LYNN – A week after taking a pounding at the hands of Everett, the English football team returned to Manning Field hoping to get things heading back in the right direction.Well, defensive coordinator Nick Markos’ unit made sure that happened. The Bulldogs surrendered only 187 yards of total offense and put up four stands inside the 20-yard line and had an interception return for a touchdown in a 21-0 win over Marblehead on a cold and windy night.”That’s all a credit to Nick,” English coach Gary Molea said about the defense’s performance. “It’s all him. He works hard for the kids and they’ve played well all year.”The Magicians had plenty of chances to make a game out of this one, but failed to come away with points despite moving the ball well all game long.”That’s a problem,” Marblehead coach Doug Chernovetz said when he was asked about his team’s struggles inside the 20. “We moved the ball well but couldn’t get in the end zone.”If there was any question about the Bulldogs’ state of mind coming into the game, they got answered on the first series. After Marblehead bobbled the opening kickoff and Taariq Allen was tackled at the seven, the tone was set.Byron Brown intercepted Ian McKinley’s first pass of the game and returned it 22 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead just 88 seconds into the game.”It started with not fielding the kickoff and two plays later we throw it up for an interception,” Chernovetz said. “We didn’t come to play in the first half.”Marblehead got a chance to get even when McKinley hit tight end Sam Perlow for a 21-yard gain to the English 29 on the next series. But there the drive stalled and McKinley was sacked on fourth down at the 31.English didn’t start auspiciously on offense either as Julio Arzu lost 18 yards on the first Bulldog play from scrimmage. But the defense was making life miserable for the Magicians.After a bad punt snap late in the quarter, the Magicians began from the English 19 and had a first and goal from the seven moments later. But three passes and a Mike Sahagian run later, English had the first of its four stands.Byron Brown then broke loose for a 56-yard gain to the Marblehead 21 on English’s third play of the next series. Two plays later, Justin Young found a wide-open Jason Gervason in the end zone for a 23-yard strike and 15-0 lead after Jermaine Patterson’s 2-point conversion.”To come out and play a first half like we did after the licking we got from Everett, the kids need to be commended for that,” Molea said.Marblehead was forced to punt on its next series and English started at its own 23 after the kick. A 13-yard completion from Jesse Fowler to Brown was followed by a 22-yard pass to Charlie Rucker before Brown took a swing pass and raced 32 yards to the end zone for a commanding 21-0 lead at halftime.But the Bulldog offense in the second half managed only two first downs on its own. Two others came via Marblehead penalties.Thankfully for English, the Bulldog defense didn’t take a break. Twice in the third quarter, Marblehead moved the ball inside the Bulldog 15, but couldn’t score.On the first series, a 21-yard pass to Perlow put the ball at the English 11 but a sack of Hayes Richardson killed the march at the 17. Moments later, a lateral was recovered by Perlow at the English five with 45 seconds left in the quarter.Nick Haller looked to have scored on the next snap, but Marblehead was flagged for holding. The penalty proved to be too much to overcome as Haller was stopped on fourth-and-goal from the five.”The kids responded with a big win,” Molea said. “But we need to stop making mistakes.”