Marblehead Defeats Swampscott 35-7 — By Chris Thomsen

 
Although the day itself was out of the ordinary, the result of the first non-Thanksgiving Day matchup between Swampscott and Marblehead since 1912 was close to most expectations. 

Marblehead quarterback Matt Millett threw for three touchdown passes, two of them to Brian Daly, and Brooks Tyrrell ran for two touchdowns as the Magicians took down the Big Blue, 35-7, to improve to a perfect 4-0. 

Although Swampscott struck first with Brendan McDonald’s touchdown pass on a slip screen to Mike Faia with 2:37 remaining in the first quarter, the Big Blue never scored again, allowing 35 unanswered points to a potent Marblehead offense.

“They were in better shape than we were,” said disappointed Swampscott coach Steve Dembowski following his team’s loss. “They made us look bad. We didn’t play that bad defensively all year. They’re not running a lot of schemes, we knew what they were running.” 

Marblehead coach Jim Rudloff, however, was very supportive of the Big Blue defense.

Swampscott prevented Marblehead from scoring until the 2:31 mark in the second quarter, when Millett found Daly in the endzone for a 29 yard touchdown pass.  

“That’s a really good Swampscott team. They made it really difficult for us in the first half, and we were completely flummoxed about what to do for really a quarter and a half, until we figured things out,” said Rudloff. 

Once Marblehead figured things out, they never looked back. The momentum of the game clearly changed when Millett threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to Daly with three seconds remaining in the first half. Daly was able to beat both of Swampscott’s safeties on his game-changing play that put Marblehead up, 14-7, just before halftime. 

“We had plenty of chances to build on the lead and make plays, and we didn’t make them. With ten seconds left in the half, we give up center field and [Daly] runs a post in the middle of center field? Not good coaching and not a good play. We have a lot to work on,” said Dembowski. 

In the second half, two touchdowns by Tyrrell, the first one being a 64-yard run, and one more thrown by Millett to his brother, Will Millett, gave Marblehead a commanding lead and put the game out of reach for Swampscott. 

“I don’t think we’ll see anyone as good as them, I don’t think they’ll lose in the front seven. They’re going to have a nice run in Division 3, and hopefully represent the conference well. Jim’s built the program into a monster. That’s what it is,” said Dembowski. 

Marblehead’s gameplan on defense revolved around shutting down Swampscott running back Desmond Wilhelmsen.

After last week’s incredible performance against Winthrop, Wilhelmsen’s game was limited to minimal yardage by the Magicians. 

“Winthrop took a bullet for us. By getting a chance to see him run against Winthrop, it gave us as a coaching staff, and the kids, the opportunity to be scared,” said Rudloff. “He played such a great game against Winthrop that our kids were focused on making sure of shutting that down. And it helped. It made practice better, because we were more focused.” 

The Big Blue’s offensive strategy was also harmed due to an injury. Swampscott quarterback Brendan McDonald suffered an injury on the second play of the game.
Although he remained in the game, McDonald’s injury affected his game, according to Dembowski. 

“[McDonald] played with a lot of guts, and played the whole game, and that’s just about the only good thing we did today,” said Dembowski. “I give the kid a lot of credit for playing, because it was really the only choice we had. We just weren’t good enough.”  

It was truly a game of two halves. Although Swampscott’s superb defense in the first half kept the Big Blue in the game, the Magicians took the second half by force. 

“At the beginning of the game, [the Big Blue] were as physical, they were as aggressive as we were, and maybe even more of the aggressor, especially in the first quarter. But that did seem like it turned in the second half, it seemed like it was two different teams out there,” said Rudloff. 

Of course, Swampscott and Marblehead will meet once more this season: on Thanksgiving Day, 10 a.m., in Marblehead. And although some of the passion of the game will be lost, Coach Rudloff was very happy for the chance to play Swampscott while it was still warm outside. 

“I said to my coaches, I’ve never been here with short sleeves before,” said the smiling Rudloff. 

The Big Blue take on Lynn English next Friday at 5 P.M. at the Manning Bowl, while the Magicians face Gloucester at 7 P.M. the same day at Piper Field.

Photos by Robert Marra (see his gallery at his website).