Red Raiders Roll Over Falmouth Clippers

They came out of the gate flying high and never looked back.

Barnstable ran up a 28-0 lead in the first half and it was all the visiting Red Raiders would need to keep the vaunted Selectmen's Trophy safe at home in the gymnasium hallway trophy case at Barnstable High School.

With the sun shining brightly behind him, senior tri-captain D.J. Crook got his first start at quarterback since fracturing the thumb on his throwing hand against New Bedford (Oct. 7) and he made the most of it, going 11-16 for 194 yards passing and two touchdowns, as well as two interceptions. Tedaro France scored both of Crook's touchdown passes and had four receptions for 90 yards on the day.

Older brother Theo France, who needed 133 yards to eclipse the milestone 1,000-yards rushing mark was the go-to guy in Barnstable's rushing attack, but his 14 carries netted just 37 yards plus one two-yard touchdown run that made it 28-0 at the intermission. France now has 904 yards rushing on the season.

In fact, Falmouth's defensive unit - led largely by inside linebackers Cody Murray and A.J. Fernandes, did a phenomenal job stopping Barnstable's running game which netted just 61 yards on the day with seven different Red Raider ball carriers trying to bust loose. Junior tri-captain Andrew Ellis scored the first touchdown of the game on a one-yard plunge on his sole carry of the day, sophomore Hayden Murphy had six carries for 7 yards, Crook called his own number twice for 7 yards, back-up quarterback Nick Peabody ran the ball four times for -2 yards (two of those were taking a knee to run the game clock out), Tedaro France had one carry for a gain of 12 yards and Terrence Mudie was stopped short in the backfield for a loss of one.

The Barnstable aerial attack is truly what gave the playoff-bound Red Raiders its early momentum and sustained scoring binge in the first half, but Falmouth did not relent even when down 28-0 as senior fullback A.J. Gonsalves tucked it in from the one-yard line, followed by a fake-PAT kick with junior James Burke hitting Devon Soares for the two-pointer.

Down 28-8, Fernandes hit Devon Green for the Clippers' second score in the fourth quarter to make it 28-14 and Burke split the uprights on the PAT kick to make it 28-15.

Barnstable cornerback Kevin Hardy was a noticeable force on defense for the Red & White, collecting 7.5 tackles in all for a solid Turkey Day's output, while inside linebacker Bryan Hardy (no relation) also turned in a good day with 5.5 tackles including a resounding hit on a kickoff in the first quarter.

Sophomore cornerback Derek Estes, who played well in secondary coverage throughout, collected an interception. Soares and Matt Dineen collected interceptions for Falmouth.

Barnstable now heads (either to Taunton High School or Bridgewater-Raynham) on Tuesday, Nov. 29, to face 10th-ranked Lincoln-Sudbury (10-1). Barnstable was ranked at 13th in the state as of today.

Sophomore Tom Mullen went 4-4 on PAT kicks and he finished the regular season an astounding 41-42, the best football kicking performance in the history of Barnstable High School athletics.

Barnstable's opening drive in the first quarter came after BHS won the coin toss, elected to receive, then marched down the field in under two minutes to go on top.

Crook found Theo France open for a 21-yard gain on the first offensive play of the game, followed by a France 12-yard run, a Nick Peabody reception (9 yards) and then a pristine, acrobatic 29-yard catch by Dylan Morris under skin-tight coverage to put the Red Raiders at the goal line. Fullback Andrew Ellis than barreled into the end zone untouched to make it 6-0 with 8:11 remaining in the first quarter. Mullen's PAT kick was good and made it 7-0.