MARBLEHEAD – Dan Devine would be proud of what Marblehead and coach Jim Rudloff pulled off following warm-ups on Thursday at Piper Field.The Magicians came out in their all black home uniforms for the warm-ups, but when they retreated to the gymnasium to wait for the kickoff, there was a little surprise waiting for them, something Rudloff had been cooking up since August.”We really wanted to do something special for these kids,” Rudloff said. “We had the idea back in August and we figured it was the right time to do it.”The something special Rudloff had in store was something right out of the legend of Notre Dame football when the Fighting Irish donned all green jerseys against USC back in the 1970’s and steamrolled the Trojans.Well, once the team returned to the gymnasium, Rudloff called his captains into the coaches office and revealed what he had up his sleeve: Red jerseys.”The kids had no idea,” Rudloff said. “We knew on Oct.10 that this was going to be close and our supplier literally delivered the uniforms on Tuesday. So we took the captains in and showed them and the kids went nuts.”The Magicians then carried that emotion out on to the field where they put together one of their best performances of the year in holding Swampscott to seven points and 208 yards of total offense.”Our defense was unbelievable,” Rudloff said. “We have like 11-to-15 of the smartest kids I’ve ever coached and they’ve taken what they’ve learned and turned it into knowing what to do out there.”The red jerseys were fitting for a team that was discounted when the season began and even more so after a cataclysmic collapse against Newburyport on home soil. But the Magicians righted the ship and put together a five game win streak at the most opportune of times.”That Newburyport loss was by far the worst feeling I’ve had,” said senior Will Quigley, who rushed for 150 yards a nd two touchdowns. “But I also think it was the best thing that could have happened to us. It helped get us where we are now.”Two years ago, the Magicians were in the Super Bowl at Gillette Stadium. Last year, they slid to a 5-6 season that was capped by a 1-point loss to the Big Blue. Now, they are back in the playoffs as an improbable champion of the NEC/CAL Tier 2 group.”These kids are just amazing,” Rudloff said. “The thing about this group is they never stopped believing they could do this.”UOne of the unsung heroes on Thursday for the Magicians was quarterback Ian Maag.Maag was behind Gus Percy on the depth chart when the year began, but when Percy went down to injury, the junior stepped in and engineered a spectacular season.”Ian takes a pounding back there and he works very hard,” Rudloff said. “But he carried us through this run in the league.”