HS FOOTBALL: Falmouth Wins Cape Cod 7-on-7 Tourney

MASHPEE — As former Barnstable High and Columbia University quarterback and captain Mike Delaney walked with his St. John Paul II Lions into Michael S. Horne Stadium at Mashpee High School last night, confidently yet with humility he stated his boys were there to “defend their title.”

Mashpee High School freshman DeVaughn Ford scores a touchdown in last night’s 2nd Annual Cape Cod 7-on-7 Football Tournament.
Sean Walsh/Capecod.com Sports

In the 2nd Annual Cape Cod 7-on-7 High School Football Tournament — the creation of which came last year via the brainchild of Mashpee High School head football coach Matt Triveri — Delaney, the Lions’ offensive coordinator, had every reason to be ready to put on a show.

But the Falmouth High School Clippers — backed by the tremendous athleticism and leadership of junior quarterback Nick Couhig — had other ideas.

Couhig and his Clippers took home the 2nd Annual Cape Cod 7-on-7 championship title last night, by defeating the Old Rochester Regional High School Bulldogs, 19-18, with just 1:30 remaining in the single-game loss exhibition, two-hand touch tourney.

If nothing else, the win serves as a possible prognosticator for things to come this fall when school is back in session and the 2015 Cape Cod high school gridiron season gets under way.

Falmouth first had to get through 122-year-old rival Barnstable to get anywhere and it did so with precision and clear dominance, 26-12. The Clippers then took on defending champ St. John Paul II and handed the Lions a 26-23 loss. And before it got to the title game versus Old Rochester, the Clippers edged Dennis-Yarmouth, 7-6.

“It was a really good showcase of talent here on Cape Cod,” said Mashpee High assistant football coach John Moreno.

Indeed.

Mashpee High School quarterabck Nick Carpenter drops back to pass in last night’s 2nd Annual Cape Cod 7-on-7 football tournament.
Sean Walsh/Capecod.com Sports

Mashpee High defeated Nauset 36-16 following Falmouth’s win over Barnstable and at the same time — utilizing each half of the field — Old Rochester handled the Sandwich High School Blue Knights, 26-16.

Dennis-Yarmouth then defeated Monomoy Regional, 26-0, as Falmouth took down St. John Paul II, 26-23.

Those wins then set up a tightly contested affair between Old Rochester and host Mashpee High, with the Bulldogs getting the upper hand, 19-18, over the Falcons, as Falmouth edged the D-Y Dolphins, 7-6.

Standout players on the day includedCouhig, Andrew Jamiel for Dennis-Yarmouth, Mashpee High freshman DeVaughn Ford, and St. John Paul II’s Jonny Warden.

Ford is the son of former Falmouth High School superstar Willie Ford who went on to a brilliant collegiate career at Syracuse University and then in the NFL. Coach Ford has been an assistant coach at Barnstable High School for the past eight seasons.

— Story and photos by Sean Walsh, sports editor for www.capecod.com. His email is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @coachwalshccbm