Falmouth (Maine) has gone from turmoil to state championship contender

The Navigators a year ago were signing a petition to have the head coach removed and now this Saturday, will play for the Class B state championship against Kennebunk

Falmouth Football/Facebook

Over a year ago at this time, the Falmouth Navigators' football program was in a precarious point in its history.

Players on last year's 2023 team made the unprecendented move to sign a petition to have then-head coach John Fitzsimmons removed from his position after the conclusion of a disappointing 2-6 record in 2023 after finishing 8-4 in 2022. 22 of 30 players from the 2023 team signed the petition, with 21 of them being returnees for this 2024 campaign. 

“Several of us have talked with you individually and in small groups about this, but we are now speaking with a collective voice to ask that you replace John Fitzsimmons with a new football coach next season,” the petition said.

Report: Falmouth (Maine) football players sign petition seeking to remove head coach

Fitzsimmons would step away from the program, leaving the players and community to ponder what would take place next. Needing someone to take the helm and guide the program in the right direction, Falmouth tabbed former University of Chicago/Georgetown University assistant Spencer Emerson as the program's new lead man.

Needless to say, the change around the program has been a total reversal from a season ago.

The Navigators (10-0) are just coming off a dominating Class B North state semifinal victory over Lawrence, 35-7, booking Falmouth's ticket to the state championship game this upcoming Saturday against undefeated Kennebunk.

All along the way, Emerson has led the program to an undefeated season thus far and will look to cap it with a state title. To do so, they'll have to defeat one of Maine's top teams all season long in the Rams, who has only been in two games this season that have been decided by less than 10 points margin wise.

It's been a similar situation for the Navigators, who only have played in one contest that came down to less than 10 points gap wise, a 15-14 victory over Fryeburg. Other than that, Emerson's bunch have been one of the state's more dominating squads, winning by a average margin of victory 24.9 points throughout the season.

Emerson has done an exceptional job taking a program that was under turmoil after the 2023 campaign and turning them into a state championship contender in just one off-season, making the strongest case to being Maine's Coach of the Year.

Just over 365 days ago, the Falmouth program was in question and now, the Navigators have left no doubt they belong in the conversation as one of the top programs in the state.

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-- Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @highschoolonsi