YARMOUTH – For the third year in a row, Dennis-Yarmouth faced Mashpee in the opening game of the football season. In the 2024 version, the Dolphins took care of business with a 14-8 victory.

The game was a rematch of the 2024 Northeast 7v7 South regional final, which the Dolphins also emerged victorious in. Head coach Chris Marsh said that the previous history with the Falcons helped his team.

“It was exactly what we expected,” Marsh said. “We have played them in the opener the last two years. I told the guys that it was going to come down to who won up front at the line of scrimmage. I’m really proud of the offensive and defensive lines for how they played tonight.”

Senior lineman Aidan Gillespie said the offensive and defensive lines felt in control and were confident that they could get the job done.

“We felt like any given moment we could just take over the line and just get what we needed to get done,” Gillespie said. “We can put in any package and go and get it done. That’s how we feel every single time we go out there.”

The Falcons started the game with the ball but the relentless Dolphins defense forced two negative runs before a third down pass was intercepted by Jayden Barber.

Barber, who doubles as the Dolphins’ quarterback, would gain some yards on the ground before rifling a 20-yard pass to Elijah Grant for the first touchdown of the contest.

The Falcons would respond with a few first downs, but the drive would stall out at midfield and force a punt. Following the punt, Mashpee would force a fourth down, but Barber would scramble for the key conversion.

The Dolphins rode this momentum all the way to the end zone, with the drive being capped off by a one-yard rush from Barber.

“Everything was working because my teammates had my back,” Barber said. “They were helping me get stuff open. Without them I couldn’t do anything I did today.”

Mashpee looked down but was not out. Dominic Matteodo would lead a sustained drive that capped off with a 28-yard passing touchdown to Ryan Triveri on fourth down. After a successful two-point conversion, the lead was cut to six.

Mashpee would force a turnover on the next D-Y drive but couldn’t capitalize and the teams entered halftime at 14-8.

The Dolphins nearly started the second half with a kickoff return touchdown from James Barnicle, but a holding call negated it. The teams would then trade possessions until Barnicle secured a late interception that gave the Dolphins a chance to ice the game.

The catch? The drive would start at the two-yard line. Barber said his team knew it just had to focus on the task at hand.

“You have got to do what you got to do,” Barber said. “You have to burn the clock, James clutched up with that pick, we wouldn’t have won the game without it.”

That’s exactly what the Dolphins did, holding the ball until there was just 14 seconds left and eventually sealing the win.

After the victory, Gillespie said that the team is ready to make its mark on the rest of the state.

“I want them to know that we are coming,” Gillespie said. “That’s it, we are coming.”