Mashpee To Host Sandwich In Holiday Game

By: Rich Maclone
Published: 11/19/10

Break out the DeLorean because it’s a “Back To The Future” Thanksgiving for the Mashpee and Sandwich High School football teams.

Back when the two schools first introduced football, the squads met annually for six years on Thanksgiving Day. With SHS gaining in size each year and Mashpee’s numbers dwindling, the schools amicably ended their annual agreement to meet on the holiday.

But times have changed and for the time being, at least, the two squads are back at it on Turkey Day. In past Thanksgiving Day games, the teams have each won three times. Mashpee High School won the last meeting between the teams, taking a thrilling 6-0 decision last year when Devin Andrade found Kyle Dupont in the end zone on a bomb play with no time left on the clock to shock the Blue Knights on the road.

This year the two teams have gone in separate directions in terms of success. The Falcons, despite a myriad of injuries, have continually found ways to win, posting an 8-2 record. They will finish the season in a tie for second place in the South Shore League, posting a record of 4-2 in league play.

The Blue Knights have not enjoyed much success at all. Sandwich is 2-7 overall and was winless in the Atlantic Coast League. The Knights pulled off a come-from-behind win over Bourne on opening night and then lost four in a row before defeating Wareham on the road in mid-October. Since that win over the Vikings, the Knights have lost three straight by a combined score of 99-27.

Mashpee Head Coach Matt Triveri said that the game means a lot to the Falcons, but said that the rivalry probably means a bit more to the communities than it does to the teams themselves at this point. It’s not that the outcome of the contest isn’t important to the squads, but the rivalry isn’t quite as meaningful because the schools do not play against one another in any other sports.

“It’s a big game for the community in that they view it as a rivalry,” he said. “For us, it’s more of a chance to prove ourselves. That’s a school of [about] 1,000 kids. For our kids, we have to prove ourselves week in and week out.”

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