Football: Marblehead-Danvers, Classical-Gloucester among big games

It will be a battle of the Northeastern Conference?s football champions from a year ago on Friday night (7) at Piper Field as Marblehead, title holder in the NEC North, visits NEC South champ Danvers in one of the more eagerly anticipated games on the opening weekend of the 2014 season.A year ago, Marblehead took the Falcons to the woodshed as it led 22-0 at halftime and cruised to a 44-0 victory at Dr. Deering Stadium.Marblehead coach Jim Rudloff was quick to acknowledge that he expects this meeting to be nothing like the one from a year ago.?It is going to be a tough game for us,” Rudloff said. “They have some very good athletes that might be a little better all-around than us. The real challenge for us is going to be getting our younger players game-ready as quick as possible. On paper, they might be a little better than us right now. It?s a good challenge for us.”There will be plenty of stars on the field for both sides, headlined by Marblehead?s Brooks Tyrrell and Danvers? Nick Andreas.Tyrrell, who is on his way to Notre Dame to play lacrosse, is one of the conference?s top returning rushers after rushing for 1,932 yards as the Magicians nearly upended eventual Super Bowl champion Tewksbury in the Division 3 Northeast championship game.?It?s great to have Brooks back,” Rudloff said. “I think that everyone would love to have someone like that on their team but the downside of that is that the team can rely on that a little too much. Football is the ultimate team game and we have a couple of good players. But I think they have a really good team also.”The Marblehead defense will have its hands full trying to contain Andreas, a senior who threw for over 1,000 yards in a Wing-T attack last season and could put up even bigger numbers as new coach Shawn Theriault has installed a wide-open spread attack.Facing Andreas is nothing new for Rudloff and his team as they went up against him as a freshman at Ipswich and now for the third time as a starter at Danvers. But it?s not a one-man band for the Falcons as players like Chris Behen return at running back to provide help in the backfield and lead the new offense.?When you play against a spread team, it measures how you defend space,” Rudloff said. “They play a hurry-up style, so we have to make sure that we?re in shape and getting our signals in quickly on defense.”Gloucester at ClassicalAt Manning Field in Lynn (7), two of the NEC?s heavyweights get together in the season opener. Last season, the Rams were the guests as Gloucester christened a newly-renovated Newell Stadium with a 15-14 victory that wasn?t decided until a turnover on downs inside the final minute of play.Both teams enter the game with a little bit of unknowns as each team lost many of its top players from a year ago to graduation.Swampscott at TritonAt Byfield (7), it?s an inter-sectional battle as the Big Blue hit the road to open their season. It will be the beginning of the Devin Conroy era at Swampscott as he takes over the controls of Swampscott?s spread offense from Brendan MacDonald.The Big Blue will face a near mirror image on the other side of the field as the Vikings, led by longtime coach Pat Sheehan, also run the spread and will also be looking to replace a star at quarterback in Bradley Whitman. Justin Cashman, who got some snaps at running back last season, has been tabbed by Sheehan to call the signals.Arlington at PeabodyAt Coley Lee Field (7), the Tanners get to christen a newly renovated field as they will play under the lights on a newly installed FieldTurf surface against their former rivals from the Greater Boston League.The Tanners, who finished 3-8 in coach Mark Bettencourt?s first season, are primed to make some noise in the NEC North as they return many of their starters from a year ago. Leading the way is senior quarterback Mike Raymond, who will be joined in the backfield by standout sophomore Doug Santos and senior tailback Ryan Collins.