RallyNorth.net

Fri, Sep 07, 2007 07:00 PM @ Ipswich

Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Final
Marblehead	7	7	6	7	27
Ipswich	6	0	0	0	6

Marblehead football stops Ipswich in season opener

Friday, September, 07 By Matt Jenkins
Staff writer

IPSWICH | There's no bigger game than the next one.

The excitement in the Marblehead High football team's postgame huddle was a great example of that cliche often used by coaches as a motivational tool. And the silent eyes focused on one barking voice in the Ipswich circle was an even better one.

Marblehead had plenty to celebrate after a 27-6 win over Ipswich last night. It may not have been a Super Bowl victory, but it was clear the Magicians were intent on starting the season on a positive note.

An all-out, four-quarter effort was enough to give Marblehead its first opening day win since a 17-7 triumph over North Shore Tech in 2003.

Ipswich, meanwhile, was beginning the season in the shadow of a Division 3B Super Bowl run from a year ago with nearly every starter lost to graduation. The Tigers face a season in which every game will bring new experiences. Ipswich can't afford to look beyond its next opponent.

"This kids have worked hard in the offseason. I heard a lot (last night) from the kids saying, 'This is why we get up at 6 a.m.,'" Marblehead coach Doug Chernovetz said. "This is a former Super Bowl champ we were playing, so our guys were jacked for it. They all worked hard, and they deserve that one."

Ipswich put up a fight and never lost spirit, but the Tigers seemed overmatched in the second half.

"It was frustrating to see that when they played with confidence they were doing all right. Then we'd lose that confidence, and that's one of those experience things. Experience is going to be a big word I'll be saying all year, but that's when (the lack of experience) rears its ugly head," Ipswich coach Ted Flaherty said. "You really don't have a lot of information to fall back on when these things happen, so you play not to make a mistake and the other team smells blood."

Ipswich looked like the inexperienced team it is on the first play of the game. The Tigers fumbled on the first snap, and Marblehead's sophomore defensive end Evan Comeau scooped up the loose ball and went 17 yards for the opening score.

That single play could have set a disastrous tone for the Tigers, but two possessions later they answered.

"They didn't deflate after that so I was pretty happy," Flaherty said. "Then, they got a little momentum and we're not the type of team that can play on our heels and athletically make plays. We're just too young."

Chernovetz had his own worries when Ipswich cut the Magicians' lead to 7-6 on Chad Leonard's 7-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Zack Gorrell late in the first quarter.

"They come right back and punch one right back in and you think, 'Are we getting too complacent?,'" Chernovetz said. "We've never really come in and had a lead like that. We still are learning how to maintain a lead. That was a little nerve-wracking, but they played great defense. We didn't turn the ball over, so we were able to maintain ball control."

Marblehead built the lead to 14-6 on a pretty 28-yard connection from Ian McKinley to Taariq Allen late in the first half, and pushed it to 20-6 on Nick Haller's 11-yard touchdown run on the first possession of the second half.

Falling behind by two scores seemed to deflate the Tigers just a bit. Both of the next two possessions ended in an interception.

"They were getting off our blocks and running through our tackles," Flaherty said. "In the second half we really got totally outplayed."

McKinley finished the scoring by feathering a pass over the shoulder of fullback Matt O'Neil from 11 yards out.

McKinley was sharp at quarterback, connecting on 7-of-11 passes for 135 yards, while Michael Sahagian ran for 92 yards on 18 carries to lead the Magicians.

"We've got some kids that play tough, and it was nice to get that first one," Chernovetz said.