Marblehead powers past Wilmington to start tourney

MARBLEHEAD ? When Marblehead football coach Jim Rudloff looked out his window the first thing Friday morning and saw wet weather, he got annoyed. His mood brightened by the end of the night.Brooks Tyrrell scored two rushing touchdowns while Matt Millett ran for one and threw for another as the Magicians smashed Wilmington, 34-7, Friday night, in a Division 3 Northeast first round tournament game at Piper Field.Second-seeded Marblehead (7-1) moves on to face No. 6 Masconomet (a 30-0 winner over Danvers) next Friday in the sectional semifinal.Friday’s game featured a contrast between the Magicians’ fast-paced spread offense and the Wildcats’ deliberate ball-control attack. When Friday dawned gloomy, wet and windy, Rudloff figured the conditions might impact his team more.?I thought the football gods were against me,” he said. “It was perfect weather for the type of offense they run.”Wilmington hung around for two quarters, trailing by only a touchdown at halftime, but the Magicians scored twice about a minute apart midway through the third quarter to put the game away.On Marblehead’s first series of the second half, Tyrrell scored his second touchdown to cap off a 61-yard drive to give the Magicians a 21-7 lead. On Wilmington’s second play in its ensuing series, linebacker Liam Gillis pounced on a fumble at the Wildcats’ 25-yard line, and Millett took the ball into the end zone on the next play to push the lead to 20 points with 4:23 left in the third quarter.A 62-yard throw from Millett to Tyrrell set up Ben Anderson’s 6-yard touchdown run for the final points of the game less than two minutes into the fourth quarter. Tyrrell added 113 rushing yards on 21 carries to give him 177 yards from scrimmage for the game.Marblehead scored easily on its opening possession of the game, driving 80 yards in less than a minute. Millett hooked up with Brian Daly from 31 yards for the touchdown. The Magicians added another touchdown early in the second quarter when a 26-yard throw from Millett to Jeremy Gillis on 4th-and-11 from Wilmington’s 36-yard line set up a 1-yard plunge by Tyrrell three plays later.Wilmington dominated the rest of the second quarter, scoring on a 43-yard throw from James O’Regan to Ryan Colagnelo with 43 seconds left. The Wildcats recovered a muff on the ensuing kickoff, but O’Regan missed a 42-yard field goal attempt on the final play of the half.