Strong second-half surge lifts Salem past Marblehead

MARBLEHEAD ? For the first 20 minutes, the Marblehead High football team had its way with the Salem. Then the Witches had their turn.Chris Bozarjian scored a pair of rushing touchdowns and Brad Skeffington threw to Kyle Hardy for another as Salem (4-2) rallied to defeat the Magicians, 21-13, Friday night at soggy, windy Piper Field.Salem21Marblehead13 For Marblehead (2-4), Dan Colbert threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Matt Perlow and Will Quigley (35 carries-115 yards) scored on a 7-yard run to give the Magicians a 13-0 lead just 9:49 into the game. But Marblehead never got within 20 yards of the Salem end zone again.The Magicians suffered a similar loss earlier in the season to Classical after building a two-touchdown lead in the first half.”It’s frustrating,” Marblehead coach Jim Rudloff said. “We seem to reach a point where we stop playing, and I don’t know why. But I have to give Salem credit. They out-played us in the second half.”After suffering through a 2-9 season with much of the same personnel, Salem has managed twice as many wins already this season, before the start of Northeastern Conference divisional play next week.”I really have to give credit to the offensive line tonight,” Salem coach Scott Connolly said. They just stood up and played great in the second half. I’m proud of our O-line.”On a night the conditions dictated straight-ahead football and nothing fancy, Salem drove the ball more than 75 yards for its first two scores, and then got the key turnover in the game when Hardy intercepted a pass on the Marblehead 34-yard line and returned it to the six early in the fourth quarter.Bozarjian ran around left end on the next play for a touchdown, and Skeffington’s 2-point conversion run put the Witches on top by eight points with 9:46 left in the game.Marblehead’s ensuing drive stalled on downs at the Salem 30, and the Magicians got the ball back at their own 1-yard line after a punt with 2:51 remaining.Mixing runs by Quigley with passes from Colbert, Marblehead moved the ball to the Witches’ 22, but one throw from Colbert fell incomplete and the next was picked off by Hardy at the goal line to end the game.”This is always a great game that comes down to the end,” Connolly said. “It doesn’t matter what the records are, Marblehead and Salem is a great rivarly.”Marblehead’s dominance in the first quarter started when Perlow recovered a Salem fumble at the Witches’ 26 on the first play from scrimmage. Quigley carried the ball on five of the next six plays, and then Colbert found Prelow in the back of the end zone. The PAT kick was blocked and Magicians led, 6-0, just 3:48 iinto the game.The Magicians’ defense held Salem to one first down on its first four possessions, and in between added another touchdown by Quigley that capped off an 11-play 54-yard drive.The Witches finally started to move when they got the ball at their own 24 with 1:48 left in the first half. Skeffington found Antonio Reyes for 30 yard and then hit Joey Dihn for a 19-yard pickup to set up the game’s most controversial play.On second-and-25 from the Marblehead 35, the Witches were called for an illegal formation, and after the play the Magicians were flagged for a personal foul. The ball somehow ended up at Marblehead’s 15-yard line, and three plays later Skeffington found Hardy in the end zone with 4.7 seconds left in the half.According to Rudloff, the officials lost track of the line of scrimmage when the yard sticks were moved prematurely.”I never blame the officials for the outcome of a game,” Rudloff said. “They made a mistake. I make mistakes, the players make mistakes. One mistake doesn’t decide a football game.”Reyes’ PAT kick was good and Salem trailed, 13-7, at halftime. The Witches suddenly found their ground game in the third quarter, with Bozarjian and Skeffington alternating carries on an 11-play, 75-yard drive that ended with Bozarjian running off right tackle for a 4-yard touchdown.Reyes shanked the PAT kick, and the game was ti