The Falmouth High football team plans to return to action this week, but it will not be eligible for the Class B North playoffs later this fall because of last week’s forfeit to Portland.
Falmouth opted to forfeit last week’s game because of injuries that left the team without enough healthy players to field a team safely.
“We’re playing,” said Falmouth Athletic Director James Coffey said of Friday’s game at Deering. “We got kids back this week from injury.”
Coffey said that in the week leading up to the Portland game, 13 of the 32 players on the roster were ruled out because of injury. Of the 19 available, a “significant number were freshmen who were not varsity ready,” he said.
This week five varsity players are back, Coffey said. He added that Falmouth intends to finish the season by playing the rest of its schedule. Falmouth is scheduled to host Mt. Blue and Cony before finishing at Skowhegan.
By forfeiting the game against Portland, Falmouth opened itself up to disciplinary action by the Maine Principals’ Association, relative to a rule in the MPA handbook under “non-completion of a season.” That rule states that if a school does not complete its submitted schedule, it “will be prohibited” from varsity competition for the next two seasons.
Coffey said the MPA’s Football Committee ruled it would “go by the handbook” and impose the two-year ban. Falmouth appealed the committee’s decision to the MPA’s Interscholastic Management Committee, which on Monday ruled that a ban from this year’s playoffs was sufficient.
Falmouth is 0-4 and was outscored 94-16 in its first three games. Falmouth is tied with Mt. Blue (0-4) for sixth place in Class B North. Six of the seven teams in B North qualify for the playoffs.
“The kids are disappointed about the playoff thing, but also looking forward to just competing and getting back on the field,” Coffey said. “We can still have a senior night, homecoming, both big events obviously.”
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