Clippers Fall to Red Raiders

The Falmouth High School Clippers blanked Barnstable in the second half, and scored 15 points of their own, but it wasn't enough to overcome the Red Raiders' 28-point halftime lead, which will keep the vaunted Selectmen's Trophy in the gymnasium hallway trophy case at Barnstable High School for another year.

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.

The Barnstable aerial attack is truly what gave the playoff-bound Red Raiders their 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.

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

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.