Despite moving the ball well throughout the game, Westbrook simply couldn’t cap a drive at Falmouth on Friday evening, Nov. 6. Surprisingly, the Blazes failed to score a single point in their Class B semifinal bout with the Yachtsmen, who eventually claimed a 32-0 W.

“We were expecting to be competitive,” said Westbrook head coach Jeff Guerette. “Falmouth played really well tonight; they kind of jumped on us right at the beginning…They were as good as advertised.”

The result shocked simply because Westbrook had played such a strong 2015 to that point. They only dropped their regular-season opener to the ever-intimidating Leavitt Hornets by one measly point (22-21) and fell by just a single TD (14-7) to Falmouth in Week 2. In Week 3, they pulled off a huge upset (16-13) against the reigning State Champion Hawks of Marshwood, and just last week easily dispatched (39-13) their quarterfinals opponent Biddeford on the road.

But Friday night, Falmouth amassed a 24-0 lead in the first half. After the break, Westbrook’s defense looked sharpened, and stopped multiple Yachtsmen drives, though Falmouth still managed to widen their advantage in the middle of the fourth quarter when Connor Aube scored from the 27-yard line. A successful two-point conversion added up to 32-0.

“We didn’t really get our footing,” said Guerette, “and [Falmouth] played great; they deserved to win. They were the better team by far tonight.”

All the while, the Blazes showed themselves capable of pushing upfield. Bailey Sawyer nailed a number of pretty passes – as he has all season – to partner-in-crime Bailey Ryan, and Sawyer, Miece Louriero and Zack Hutchins all gained good yards on the carry.

But Westbrook never managed to penetrate the Falmouth end zone; two of the team’s four turnovers on the night (an odd pair of fumbles by Hutchins) ended impressive series in the third quarter, and at other times, they failed to convert on critical fourth downs.

Turnovers have not been an ongoing problem for the Blazes this season, Guerette said: “Not really. I thought we were playing pretty good, coming into it.”

“It’s a credit to the Falmouth defense,” Guerette said. “They made big plays when they had to. They’re very good defensively; they’ve got good athletes and they’re physical.”

Westbrook, who entered the bracketing ranked fifth in B South, retires till 2016 at 6-4. One-seed Falmouth, now 9-1, advances to Saturday, Nov. 14’s Regional Final versus Marshwood.

Zack Hutchins fights through a mob of bodies, carrying for Westbrook Friday night.Westbrook QB Bailey Ryan ducks away from a Yachtsman.The Blazes’ Miece Loureiro leaves a Yachtsman behind on a drive.