KENNEBUNK — When Falmouth High fumbled the opening kickoff Friday night at Kennebunk, it could have been the beginning of another Rams rout.
But the Yachtsmen bounced back and made the big plays.
With five touchdowns – none less than 52 yards – third-seeded Falmouth upset second-ranked Kennebunk 32-20 in a Class B South semifinal.
Falmouth (8-2) will play at top-ranked Marshwood (10-0) next weekend. The Hawks beat Falmouth 41-19 a month ago.
But the Yachtsmen will look for redemption. They already got it against Kennebunk (8-2), which beat Falmouth 51-34 in September.
This time Falmouth’s defense stiffened and the offense took off.
Garret Aube rushed for 128 yards, including scoring runs of 52 and 66 yards. He also made the play of the game with a 75-yard interception return for a score with 10 minutes left.
“They had been running the same (pass) play and I just stepped in,” Aube said. “I’ve always wanted to do that.”
Jack Bryant of Famouth completed only three passes, all to Emilio Micucci. But two were for 76 and 63 yards.
“We had a couple of well-designed plays,” Coach John Fitzsimmons said. “Because of the play-action, we were able to draw in their defense.”
Kennebunk Coach Joe Rafferty was impressed. “Give them a lot of credit,” he said. “They came in and had a good game plan.”
Kennebunk’s game plan seemed to be working. The Rams outgained Falmouth 377-302, more than doubled the number of plays, 78-34, and dominated the time of possession, 32:33 to 15:27.
“We looked like we were doing OK,” Rafferty said, “but they played great defensively.”
Tripp Bush of Kennebunk threw for 246 yards and two touchdowns. Zack Sullivan caught 10 passes for 122 yards and a score. Dante DeLorenzo rushed for 94 yards.
The Rams moved into Falmouth territory eight times. They scored three times, turned the ball over on downs twice (once at the 3), fumbled twice and threw an interception.
Falmouth began the game by losing a fumble. Kennebunk then drove 28 yards for a 7-0 lead.
“That was hard,” Fitzsimmons said, “but the kids were resilient.”
On Falmouth’s fourth play, Aube broke through the middle for his 52-yard score.
“Isn’t he a player?” Fitzsimmons said. “He’s very deceptive. He follows his blockers magnificently and then you don’t realize how much speed he has.”
Falmouth missed the extra point and the Rams led, 7-6.
But the Bryant-Micucci connection put the Yachtsmen up. On the 76-yarder, Micucci beat his defender by a step. On the 66-yarder, there was a breakdown and Micucci was wide open.
Kennebunk closed to 19-14 when Bush hit Robinson for a 17-yard score with 37 seconds left in the half.
The Rams retook a 20-19 lead in the third quarter with a 61-yard drive (Bush to Derek Smith for 29 yards).
The lead lasted one play. Aube broke through a hole, then broke tackles for a 66-yard run.
Kennebunk drove to the Falmouth 35 early in the fourth quarter, but Aube made his interception and speedy run to open a 32-20 advantage.
The Ram’s last two possessions came up empty.
Kevin Thomas can be reached at 791-6411 or:
kthomas@pressherald.com
Twitter: @KevinThomasPPH
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