Magicians make early woes disappear
MARBLEHEAD 35 SWAMPSCOTT 17
MARBLEHEAD — It took quarterback Andy Clough and the rest of the Magicians a little while to get rolling against Swampscott, and early in the first half it looked like the Big Blue had a chance to earn their first win against Marblehead in years.
But a huge second quarter got the Magicians back on track and restored the status quo as they scored 28 unanswered points en route to a 35-17 victory at home at Sgt. Christopher Piper Field, Marblehead’s fifth straight Thanksgiving win over Swampscott.
A 49-yard bomb from Clough to Derek Marino put Marblehead in the red zone and started the Magicians’ rally after Swampscott raced out to a 10-0 first quarter lead. Three plays later, Clough found tight end Dewey Millett over the middle to get Marblehead (10-1) on the board with a 3-yard touchdown
late in the first quarter.
After the Magicians defense forced the first of four consecutive Swampscott punts, Clough got a big block from running back Tim Cronin and turned the corner down the right sideline for a 75-yard touchdown dash. Another deep ball from Clough to Marino (three catches, 110 yards) on the next drive led to a Cronin touchdown plunge from a yard out.
“He’s a physical specimen,” Magicians coach Jim Rudloff said of 6-foot-7 Clough, who finished with 300 total yards and three touchdowns. “There’s very little he can’t do.”
For the final act of its firsthalf onslaught, Marblehead dialed up some trickery. Clough threw a lateral to Millett in the left flat, and Millett, a converted quarterback, hit Seamus Keaney in stride for a 32-yard score and the Magicians took a 28-10 lead into halftime.
Swampscott (7-4) got within 28-17 after quarterback Colin Frary hit Isaiah Bascon (five catches, 106 yards, TD) for a 58-yard score on the first play of the third quarter, but Clough led Marblehead down the field on the next drive and ran it in from 11 yards as the Magicians quickly responded.
A 53-yard touchdown pass from Frary (23-of-31, 246 yards, two TDs) to Emanuel Teshowa (six catches, 63 yards, TD) helped Swampscott jump out to a 10-0 first quarter lead.
It was an uplifting ending to a 10-win season for the Magicians and a bitter pill to swallow for Big Blue coach Bobby Serino and his departing seniors.
“Life goes on, but these guys are going to be sorely, sorely missed,” an emotional Serino said. “These guys started my career as a head coach, and … it’s gonna hurt.”