Falmouth Football Looking To Bounce Back vs. Rams

By: Rich Maclone
Published: 10/29/10

Where do they go from here? That’s the question facing the Falmouth High School football team as it heads into its third Atlantic Coast League game of the season tonight against ACL powerhouse Marshfield.

A 28-7 loss last Friday night at Plymouth North all but shot the Clippers’ hopes of qualifying for the postseason this year. But even though playoff hopes may have been all but nixed, the season has not and the Clippers still have four games left, beginning with tonight’s matchup against the Rams, the team that ended the Clippers’ playoff chances last year on the South Shore.

FHS Coach Steve Femino is using last year’s 10-6 defeat, as well as last weekend’s, as a motivational tool for tonight’s game. “Let’s take it out on them,” Femino has been telling his troops this week.

Femino admitted that the early part of the week was a bit difficult down at Guv Fuller Field. The hangover from Falmouth’s poor showing was evident, and spirits were low. On Wednesday, though, the troops began to rally and refocus on the job at hand, which is making life difficult for the rest of the league and finishing off the season strongly.

The Clippers, who are still ranked No. 17 in the state, will now be without the services of halfback and cornerback Nelson Baptiste, at least for a game or two. Baptiste injured his shoulder late in the first half against Plymouth North and never returned to the game. In his place in the starting lineup will be Matt Dineen, who has been the team’s third halfback all season long. Dineen had the longest run of the game against North last week, setting up the team’s lone score with a 40-yard scamper. He also had a touchdown run over 20 yards against Sandwich, so he is capable of getting the job done.

Getting off to a good start is paramount for the Clippers tonight. The first half was a disaster against North and Femino would like nothing more than to see his Clippers come out fired up and play with purpose from the get-go. “I’d like to see us come out and establish a drive, do some good things on offense, get a stop on defense,” he said.

Marshfield, like the Clippers, is on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoffs. They too were defeated by Plymouth North, two weeks ago, and are 2-1 in league play and 3-4 overall. While MHS’ record may not lead one to believe that they are as good as years past, the Rams have played an aggressive schedule and are hardly slouches. Last week they took out their frustrations against Plymouth South, blasting the Panthers by a 35-0 score at home.

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