MASHPEE – As you walk the sidelines of the Mashpee football practice field, you can smell and taste the fresh ocean breeze off Popponesset Island.

Also, in the crisp Cape Cod air of two-a-day practices are the sights and sounds of the last rollercoaster ride for father and son duo, Matt and Ryan Triveri.

Matt Triveri has been a Falcon for 25 years as an administrator and is entering his 20th season as the head football coach for the varsity team. Sharing the field for the final go-round is his son, senior Ryan Triveri, who transferred back to Mashpee as a sophomore from St. John Paul II to welcome the challenge and the raised eyebrows of everyone in the tony Cape Cod town as a two-way starter for Coach Triveri.

“I never really coached Ryan until he came here which is unique to say the least,” said Coach Triveri. “Our family moved here when he was a sophomore, and we had a conversation because it is different here. We are stringent in the football program and if he was going to come here, and I’m here in the building, (Ryan) would have to act a certain way, and you are going to be pushing football.”

Throughout the years, Ryan starred in three sports including basketball and baseball. While Coach Triveri dabbled as a youth basketball coach and an occasional All-Star summer baseball coach when Ryan was younger, the opportunity never presented itself to coach the game they both love.

“I’m just one of those guys that he has to be head and shoulders over the other guys to get the ball, get reps, to be on the field. I’m certainly harder on him than any other kid in this program,” said Coach Triveri, who was named New England Patriots High School Coach of the Year in 2015 after the program’s second-ever Super Bowl title. “Fortunately, he becomes the Marine Corps example, and I wouldn’t have it any other way and that’s just the way you have to operate as a head coach here.”

Ryan finds the coach-dad or dad-coach dynamic harder to navigate but would not change a thing.

“It’s definitely harder than for most people to be here but I truly think it is the best thing for me, to push me the hardest, and I think it makes me a lot better of a football player,” said Triveri.

The season starts Friday as Mashpee opens on the road against non-league powerhouse Dennis-Yarmouth. The finality of the nine regular season games is an unspoken reality.

“It hasn’t really hit me yet but throughout the season I think it will hit me a lot more,” said Triveri. “It’s definitely a unique experience but an experience I don’t mind at all. I always call him ‘coach’ – never call him ‘dad’.”

Ryan stars in dual roles as a speedy wide receiver and a shutdown cornerback. Coach Triveri has his own dual role as father and coach.

“Guys can’t look at him any differently in the relationships I have with all the players. He’s a great player here and when he came to Mashpee he hadn’t played football in a while,” said Coach Triveri. “One of my coaches said, ‘Listen if you have your kid in front of us and you saw him athletically – would you want him to play here?’

The one-word answer from Triveri: “Absolutely.”

Matt admittedly has switched into dad mode from time to time on the field. Ryan has battled multiple injuries throughout the past two seasons when one injury robbed him of his spring baseball season as well.

Last season, Ryan had hurt his hip, but Coach Triveri was more like the pushy parent on the sideline and chalked it up to nothing more than a tweaked hamstring. Matt pushed Ryan to continue and fight through the pain when he knew deep down if it was another player – he may have pulled the plug quicker.

“My mistake I was more dad than coach there, but we couldn’t really tell what it was, but it kept flaring up,” said Coach Triveri. “Come to find out it was a torn labrum in his hip and now he is injured, not hurt. So that was more of a dad mistake trying to teach lessons, but as a coach, if that is somebody else, you would say – wait a minute.”

While both Matt and Ryan will be soaking in every day until the final snap, it might be the last dance for the team as well. The confidence Coach Triveri has instilled in Ryan trickles down to the other 17 seniors on the roster but there are only 14 or so other football players after the 2025 graduation.

So, the team is not barren of talent, but the numbers game is rearing its ugliness for the program.

“When you look at our team this season, our seniors will take us as far as they can take us,” said Coach Triveri. “We had a great 7-on-7 year so far, they have been through it all, and while our line is in flux – it’s a work in progress – but our expectations are high.”

Ryan is lockstep with his dad and head coach with the season’s outlook as well.

“I expect big things out of us this year no doubt. I think we can get it done, we have the talent to get it done, it’s just everyone must buy in, lock in every day, and we have a chance to make it very far,” said Ryan.

“Throughout my injuries, it’s taught me not to take things for granted and enjoy it while I can. Playing for your dad is probably a different experience for most people, but I wouldn’t want it any other way.”