Falcon Doucette lets it fly
QB gives team chance vs. Everett
Tomorrow marks the last time Ray Doucette will step on the turf at Russell Field as Cambridge Rindge and Latin quarterback. It's the final time you'll see his head bopping to the music in warm-ups, the final time you'll see him unwind to throw a bullet downfield.
Doucette is low-key. But ask him about his favorite moment here, and he lights up with a grin, knowing there were many here-I-am moments in his three years under center for the Falcons.
Such as his first touchdown pass to current Northeastern wideout Jesse Sparks, a 90-yard bomb against Arlington. Or his first career rushing touchdown, this season. Or the two-touchdown comeback over Peabody in the final two minutes in Week 2. Or the countless 300-yard passing games.
And few forget the trick play against Thanksgiving rival Everett two seasons ago that became a YouTube sensation. In the second quarter, trailing by a touchdown, Doucette threw a pass behind the line of scrimmage that skipped off the ground, slightly backward, into the hands of Josh Adams. Though the ball was still live, many were thrown off; Adams then heaved a long pass to the opposite side of the field, where Sparks raced 50 yards untouched for a touchdown, and a halftime lead.
"I remember exactly where things went downhill," he said of that eventual loss, pointing to the 10-yard line closest to the fieldhouse. There, tight end/defensive end Gerard Warren injured his shoulder in the third quarter trying to recover a fumble.
Doucette has been breathing Cambridge football all his life. He was in the stands in 2001 as a fifth-grader, the last time the Falcons beat Everett - and the first of just two Crimson Tide regular-season losses this decade.
But today, he is one of the last remnants of a pass-happy - and at times, explosive - era of offense in Cambridge. With him throwing to receivers like Sparks, Maine freshman Vinson Givans, and Adams, a North Carolina commit who transferred to Cheshire Academy, the Falcons went 14-7 over a two-year period under coach Paul Gonnella. Doucette's 60 career touchdown passes are tied for sixth all time in the state with Worcester Burncoat's Steve Scannell.
He has 7,019 career yards passing and "a phenomenal highlight tape," laughed first-year coach Joe Papagni.
This season, he's thrown for 1,830 yards with 14 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. Senior Justin Bernard has been Doucette's favorite target, making 53 receptions for 739 yards and eight touchdowns.
"This year's been kind of, 'Wow, I'm at the top of where I need to be,' " Doucette said. "It's kind of cool looking around at all these seniors who grew up with me through the ranks - Pop Warner, freshman ball, to now - [and seeing] how much they've developed."
The Falcons are 4-5 headed into tomorrow's game with the Tide (8-1).
With the departure of Adams and the graduation of Sparks, Givans, Warren, and offensive lineman Julien Buck, the focus this year has been squarely on Doucette. And with the departure of Gonnella to UNC, where he is director of player personnel, Papagni has been turning the program in a new direction.
Most notably, Papagni has encouraged Doucette to be more mobile. In the past, Gonnella taught him how to slide in the pocket, and to run out of bounds. Now, he's being told to lower his shoulder and fight for extra yardage.
"That, in turn I think, made this more of a focus on the team," said Doucette, who leads the Falcons in rushing with 224 yards and seven touchdowns. "We realized we can't win unless we play like a team."
Said Papagni, "I think a lot of people looked at him as one-dimensional because of the way the offense was set up. This year, with all those receivers gone, we had to take advantage of Ray's athleticism, and he was receptive to the idea."
Doucette believes it's improved his image on the recruiting scene. No scholarships have been offered yet, but Columbia, Harvard, Temple, and UMass have shown interest.
Papagni also said Doucette's departure likely will turn the Falcons toward a more run-oriented scheme. But has a precedent been set?
"We hope so," Papagni said. "We're working like heck to do it." 