The Falmouth boys lacrosse team is on quite a roll entering the Class A championship game. The top-seeded Navigators are unbeaten and averaging 14.5 goals per game.
The Navigators (16-0) have scored 10 or more goals in 14 of their 16 games, and 15 or more in 10 games. All told, they have 232 goals.
Falmouth takes it high-octane offense into the Class A final at 6 p.m. Saturday against No. 3 Yarmouth (13-3) at Deering High’s Memorial Field.
“We like to play fast,” Falmouth coach Dave Barton said. “Offensively, the term we use is, ‘Family style.’ Hayden Davis gets a lot of attention from the opposition, and you saw guys like Will Davis and Zack Small (get opportunities). Whoever we have in that six, there’s a mismatch somewhere.”
The Navigators are playing in their eighth state final in 10 seasons.
While some teams use slower, methodical means to find open passing and shooting lanes, Falmouth tries to play fast all the time. In a 16-6 win over No. 4 Deering in the semifinals on Wednesday, the Navigators didn’t slow down until the game was firmly in hand in the fourth quarter.
Eight players scored, led Will Davis, who had five goals.
“We love to get everyone involved,” said Hayden Davis, a senior, who had two goals and three assists against Deering. “That’s that fun aspect (of play). The more people you get into it, the more fun we have. I think just spinning the ball fast, getting everyone involved, making sure everyone is having a good time, I feel like that’s our recipe for success right now.”
Conditioning and depth helps Falmouth play that fast-paced style. The Navigators have 35 players on the roster, 23 who are either an attack or a midfielder, so they are able to interchange pieces on offense to stay fresh.
“We’re super lucky, we’re a super deep team,” said senior midfielder Zack Small. “We have a ton of guys that we can roll out. They’re a bunch of great, great players. That’s why we get to stay so fresh, because we have so many guys that know how to play and love to play.”
The Navigators beat Yarmouth 11-7 in the regular season on May 22. Falmouth jumped out to a four-goal lead in the first quarter.
“Their whole team is pretty big and physical,” said Yarmouth coach Jon Miller. “They’re a big and athletic team, for sure. Those little things add up in ground balls, for clearing, for riding. They’re definitely a very strong team. Hayden Davis and (Ian) Christie are very lethal offensive guys for them.
“We need to hold them under 10 (goals), we need to score more than 10, that’s what it’s going to take (to win).”
Yarmouth’s physical defense matches up well with Falmouth.
“They have a few elite guys,” Barton said. “Defensively, it’s (long-stick midfielder) Nate Buchanan wreaking havoc on the defensive end. (William) Redfield is one of the best goalies in the state… They’ve got some extremely talented, high-level offensive and defensive guys. We’re going to have to earn it.”