SWAMPSCOTT – All season long, it has been the Marblehead offense that has generated the headlines. On Thursday morning, however, it was the Magicians? defense that came up with the big play when it was absolutely needed against Swampscott at Blocksidge Field.With the Big Blue knocking on the door for a potential game-tying touchdown, defensive back Garrett Keough picked off Swampscott’s Devin Conroy in the end zone with 15 seconds left to preserve a 21-14 Marblehead win and guarantee the second 10-win season in school history.?I knew what the coverage was and they motioned across the formation. I read (Conroy’s) eyes and was able to pick it off,” Keough said.The Big Blue (4-8) were more than game as they pushed Marblehead up and down the field for most of the second half but turned the ball over three times to take away good scoring chances.?We had our chances, obviously, but the turnovers were the difference in the game,” Swampscott coach Steve Dembowski said. “I’m proud of my guys? effort and preparation, but at the end of the day, you have to take care of the ball and we had one too many mistakes.”The Magicians, meanwhile, got another remarkable effort from running back Brooks Tyrrell in his final game in Marblehead colors. The Notre Dame lacrosse commit carried 32 times for 146 yards and the eventual game-winning touchdown early in the fourth quarter.After the game, however, Marblehead coach Jim Rudloff knew his team had gotten away with mistakes that could have proved costly.?We knew that it was going to be low scoring because we knew that we were going to keep giving the ball away like that,” joked Rudloff. “Swampscott did a great job. We had a couple of key mistakes that could have killed us but these seniors were unbelievable. We weren’t a very good football program not long ago. The credit goes to these kids for changing that more than anyone else.”Marblehead controlled the game for most of the first half in field conditions that resembled a quagmire. The only points of the opening half came on the Magicians? second drive of the game when Spencer Craig (5-12, 86 yards, 2 TDs) hit tight end Will Millett for a 7-yard touchdown on fourth-and-goal late in the first quarter.
The Marblehead defense stonewalled the Big Blue, holding them to 58 yards and two first downs, as the Magicians took a tenuous 7-0 lead into the locker room.?We had a decent thing going offensively. We were able to get yards in bunches but we had way too many false starts and holds,” Rudloff said.The Big Blue got the ball to start the second half and finally began to get going as Conroy, who had a very good game, marched them to the Marblehead 40 before turning the ball over on downs.Marblehead responded with a 7-play, 73-yard drive that took nearly four minutes. The big play came on a 33-yard aerial from Craig to Robert Hill that got the ball down to the Swampscott 15.Two plays later, Craig went back to the air and hit Millett for a 12-yard TD that gave the Magicians a 13-0 with 4:39 left in the third.In need of a response, the Big Blue got it as Conroy (179 total yards) and Jordan James did most of the work on a 55-yard march. The senior quarterback capped the drive with an 18-yard keeper on a zone read to cut the deficit to 13-7.?Devin played his butt off all day,” Dembowski said. “When our offense was sputtering in the first half, he was the only one who was calm and composed.”The Big Blue offense was right back on the field seconds later when Craig fumbled and James recovered at the Marblehead 20. But Swampscott couldn’t capitalize as Conroy mishandled the next snap and the Magicians recovered.Marblehead scored what appeared to be a game-clinching touchdown early in the fourth on a Tyrrell 7-yard touchdown run and 2-point conversion that made it 21-7 with 9:22 to go.The Marblehead defense then picked off Conroy on the next series and it looked like doomsday for the Big Blue. But a botched snap gave the ball back to Swampscott and Conroy converte