DANVERS – Junior kicker Max Leete’s game-winning field goal was the difference in the Danvers football team’s 31-28 win over Marblehead Friday at Dr. Deering Stadium.
Marblehead had mounted a furious comeback, trailing 21-0 before rallying to knot things up at 28-28. A slow start and a bad snap on a late punt cost Marblehead the ballgame. Leete had two chances to kick the winner, and he was thrilled he got a second chance after his first attempt, with four seconds left, went wide right. The Magicians were flagged for roughing the kicker, so Leete took advantage of another opportunity, and this one was good, keeping Danvers unbeaten.
“I felt like my universe came down when I missed that kick, then I got another chance and made it. I was so happy for my brothers on the team, my family in the stands, and to win it for the seniors on Senior Night was great,” Leete said.
The Magicians allowed three touchdowns to Richard Canova, before they got on the board late in the second quarter, on a touchdown from Will Twadell.
It was a different Marblehead team that arrived in the second half, scoring 1:41 into the third quarter when A. J. Russo pulled down a Josh Robertson pass to make the score 21-14.
Canova scored his fourth touchdown of the game seven minutes after the Russo score, to make it a 28-14 Falcons advantage. The Magicians kept coming at Danvers, a complete turnaround from the first half. Russo grabbed a 19-yard pass from Robertson to make it 28-21, and Tim Cronin scored on the first play of the fourth quarter to tie things up. The Cronin score was set up by a Max Podgur interception at the Magicians’ 24-yard line.
Danvers coach Ryan Nolan knew Marblehead could come back from a 21-point deficit, and that’s exactly what the visitors did.
“We got a great game from our offensive line and (Richard) Canova, he’s a powerful, dynamic kid. We knew Marblehead wasn’t going to quit, they’re a super team, our kids battled and we came out on top. I’m really proud of my guys,” Nolan said. “We’ve been on the other end of games like this, so it was great to win this one.”
Marblehead coach Jim Rudloff said he’s a bit perplexed why his team, for the fourth straight week, had a bad first quarter, and came back strong later in the game.
“We make mistakes, we correct the mistakes in practice then we go out and make the mistakes in the game, it’s unacceptable how we’ve been playing in the first quarter,” Rudloff said. “I liked how we battled back. Credit to Danvers, they’re a great team, but we have to figure out a way to play better early in the game.”
The Magicians wrap the regular season at 5-2 and await Sunday’s Division 4 North playoff pairings.
