Marblehead thumps Swampscott

Turkey Day came in September for Swampscott and Marblehead, but it was the Magicians getting the early jump on bragging rights.View Photo GallerySwampscott (1-3, 0-1) played a perfect first quarter with the chance to give their NEC/North rival Magicians their first loss of the season. However; in the second half, Marblehead’s power running attack – particularly that of Brooks Tyrrell (26 carries, 176 yards) wore the Big Blue down. And Marblehead pulled away for a 35-7 victory over Swampscott at Blocksidge Field on Saturday.Quarterback Matt Millett connected with wide receiver Brian Daly for two touchdowns; including one that gave the Magicians (4-0, 1-0) a 14-7 lead with just 5 seconds left in the second quarter.”The biggest factor was the conditioning,” said Swampscott head coach Steve Dembowski. “We got worn out.”Swampscott’s defense opened the game with an interception by defensive back Cam Frary as he returned it to Marblehead’s 25-yard line. The Big Blue were unable to cash in on the turnover when a fourth down pass from Brendan McDonald, who played the majority of the game with a hip pointer, fell to the grass inside the 10-yard line. Eventually, Swampscott gave the Magicians their first deficit of the season as they took a 7-0 advantage in the opening quarter on a 40-yard screen pass from McDonald to Michael Faia. Faia hauled in the short pass and raced down the right sideline past the pylon.”In the beginning of the game, they were maybe even more the aggressor, especially in the first quarter,” said Marblehead coach Jim Rudloff. “In the second half, it seemed like there were two different teams out there.”Marblehead evened the score at seven when they drove 71 yards on nine plays. The possession finished when Millett found Daly for a 29-yard pass into the left corner of the end zone.With 1:16 left until halftime, Swampscott attempted a fake punt from its own 42. The pass was incomplete and Marblehead took over. Millett made a well-thrown pass into Daly’s waiting arms for a 27-yard score.”They were sneaking their safeties up to take away Brooks’ runs,” said Rudloff. “They put three linebackers in the box so it was really seven against five that whole time.”Swampscott started the third quarter with its offense on the field. After a series of short passes from McDonald to tailback Desmond Wilhelmsen and receiver Ben Faulkner, the Big Blue had the ball inside the Magicians’ 30-yard line. Their drive was halted at Marblehead’s 27-yard line when a Marblehead defensive back broke up a pass on 4th-and-4.Two plays later, Tyrell broke loose for a 63-yard score to hand the Magicians a 21-7 lead as he drove through the middle of Swampscott’s defense.”We got a drive to start the third,” said Dembowski. “After that, it was a matter of running out the clock because we couldn’t tackle.”Despite the strong play early from Swampscott, they were physically out-matched by Marblehead.