Big Blue back on track in Powder Puff rivalry

SWAMPSCOTT – The streak is dead. Long live the streak.Kara Gilberg’s 4-yard touchdown run for Swampscott with 42 seconds left in the first half was the only score in Saturday’s annual Senior Girls Flag Football (aka Powderpuff) game, as the Big Blue reasserted their dominance of Marblehead with a 7-0 win at Blocksidge Field.The Magicians won last year’s game, breaking a long period of dominance by Swampscott.Click here to see a photo gallery from the Swampscott/Marblehead game.”We had to get the tradition back,” said Gilberg, a key player on Swampscott’s defending Div. 3 state titlist girls basketball team. “It’s not as good as winning a state championship, but it’s up there.”Marblehead couldn’t find the end zone despite a 100-yard rushing game from Mary Keroack. Twice in the second half, the Magicians moved the ball inside Swampscott’s red zone, but turned the ball over on downs once and then missed a 25-yard field goal.Gilberg was the offensive star of the game for Swampscott at quarterback, gaining 88 yards on the ground and completing a pair of passes for another 17 yards. She played the second half with a bandaged right quadriceps.”I hurt my quad in the first half, but don’t tell my coach,” said Gilberg, referring to Jack Hughes, who was the scoreboard operator for Saturday’s game. “I’ll be fine for basketball.”The Big Blue had the edge in play during the first half. A 14-yard scramble by Gilberg and a 19-yard pass from Gilberg to Mallory McDonough set up a 35-yard field goal try by Erin Langan that had plenty of distance but struck the right upright.Another field goal attempt from 26 yards by Langan later in the second quarter was short. Then Marblehead turned over the ball on downs with a Belichickian decision to go for a first down on fourth-and-3 from its own 33 and came up short. Some tough running by Casey Connolly and Madison Sheffer gave the Big Blue a first-and-goal from the Magicians’ 6, and one play later Gilberg swept around left end for a touchdown. Langan’s PAT kick was good and Swampscott took a 7-0 lead into halftime.Marblehead roared into the third quarter and – using mostly runs by the speedy Keroack – drove the ball to Swampscott 20 before turning the ball over on downs. The Magicians’ second possession of the final half also looked good until Swampscott’s Mara Gabe intercepted a pass at the Big Blue 20-yard line.”We played great defense all game long,” Gilberg said. “That was a big interception by (Gabe).”A good punt return by Marblehead’s Emma Crowley gave the Magicians the ball on Swampscott’s 44, and a quick run by Keroack and a reverse by Blake Bernier put the ball at the 13-yard line. Keroack gained the edge on the next play and had one player to beat to the end zone, but Alexis Lemieux made a touchdown-saving tackle at the 11. The next two plays netted minus-4 yards, and on fourth down Slivie Cohen’s 25-yard field goal attempt was wide left.Swampscott picked up three clock-killing first downs on its next drive before turning the ball back to Marblehead with 2:46 left in the game. Two penalties set back the Magicians, who were forced to go for a first down on fourth-and-10 from their own 35. The exchange from the quarterback to the running back was mishandled, causing an immediate stoppage and turning the ball back over to the Big Blue.