For eight years – ever since Freeport founded its high school football program – the Falcons have itched to take down neighbors and rivals Yarmouth. But the Clippers, two-time State Champs in 2010 and 2011 and State Runners-Up in 2015, have gotten the better of Freeport in the teams’ every meeting, and usually by a substantial margin.
That all changed on Friday night, Oct. 21, 2016, when Freeport – up-and-coming under the tutelage of head coach Paul St. Pierre and his assistants, not to mention the leadership of a cadre of all-heart seniors – took to the turf at Yarmouth in perhaps the worst weather conditions any of the kids on either side had ever played in.
Somehow, despite battling both a talented opponent and an ark-worthy deluge, the Falcons put together the most complete game of their season, outplaying the Clippers across the field and amassing a 30-16 victory. Max Doughty lead the assault, running for three TDs.
“First time I’ve ever beaten Yarmouth in my eight-year career playing football for Freeport,” said Doughty. “This is unreal. I couldn’t have done it myself: Everybody helped, everybody worked together. The line – that was the biggest contributor right there. Our line worked all day, all night; they trained for this. They came out and they played today.”
“After last week’s win at Lake Region, we had the best week of practice,” St. Pierre said. “It carried over to this week; we had another great week of practice – which, it’s one of those little things a coach always preaches: practice, practice, practice – and these guys finally got it and it paid off. Two of the biggest wins of the season: [Lake Region] clinched playoffs, [Yarmouth] got us the [Battle of the Bay trophy]. It’s such a great feeling; I’m kind of at a loss for words right now.”
Freeport never trailed in the matchup. The Falcons launched into their first scoring push midway through the opening quarter, after stopping a Clippers’ drive and taking over on downs. The team earned a couple first downs, Doughty handling the majority of the running, before Burke broke away, dashing roughly 45 yards up the left side for first and goal around the Yarmouth 10. Connor Dostie gained a few from there, then, with 1:35 remaining in the quarter, Doughty punched home his first score of the night. Freeport capped the series with a successful two-point conversion.
“Really what was big was Max Doughty,” said Josh Burke, the Falcons’ QB, asked what he saw from his position helming the offense. “Max Doughty was a workhorse, and he was a very good one at it, too. And our line, oh, my God. Our line was insane; this is the best I’ve ever seen our line do. They were pushing, they were driving, they were making all the correct blocks. Our backs were blocking tremendous as well. But when we saw Max, and how good he was doing, we just wanted to abuse that right side and use it as much to our advantage as possible.”
The Falcons showed their defensive stuff again early in the second. The Clippers picked up a couple first downs of their own, but stumbled when they tried their hand slinging and receiving the wet, slippery ball. They fumbled and recovered once, and Freeporter Austin Langley nearly earned himself an INT. On fourth down, Yarmouth QB John Thoma lofted up a long ball for a teammate in the Falcons’ end zone, but Freeport’s TJ Morrill thwarted the pass attempt expertly, saving the score and winning his team the ball back.
The Falcons assembled another long scoring series from there. Burke sparked it, hurling a beautiful pass – one of only two Freeport throws on the evening – up the middle from around Freeport’s own 20. Morrill managed to escape his pair of Clippers defenders, then spun round to run backwards and somehow reel the ball in for a gain of roughly 33. Across midfield now, the Falcons earned a couple crawling first downs build on short Doughty and Cody Vachon runs. Finally, on fourth and three around the Yarmouth 20, Doughty broke away left and skittered across the goal line. Another successful two-point conversion put the Falcons up 16-0.
“I told myself I’ve got to put two hands on the ball, got to cover up, have three points of contact at all times,” said Doughty of his mindset. “I told my linemen, if they blocked for me, I’d hold onto the ball. I wasn’t going to fumble that ball. I wasn’t letting go of it. I wasn’t going to let Yarmouth strip that ball. They were punching at it, but I’m tried and true: I’m going to keep to my word to my linemen.”
The Clippers had very little time – just 52 seconds – to work with before the break. And yet, the team put together an impressive drive. Thoma somehow managed to connect consecutive passes to Caden Middleton and Jack True (the latter for 33 yards), shuttling Yarmouth in short order to first and goal at the Freeport eight. Thoma hooked up with Noah Eckersley-Ray for three more, but then the Falcons’ defense chewed through three Clippers downs and forced fourth and goal at the five. On fire, Freeport looked sure to produce another huge stop, but Yarmouth wouldn’t be denied. Thoma pinpointed a ball up the middle – through heavy coverage, no less – to Remi Leblanc in the back of the Falcons’ end zone. A successful two-point conversion sliced Yarmouth’s deficit in half, 16-8.
With 19 seconds remaining, the Clippers looked to maintain their momentum, booting a short, low kickoff. Morrill grabbed it, but coughed it up again around the Falcons’ 25, where Yarmouth recovered. The Clippers, however, couldn’t capitalize on their good fortune before time expired. Thoma attempted a 28-yard pitch for Leblanc in the Freeport end zone, but Vachon was there to stymie the connection.
“We came out with a lot of energy to start,” said Doughty. “We put two up on them. The energy started going down a little bit, but after the [lightning delay], and we kind of recovered on the bus, we said, ‘We’ve got to come out with energy. We’ve got to do exactly what we did in the first half,’ and that’s what we did.”
“I played once in a game that was about 30 degrees, and it was very cold,” said St. Pierre. “This was worse. This was by far the worst. But these guys; I went into the bus to tell them, ‘We’re still playing,’ man, they were singing songs, they were fired up, they were more ready to go than any team I’ve ever seen in Freeport. They wanted it. They didn’t want to play tomorrow. They wanted to go back out there and finish it. And they did. It was a complete game.”
So the Falcons faltered a step, late in the first half, but they quickly regained their composure and can fairly be said to have taken the momentum into the break. When the teams returned for the latter half, then, Freeport continued to press. Their relentless offensive efforts produced two more TDs – Doughty completed his hat trick (the team added yet another two-point conversion) and Burke capped the evening – while their equally determined defensive labors held Yarmouth to just one. Critically, the Falcons forced the Clippers to commit four turnovers in the second half: two fumbles, both of which Hunter Demers recovered for Freeport, and two INTs – including one to seal the W in the waning seconds – both picked off by Morrill. 30-16 the final.
“We could only do so much in this rain, and maybe it was because we could only do a few things and we did them well,” said St. Pierre. “We came in hoping to run some shotgun spread, and we also had our under-the-center, kind of, power stuff. As soon as our first two shotgun snaps just sailed, we said, ‘That’s it,’ cut our playbook down to under-the-center. A couple times we just made up a few plays, stuck everyone on one side, said, ‘Let’s run that way.’ I just told Josh, ‘Hold onto that ball and run left to right. Run your butt off, and line: just keep pushing. A game like this, it was old school. Round and pound and hold onto that ball, and obviously – the turnovers: It’s cliché, but you win the turnover battle, you usually win the game. We held onto the rock all day; Yarmouth couldn’t.”
“To me, I feel like this game is more important than a State Championship, so I’m willing to risk anything, including my body, to get all those extra yards,” Burke said of his contributions on the ground. “I just want it more than anyone else on this field, and so did our team, and I think we showed it today. I just couldn’t be more proud of our coaches and our team. It’s unreal.”
Burke heartily praised his teammates by name: “Sean Purdy came up big. Sean Purdy, Gary Thompson, Tucker Ginn, Eathan Cameron, Will Gormley, Austin Langley. I want to thank every single one of them on the line. And defense! TJ Morrill came up big in that fourth quarter with those two picks. Huge. Hunter Demers, two fumble recoveries, too, came up big. Everybody got a good amount of tackles, and I feel like our defense was doing awesome that whole game.”
“I’m just extremely, extremely pleased with my entire program. From all the volunteers, to my great assistant coaches, to all my players,” said St. Pierre. “This was something we started almost 365 days ago, after JV finished 4-0. We all made a promise to do everything we could to get the weight room open, get seven-on-seven going. I promised the guys that, if they worked their butts off, and they gave everything they had, good things will happen. And they did. They put in the work in the offseason, they put in the work all year. They recruited some kids to come and play football for us, and this is just so satisfying because it’s the culmination of so much hard work. This is something that will stay with this program even when I’m gone. These guys, this is something they’ll remember when they’re my age and older. It means so much more than just a win, or a trophy. Those kids, this is their night forever, and no one can take that away from them.”
St. Pierre took a moment out to applaud assistant coach and brother, John, saying: “He brings the thunder and the passion every week in passion. If it wasn’t for him, the energy would get low some days; he always brings the energy and keeps it going. He’s my right-hand man. It would be arrogant for one man to say he’s the reason why they won. That’s not a good leader. A good leader doesn’t take all the claim; a good leader knows who supports him. And the only reason we’re here is because I have three of the most dedicated coaches; I have a group of volunteers who are dedicated and players that will ride or die with us till the end, and that’s all we have. We’re 22-strong tonight; that’s all we have. We are who we are, but we’re a small, scrappy, scrappy bunch, that’s willing to play anyone, anytime, anywhere – who cares about the score, we just want to play some football. And we do it pretty well now.”
Freeport’s Max Doughty notched three TDs in his team’s first-ever win over neighbors and rivals Yarmouth on Friday night.
In a run-heavy outing, Cody Vachon’s footwork proved critical to the Falcons’ win.
Freeport’s Connor Dostie pushes through the Yarmouth defense.
Freeport’s Hunter Demers charges toward Yarmouth QB John Thoma. Demers proved critical Friday night – when, for instance, he recovered a pair of second-half Clippers fumbles.
Sean Purdy lines up to defend for Freeport.
Freeport QB Josh Burke hands off to runningback Cody Vachon.
Falcon Austin Langley (88) takes his position in the o-line in Freeport’s win over Yarmouth on Friday night.
Falcons Austin Langley (88), Garrison Thompson (66), Eathan Cameron (78), Sean Purdy (54), Will Gormley (71) break out of the huddle and head to the line.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
