All-Time Victories
493
Official Varsity Games Played
1,153
All-Time Record
493-603-56
Winning Percentage
.452
Did You Know?
Danvers has the oldest still-standing school record on the North Shore in a major statistical category. It belongs to Ken St. Pierre, whose 1,450 rushing yards in 1969 have yet to be topped by a Falcon ballcarrier.
League Championships
6: Danvers won the Essex County League with an unbeaten season in 1932 and has won NEC titles in 1941, 2004, 2005, 2013 and 2019.
State Championships
0
Super Bowl Appearances
0
Playoff wins
11. The Falcons are 11-12 in 12 all-time state playoff appearances, coming in 2004, 2013, ’14, ’15, ’16, ’17, ’18, ’19, ’21, ’23, ’24 and 25.
Number of teams played all-time
80
Number of all-time head coaches
29
Best Coach
Ryan Nolan. Danvers High’s current head coach is, historically speaking, its best. Nolan’s 55 wins are the most in program history, and he’s the only one of the 29 men to serve who has both at least 40 wins and a winning career record. Beyond his defensive acumen, attention to detail and ability to inspire his players, Nolan is remarkably consistent, with five winning seasons and never finishing more than one game under .500. Consider also that Nolan has seven career playoff wins … and before he took over, the Falcons had played only nine playoff games total.
Other Legendary Coaches
1. Charlie Vye. Guided one of only two teams in school history to finish undefeated, the 1932 outfit that went 9-0-1 (tying Salem) and outscored its opponents 243-19. That squad had a claim to the state title, according to one Boston Globe article from the day, and Vye was one of the founders of the Northeastern Conference. His teams won 46 total games from 1931-44.
2. Ernie Smith. Danvers High’s longest tenured head football coach with 130 games, he won 54 of them from 1974-86. Smith’s best teams were in 1979 (8-2), ’80 (7-3) and ’83 (7-2-1), and he helped develop some of the best players in school history in the Bavaro brothers and Duke St. Pierre.
3. Russ Fravel. Coached from 1966-72 and is one of Danvers’ only coaches with a winning record at 31-30-2. His 1969 Falcons went 8-1 led by Ken St. Pierre and finished fifth in the ratings for the Class B state title.
4. John Sullivan. The late ‘Sully’ brought respect to the Falcons in the early 2000’s, winning back-to-back Northeastern Conference titles. His 47 career wins rank third on Danvers’ all-time list.
Five All-Time Program Greats
1. Mark Bavaro. Dominant on both sides of the line of scrimmage and had the soft hands to catch passes and do damage down the field form 1978-80. At 6-foot-4 and 235 pounds, he was a two-time NEC all-star and was one of the most heavily recruited local players of the 20th century, going on to star at Notre Dame and as a two-time All-Pro tight end for the New York Giants.
2. Ken St. Pierre. Ran for a school record 1,450 yards in 1969, captaining arguably the best team in Falcon history that was one loss to Swampscott short of the Class B state title. He scored 122 points that year, had more than 200 in his career, and played both football and baseball at the University of Indiana.
3. David Bavaro. From 1982-85, he was a physical force who had 207 tackles as a senior and often had the opponent running plays away from him just to have a chance of success. Went to to play at Syracuse and enjoyed five NFL seasons.
4. Duke St. Pierre. The quarterback from 1981-83 might be the best dual threat ever to wear royal blue. He had back-to-back 1,000 yard passing seasons (in an era where that was unheard of) and threw for nearly 3,000 career yards and 33 touchdowns.
5. Brian Forster. Can any other North Shore program boast two tight ends among its all-time greats? Forster finished his senior season with 32 catches for 700 yards and 10 TDs before going on to set records at the University of Rhode Island in a fantastic college career.
Best 21st Century Players
1. Chris Small. Quarterbacked the Falcons to the 2004 Northeastern Conference title (ending a 63-year drought) and their first-ever playoff berth, engineering a 26-13 upset over Gloucester on Thanksgiving Day. Accounted for 22 total touchdowns his senior season, threw for 1,100 yards and for good measure picked off six passes on defense.
2. Alex Valles. Ran for over 2,000 career yards and scored more than 30 touchdowns in a four-year career that was capped when he captained the 2013 squad to the NEC South title. Went on to lead Division 1 Georgetown University in rushing.
3. Matt Andreas. One of the best two-way players to ever suit up for the Falcons was a demon defensively, keying 2015 playoff upsets over Marblehead and Tewksbury with his safety play. Also an excellent ballcarrier, leading the North Shore in rushing with 1,207 yards as a senior in 2016.
4. Alex Perry. Amassed close to 1,200 all-purpose yards and led Danvers in scoring to secure back-to-back NEC titles in 2005, but was perhaps even more well known from his linebacker spot. His high football IQ and sure tackling anchored coach John Sullivan’s defenses in the ’04 and ’05 championship seasons. Went on to star at Tufts.
5. Matt McCarthy. The Association of New England Football Officials’ Player of the Year in 2018 scored 140 total points that season and rushed for 1,330 yards. McCarthy was extremely durable, touching the ball on 52 percent on Danvers’ total offensive snaps, and went on to play at Trinity.
Most Common Opponent
Marblehead. 94 meetings (Marblehead leads, 57-37)
Other Familiar Foes
T1. Swampscott: 90 meetings (Swampscott leads, 60-27-3)
T1. Beverly. 90 meetings (Beverly leads, 60-28-2)
3. Gloucester. 77 meetings (Gloucester leads, 47-28-2)
4. Saugus: 61 meetings (Saugus leads, 30-27-4)
5. Winthrop: 60 meetings (Winthrop leads, 32-27-1)
Close calls
Though Danvers has never won a state title or made a Super Bowl, a few teams have been within an eyelash of doing so.
1. 1969. Only a 31-22 loss to Swampscott (that year’s Class B state champion) kept Danvers from the top of the standings. A 38-28 victory over Gloucester was one of the highlights for the Falcons.
2. 2023. The Falcons were a quarter — or a touchdown — away from the Super Bowl in a state semifinal against Hanover after taking the lead with 9:32 to play. They ultimately fell, 27-24, despite a Herculean effort by Owen Gasinowski (29 carries).
3. 2015. Danvers was one win from the Super Bowl but fell to Melrose, 24-7, in the semifinals at Manning Field. It was a 10-7 game at halftime, but a couple of big plays derailed the Falcons’ hopes.