FALMOUTH—Three months after leading Falmouth’s boys’ lacrosse team to the state championship, three Navigators stars of spring helped kick off a new era of Falmouth football in style Friday evening.

Hosting a Cheverus squad which also features a new look, the Navigators got the early jump on a 10-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Tres Walker to senior Joey Guerrette, a lacrosse All-American.

Falmouth’s defense, paced in part by senior lacrosse standout (and All-American) Indi Backman, held the Stags in check and took a 7-0 lead to the half.

After a scoreless third period, the Navigators put it away early in the fourth, as after multiple positive Backman runs got them close, senior Gio Guerrette, another lacrosse All-American, dashed into the end zone from 19-yards out on a reverse and that slammed the door on a statement-making 14-0 victory.

“This community understands success,” said Falmouth’s first-year coach Spencer Emerson. “Joey and Gio, they’re D1 lacrosse athletes and they have to know more football, but from a preparation and athletic standpoint, they know what it takes. These kids play super-hard. I knew that when I got here. I didn’t know how many games we’d win, but I could tell you our effort would be through the roof.”

Dawn of a new era

Cheverus enjoyed a successful campaign a year ago, winning six games before falling at Fryeburg Academy (34-15) in the Class C South semifinals.

Following the season, Mike Vance stepped down as coach (assistant coach and Maine high school football legend John Wolfgram departed as well).

Into the void stepped Skip Capone, a coaching veteran of nearly 50 years, most of them at Bates College and Lewiston High School, with a most recent stint as an assistant to Jason McLeod at Portland High.

Capone brought McLeod over as offensive coordinator (1982 Fitzpatrick trophy winner Mike Rutherford, a man as synonymous with Portland High as anyone, is running the defense) and that group inherits a team eager to compete after moving up to Class B.

Falmouth, meanwhile, struggled with numbers a year ago, had to forfeit a game against Portland and wound up 2-6. Longtime coach John Fitzsimmons then stepped down under pressure and was replaced by Emerson, who played at Edward Little and spent time coaching at Bates College, the University of Maine and at Lewiston and Poland at the high school level.

Cheverus and Falmouth had met just once before in a countable game, in the 2022 opener, a 26-20 Navigators’ victory.

Friday, on a pleasant early-autumn evening (67 degrees at kickoff), the Navigators put the finishing touch on an upbeat, community-centered evening, which was highlighted by a pregame tailgate, with a confidence-building triumph.

Falmouth won the opening coin toss and deferred possession to the second half.

The Stags then produced their best drive of the night, but it didn’t result in points.

Senior Jack Fenton returned the opening kickoff to the 29 and Cheverus got an initial first down, as sophomore Igor Bitencourt ran for two yards, then gained four more, before Fenton picked up 15 to midfield. After senior quarterback Colby Ross was held to no gain, Bitencourt picked up five, senior Matt Baker gained four, then on fourth-and-1, the Navigators jumped offsides to give the Stags a first down at the 36. Fenton then ran for nine yards and Baker gained five for a first down at the 21, but that would prove to be Cheverus’ highwater mark.

First, junior Thomas Gale dropped Bitencourt for a two-yard loss and after an illegal procedure penalty cost the Stags five yards, Ross threw incomplete while being pressured by Joey Guerrette, then Gale and Backman dropped Bitencourt for a four-yard loss, necessitating a punt.

Baker’s punt went straight up and was good for just two yards and with 5:50 to go in the first period, Falmouth took over at its 26.

Ten plays, 74 yards and 3 minutes, 10 seconds later, the Navigators went in front to stay.

Backman got things started with a 10-yard burst for a first down. Walker then hit Gio Guerrette for 17 yards to the Stags’ 47. On the next snap, Walker kept the ball and gained 16 yards to set up first down at the 31. After Walker threw incomplete, Backman ran for nine yards and after another incomplete pass, on fourth-and-1, Backman pushed the pile for two yards and a first down at the 20. After Walker hit junior Eli Bush for six yards, Backman gained four yards to set up first-and-goal at the 10. Walker then capped the march by rolling right, hitting Joey Guerrette in the flat and Guerrette bowled over Bitencourt to complete a 10-yard scoring play.

“That first score was momentum,” Backman said. “If you come out hard, you finish hard.”

“We do everything fast,” Emerson said. “We go no-huddle to start practice and I think it translates to the games because the kids don’t have to get acclimated. I always say, ‘Stay ready so you don’t have to get ready.'”

Junior Peter Kearns added the extra point to make it 7-0.

Making matters worse for the Stags, Ross suffered a lower leg injury during the defensive series and would be sidelined for the remainder of the evening.

Cheverus started its second drive at its 21 with senior Devin Kelly at quarterback, but went three-and-out, as Bitencourt ran for a yard, Bitencourt picked up another yard on a screen pass, then Kelly was dropped for a three-yard loss by Backman to force a punt.

With 7 seconds left in the opening stanza, Falmouth took over at its 38 and senior Logan McVeigh, a transfer from Cape Elizabeth, was held to no gain.

The Navigators, who outgained the Stags, 74-42, in the first 12 minutes, went backwards on the first play of the second quarter, as Baker dropped Backman for a two-yard loss, but on the next snap, Walker ran away from pressure, then fired a strike to junior Ben Robbins for a dazzling 30-yard pickup to Cheverus’ 34.

But this time, Falmouth wouldn’t finish the drive, as Kelly dropped Backman for a nine-yard loss, Kelly pressured Walker and forced him to throw incomplete, then Kelly dropped Walker for a 15-yard loss.

The Stags got the ball back at their 30 with 9:20 remaining in the first half and inserted freshman Will Baker at quarterback. Cheverus quickly went backwards, as Matt Baker was dropped for a two-yard loss, Bitencourt was thrown for a one-yard loss by Navigators’ sophomore Harlem Harrison, then Bitencourt lost three more yards.

After a punt, Falmouth took over at its 48, but couldn’t take advantage of the good field position, as after Backman ran for six yards, Walker threw incomplete, then, after a bad snap, Walker lost two yards, to necessitate a punt.

The Stags got the ball back at the 10 and after Matt Baker ran for three yards, Will Baker threw to Bitencourt, who lost a yard, then Joey Guerrette dropped Will Baker for a two-yard loss.

After a punt, the Navigators started at their 45, but again, failed to extend the lead, as after Backman ran for four yards and Walker threw incomplete, Walker was sacked by Kelly and fumbled and senior Corbin Richter recovered for Cheverus at the Stags’ 38.

Cheverus couldn’t parlay the turnover into points, however, as Harrison dropped Bitencourt for a four-yard loss, Will Baker lost six more yards, then Matt Baker gained two yards.

The Navigators had one last chance to score in the first half, as they started as their 20 with 42 seconds left, but after Walker threw incomplete, he hit McVeigh for five yards and the clock ran out with Falmouth holding a 7-0 advantage heading to intermission.

In the game’s first 24 minutes, the Navigators outgained the Stags, 80 yards to 28, as Walker threw for 68 yards, but the game was far from over.

Falmouth got the ball at its 26 to start the second half and moved the chains twice before having the surrender the ball.

Walker began the third period by hitting Robbins for seven yards. After Backman gained two, Walker found Bush for three yards on third-and-1. Backman then ran for eight yards before taking a flare out of the backfield from Walker, good for 24 yards to the Cheverus 30.

The Navigators weren’t able to capitalize, however, as a false start backed them up five yards, Walker was held to no gain, Walker threw incomplete under pressure from Kelly, then Kelly sacked Walker again, this time for 10 yards.

The Stags commenced their first second half possession at their 10 and with Kelly under center, got off to an auspicious start, as Kelly ran for 10 yards, but Bitencourt lost three yards, Kelly threw incomplete and Matt Baker was held to no gain.

With 5:50 to go in the third period, Falmouth got the ball back at its 42 and Backman nearly broke one on the first snap, breaking free into Cheverus’ secondary and while he gained 38 yards, he was tripped up from behind by Fenton to prevent the score. Backman then ran for two yards, but Bush lost a yard on a reception before Walker was dropped for a four-yard loss. Kearns came out for a 38-yard field goal attempt, but left it short and it remained a one-score game.

Starting at their 20, the Stags again went nowhere, as Bitencourt lost a yard, Kelly threw incomplete and Matt Baker was dropped for a five-yard loss.

After Matt Baker punted for 46 yards, Falmouth started at its 40 with 1:17 on the third quarter clock and this time, the Navigators would drive and score for some breathing room.

Backman ran for four yards, then gained 14 and picked up three more to end the frame.

On the first play of the fourth period, Backman ran for six yards, then he broke a tackle in the backfield and ran for four yards and a first down at the 29. After Backman was held to one yard, Gio Guerrette got the ball on a reverse and ran for 10 yards and a first down at the 18. After a bad exchange resulted in a two-yard loss, Backman gained one yard back, setting up third-and-11.

Again, the Navigators ran the reverse and Gio Guerrette found ample running room on the left side and raced to paydirt with 8:30 to go.

“I was just running hard, saw a gap and took it and it felt amazing,” said Guerrette. “It’s my senior year and I just love football.”

Despite a low snap, Kearns was able to drill the extra point to make it 14-0.

Fenton gave Cheverus some life on the ensuing kickoff, returning the ball to the 42, but after a false start penalty, Matt Baker ran for five yards and after a bad snap cost the Stags a dozen yards, Bitencourt ran for 15 yards, but a potential breakaway run was stymied when he ran into a teammate. Cheverus’ subsequent punt was partially blocked by Bush and the Navigators got the ball back at their 43.

Falmouth went three-and-out, as a holding penalty set the tone and after Backman twice ran for seven yards, Walker threw incomplete.

The Stags got the ball one final time at their 24, but after Bitencourt ran for a yard, a false start set up second-and-14 and after Kelly ran for two yards, he gained six more forcing a punt.

The Navigators took over at their 18 with 1:13 to go and after Walker twice took a knee, the 14-0 victory was in the books.

“We’re well aware we weren’t picked to win this game, but we wanted to win and prove people wrong,” said Backman. “We’re here. We’re a team to beat. We can win games.”

“Our defensive effort was amazing,” Emerson said. “Our defensive coordinator, Dylan Rottkov, his game plan was outrageously good. To beat a program like that with a staff like that with the athletes they have, it’s phenomenal. This is a community that’s used to success. Baseball was in the regional final, lacrosse won a state championship (Soccer and basketball coach Dave) Halligan has won as long as I’ve been alive.”

Falmouth had 196 total yards.

Backman, who is committed to play lacrosse at Merrimack College,  led the way with 121 yards on 21 carries.

“I love doing my work,” said Backman. “I know my job on this team. We pride ourselves on defense. We love to hit and we love to play.”

“What can you say about Indi?” Emerson said. “He’s a man-child. I looked at him at halftime and said, ‘We’ll win the ballgame if you decide to win us the ballgame’ and he did. He’s somebody we lean on.”

Walker wound up 8-of-17 for 102 yards and a score. He ran four times for 10 yards.

Gio Guerrette, who will play lacrosse at Quinnipiac, had two carries for 29 yards and a TD and caught one pass for 17 yards.

Joey Guerrette’s lone touch resulted in a 10-yard touchdown reception.

Bush caught three passes for 10 yards.

Robbins had two catches for 37 yards.

The Navigators had one turnover and committed three penalties, good for 23 yards.

Cheverus managed 43 yards on its first possession, but lost 17 on its next seven, as it wound up with only 26 yards of offense.

Fenton ran three times for 25 yards.

Bitencourt carried a dozen times for negative-one yards.

Matt Baker ran for 7 yards on seven carries.

The Stags were flagged four times for 25 yards.

Kelly was a standout on defense.

“I hate to lose, but I love the way our kids battled the whole night,” Capone said. “They could have quit, but they didn’t. It could have been much worse. We lost our starting quarterback who’s a good player. Our backup quarterback has been hurt and we had to play a freshman. We didn’t have enough time to rep that this week. I loved how we played defense. They had a couple big plays. Matt Baker did a great job punting the ball. Our special teams were solid. There’s a lot to build on.”

Week two

Cheverus hopes to get in the win column when it hosts Massabesic (1-0) in its home opener next Saturday.

“There are some things we need to correct,” said Capone. “It’s a good thing we have a long week and we’ll play at home and see what happens.”

Falmouth, meanwhile, looks for a 2-0 start when it goes to Skowhegan (0-1) next Friday.

“I hope we can keep it going,” said Gio Guerrette. “I definitely have confidence in this team.”

“We have to clean up a lot of things on offense and I have to clean things up as a coach,” Emerson said. “We have to clean up protection, we have to get our routes crisper, we have to make better decisions behind center. You always have to crawl before you walk, walk before you jog, jog before you sprint. We were fortunate to win this one, but we have a long way to go. It’s a marathon not a sprint and these kids understand what it takes. I’m fortunate to lead them.”

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. 

Copy the Story Link