MARBLEHEAD — Despite the ugly weather at Piper Field, the Marblehead Magicians were able to throw for two touchdowns en route to a 24-0 win over the Revere Patriots on Friday night. Third-string Marblehead quarterback Dewey Millett completed 10-of-21 passes for 152 yards with two touchdowns in the win, and wide receiver Derek Marino was the main beneficiary with three catches for 47 yards and two touchdowns. Teddy Mayle had three catches for 72 yards.
“Dewey did a great job for us tonight, especially since he played tight end for us up until this point,” Marblehead coach Jim Rudloff said of Millett. “He did a really nice job for us, but with that, we were still pretty sloppy out there for the most part. We’re missing a lot of guys and the weather played some part I’m sure, but we’ve still got to be better.”
In addition to the play of the backups, one of the keys to this game was how well the teams held onto the ball, as the entire first half was played in a driving rain. Marblehead, although they did suffer two bobbled snaps, didn’t turn the ball over once.
“With all that rain, it’s definitely a positive that we didn’t cough up the ball at all tonight,” Rudloff said. “We fumbled the ball a couple times against Triton last week so we wanted to focus on ball security, and I guess all the practice in the rain and with wet balls is starting to pay off.”
Things started off well for the Magicians. After forcing Revere into a three-and-out on the opening drive, Marblehead benefited from a high snap that sailed over the punter’s head and through the back of the end zone for a safety to make it 2-0.
It took Marblehead a few drives to get going offensively, but once it did, it ran an 11-play, 63-yard drive that culminated in a 14-yard touchdown pass from Millett to Marino to make it 9-0 with just under eight minutes left in the half.
The Magicians forced three-and-outs on the next two Revere possessions, and they took advantage the second time. After a personal foul penalty for fair catch interference put Marblehead on the Revere 20 yard-line with 2:12 to go, the Magicians had plenty of time to go for another score. Millett threw three incomplete passes in a row before connecting with Marino on a 20-yard touchdown to make it 16-0 going into halftime.
The rain stopped as the second half was beginning, but it didn’t help either side. Both teams went scoreless in the third quarter before Marblehead was able to put up one more score early in the fourth. With the injuries continuing to pile up, it was third-string running back Eric Faia who was the star of the scoring drive. He opened the drive with a 20-yard run, then finished it off two plays later with an 11-yard touchdown run. After Millett converted the two-pointer, Marblehead held a 24-0 lead that they would hold for the rest of the game.
Now looking ahead, the Magicians (2-0) have to start building consistency with all of the replacement players in the lineup.
“It’s still going to be a while before we’re back to full strength, and they’re missing at so many key positions,” said Rudloff. “So it’s been tough to this point to build consistency because we’re moving so many kids around. But as we start to get guys back and the backups keep getting reps, we should be fine.”
Marblehead will take on Peabody next Friday night.