Flaherty, Panthers pull away, clinch title

BEVERLY – Marblehead football coach Jim Rudloff and his staff understood what could occur Saturday afternoon at a jammed Hurd Stadium. Anything less than absolute perfection would result in Beverly claiming the Northeastern Conference/Cape Ann League Tier 2 championship and a postseason playoff berth.In retrospect, even perfection may not have been enough.Marblehead executed its game plan to control clock and tempo, giving as good as it got throughout a first half that ended with the teams tied, 7-7. As it turned out, the Magicians only stemmed the tide; the deluge came in the second half, triggered by Brendan Flaherty’s half-opening 52-yard kickoff return, as the unbeaten Panthers (10-0, 4-0) rolled to a 35-14 title-clinching win.Flaherty finished with 199 yards rushing and two TDs – eclipsing 1,000 yards for the season – en route to 303 all-purpose yards on 24 total touches. The Panthers piled up 425 net offensive yards and 19 first downs – this despite Marblehead (8-2, 2-2) controlling the ball for nearly 15 minutes in the first half and close to 26 minutes for the game.”I’m proud of our guys for the perseverance; they didn’t panic at halftime. We made some adjustments and they rose up and took it,” said Panthers coach Dan Bauer, whose senior-laden club faces Middlesex League Freedom Division champion Burlington in the Division 2A semifinals. “Our offensive line came off the ball hard in the second half and our defensive line played a tremendous game.”Of Flaherty, he said: “Big players make big plays in big games.””The bottom line is that’s a better football team than we are,” said Rudloff. “It doesn’t matter what you do – eventually they’re going to get you because of their talent. I’m very proud of our guys because they did a great job. As a staff, we can’t ask for any more than our guys gave us. That’s just a great team – you make a mistake and they bite you. We had no answer for their weapons.”Marblehead’s game-opening 62-yard drive consumed more than seven and one-half minutes but died at the Beverly 15. The Panthers countered with a 12-play, 85-yard scoring march that included quarterback Dave Rollins’ 23-yard third-down connection with Isiah White and Kenny Pierce’s five-yard pick-up to the Marblehead 30 on fourth-and-two. Three plays later Dom Abate made a nice snag of Rollins’ 24-yard delivery while backpedaling deep in the end zone as the back judge bailed out to avoid a collision. Harry Brown’s PAT made it 7-0 with 9:28 left in the half.The Magicians responded by covering 62 yards in 10 plays. On fourth-and-five from the Panthers’ 31, Ian Maag’s perfectly-placed back shoulder fade found a well-covered Dylan Cressy in the front left corner of the end zone for the score. Joe Newell’s PAT tied it at 7-all with 4:53 to go in the half.The game’s complexion changed quickly in the second half, started by Flaherty’s kickoff return to the Marblehead 25. He blasted in from six yards and Brown’s kick gave the Panthers the lead for good, 14-7.Following a three-and-out, Flaherty burst through the right side of the Marblehead defense and outraced the pursuit to the pylon for a 44-yard score and 21-7 lead midway through the third quarter.The Magicians’ Brooks Tyrrell returned the ensuing kickoff 62 yards to the Beverly 25 and Marblehead pushed to the five. However, Mike Dooling dropped Tyrrell for a two-yard loss on third down and a pack of Panthers smothered Maag for another two-yard loss on fourth down.Flaherty’s 52-yard dash to the Marblehead 22 highlighted the ensuing 91-yard knockout drive capped by White’s 10-yard TD run for a 28-7 lead with 10:37 left.Maag completed five passes for 55 yards – including a 34-yarder to Brian Daly – and scored from a yard out to bring Marblehead to within 28-14 with 6:33 left. The Panthers’ Pierce closed the scoring from 34 yards in the final minute.