A clear No. 1: Cape Cod high school football rankings
The high school football season is officially over and the records are final in 2022.
The Falmouth Clippers won the Cape and Island League championship and finished with the most wins on Cape this season.
This year's Thanksgiving slate has come and gone and it brought plenty of incredible action, including a six-passing touchdown performance, a game that came down to the final play, and a 50-point explosion.
The Clippers retained their top spot following their Thanksgiving Day win. The other four teams remain the same as my last rankings, but the places have shuffled.
More high school football: Falmouth High football survives Barnstable's fourth-quarter scare to win on Thanksgiving
1. Falmouth Clippers
The Clippers came out on top of what I would say was the best football game I saw all season, in their win over the Barnstable Red Hawks on Thanksgiving Day. The Clippers weathered an early storm, took a double-digit lead, and then survived a furious fourth-quarter comeback from the Red Hawks to earn the win. It was their eighth of the season and marked an emphatic end to a very successful year for the Cape and Island League champions.
More Falmouth football: Seniors star on their night as Falmouth High football downs Dennis-Yarmouth
Senior quarterback Aiden North said at the beginning of the season that the team coming together as a unit would be the key to them achieving their goals, and it was clear that's exactly what happened for head coach Joe Morency's squad.
2. Sandwich Blue Knights (6-5)
Brady Carroll had an all-around season to remember for the Blue Knights, as he led them to the No. 8 seed in Division 6. The Blue Knights hosted their first-round matchup after going 5-2 in the regular season, but fell to No. 9 Oakmont. Two more losses followed, but the Blue Knights responded with a thrilling win over fellow playoff team Mashpee.
More Sandwich football: Connor Stack (plus his seniors) star as Sandwich football defeats Mashpee on Thanksgiving
Carroll, along with the rest of the senior class, played a huge part in the Blue Knights success this season, but plenty of younger players got valuable experience and that will set Sandwich up to compete again next year.
3. Nauset Warriors (6-5)
In one season, head coach Jesse Peno has reset the standard for Nauset football. The Warriors narrowly missed out on a postseason berth but with Peno at the helm, and his freshman son, Brendan, leading the offense at quarterback, put together a successful year. The Warriors flirted with a playoff berth this season, and will look to take that next step in 2023.
More Nauset: Father and son at the center of the revitalization of Nauset High football
Nauset lost a thriller to the Dennis-Yarmouth Dolphins on Thanksgiving, which prevented the Warriors from reaching seven wins on the year, after going winless last season.
4. Mashpee Falcons (5-5)
The Falcons were the third playoff team from the Cape to make the postseason, but suffered the same fate as the other two, taking a first-round exit in Div. 7. Mashpee ends the year on a three-game losing streak, including the Thanksgiving Day loss to Sandwich, but head coach Matt Triveri was proud of his squad for reaching the heights they did.
Dominc Matteodo led the offense for the Falcons this season and the team saw multiple sophomores contributing all season. Mashpee flew out of the gates this season starting 3-0, and finished the regular season at 5-3, which earned the Falcons the No. 14 seed in Division 7.
5. Monomoy Sharks (7-4)
Although the Sharks didn't make the playoffs, head coach Rob Sliney's team closed the season strong. The Sharks won four of their last five games to finish with the second-most wins of any team this season. The defense led the way for the Sharks late-season surge. In their last four wins, the Sharks only allowed eight points per game, and only allowed double digits in one of the four.
The defensive dominance culminated in a shutout victory over St. John Paul II on Thanksgiving day to end the season. That was the second time the Sharks beat the Lions this year, and they held them to a combined six points in the two matchups.
This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Cape Cod high school football rankings
