FALMOUTH — The Falmouth Navigators got an early character test and passed it Friday night in a football opener against Cheverus.
The Navigators surrendered the tying score with 3:45 to play but regrouped and drove for the winning touchdown – a 14-yard run by Indi Backman with 1:49 left – then rode a final defensive stand to a thrilling 26-20 victory.
“We have a good team, but tonight we had some first-game jitters and it showed in some uncharacteristic penalties that made it a long night,” said Falmouth Coach John Fitzsimmons. “In the end, it’s a ‘W’ and we’re thankful to pull it off.”
Cheverus is back in 11-man football this year after winning the eight-man Large School state championship in 2021, but the Stags lost their first game as a Class C team.
A contest that began sluggishly, with each team fumbling the ball away on its opening possession, heated up when Matt Fogg blocked a punt, setting up Cheverus at the Falmouth 34. Fogg broke free on the next play for a long touchdown run and a 6-0 lead.
The Navigators answered when quarterback Peyton Mitchell, who played for Cheverus last year, completed his first varsity pass, a 74-yard bomb to Miles Gay. Lucas Dilworth added the extra point to put Falmouth up after one quarter.
The Navigators drove for another TD early in the second quarter, capped by a 2-yard Finn Caxton-Smith rush, but the PAT was blocked.
The Stags countered with a 2-yard touchdown run from Joe Osei, but the 2-point conversion pass failed and Falmouth clung to a 13-12 advantage at the half.
When Caxton-Smith broke away for a 42-yard TD scamper out of the Wildcat formation in the third quarter, the Navigators were on the brink of breaking away.
“I love the Wildcat runs,” said Caxton-Smith. “I just want the ball in my hands.”
But Cheverus drove 55 yards in 11 plays and drew even when St. Onge hit Fogg for an 11-yard touchdown on fourth down, then connected with Nicholas Manning for the 2-point conversion.
Two long runs from Caxton-Smith set up Backman’s winning touchdown.
“That was all blocking,” said Backman. “Lucas Dilworth and Will Gale had the best blocks ever.”
The Stags had one final chance and drove into Navigators territory, but on fourth-and-7, a pass to Fogg only gained 3 yards.
“The kids played with a lot of grit,” said Cheverus Coach Mike Vance. “We have a lot of inexperienced kids who are coming around quickly, but it wasn’t quite enough. We’ll go back to the drawing board and work on the things we didn’t do well and get better.”
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