p.m.