Marblehead’s seniors were in elementary school the last time they witnessed their town lose to Swampscott on Thanksgiving. Every year, more and more pressure builds on the senior class to keep the streak alive.
As for the Class of 2025, it did its job.
“I don’t even think about that. I’m very suspicious, so I don’t even like to mention that. We’ve been lucky,” said Marblehead coach Jim Rudloff. “We’ve had great kids over the last however many years. Like this year, we had 27 seniors. I would have had to really screw things up to lose with 27 seniors. We had a chance to get them all out there tonight, which was great. All of the seniors played a great game.”
Simply put, having 27 seniors means they’re relied upon. Like when there was a teachers’ strike and both Rudloff and assistant coach Mike Giardi weren’t allowed to coach.
Junior quarterback Finn Gallup, who threw for 125 yards and two touchdown passes Wednesday night, praised the senior group for its leadership throughout that process.
“Honestly, I couldn’t be happier with this team. We fought through everything this year and it all paid off,” Gallup said. “These seniors led us through everything we had to go through with the strike – nothing much better than this.”
Rudloff spoke about how much he enjoys the rivalry.
“We were waiting for this all year along with making the playoffs and other things. It’s such a great rivalry with Swampscott, and this is something that builds every year,” he said. “It’s very easy to coach this week because every kid is up for this game.”
To beat Swampscott is one thing. To do it as a senior inside of Fenway Park is the ultimate grand slam.
“I’m really proud of the game I was a part of tonight,” said senior captain and running back Brady Selvais. “I was proud of the family that Marblehead can create and what we have. I’m proud of the way we got ready for Swampscott and prepared for Swampscott. There’s just a different kind of energy when Marblehead prepares for this team. They’re a good team and are well-coached, and they had a great season so far. We just came out with a bunch of energy and there’s nothing like the family on this team.”
And if these seniors come back to watch the Red Sox at Fenway one day, they’ll all have memories of Wednesday night against Swampscott.
