Marblehead prevails over North Reading

NORTH READING — Perfect execution in all three facets of the game is hard to come by. Fortunately, Marblehead was able to get away with a couple mistakes and still come away with a victory.

Fifth-seeded Marblehead had some trouble implementing their gameplan in the second half, but found a way to escape No. 4 North Reading on the road, 27-7, last night in the Division 4 North quarterfinals.

“Credit to North Reading, they had a great year,” said Marblehead coach Jim Rudloff. “I just felt like tonight, our kids did so many things to step on our own toes.”

The Magicians fumbled the ball away early in the third, but were able to force a turnover on downs to keep North Reading (6-2) off the board through three. A botched punt led to the Hornets’ only score of the contest as Brian Heffernan connected with Matt Luciano for a 19-yard score to cut the deficit to 27-7 with 7:38 remaining.

Marblehead (6-2) finished off the game by getting four first downs on the ensuing drive to run out the clock.

In the first half, Marblehead’s offense came ready to play as it ran down the field 83 yards on 13 plays capped by a six-yard TD run for senior captain Tim Cronin to put the Magicians in front 7-0.

Cronin also caught a 7-yard pass from Josh Robertson to find paydirt three plays after a Cameron Janock interception as the defense allowed just 89 total yards from scrimmage in the first half compared to 166 for the Magicians.

“(Our team) did a great job on creating the turnovers and then capitalizing on them,” Rudloff said. “We got to be happy about that and the momentum early on in the game was in our favor. Then we sputtered to end the first half and sputtered again to begin the second half.”

Janock recovered a touched punt with less than 30 seconds remaining in the first half to setup a 12-yard rushing score for Robertson to make it a 21-0 advantage for Marblehead at the half.

Robertson added a 23-yard strike to tight end AJ Russo in the third to build a 27-0 lead with 2:59 left in the quarter. He finished 8-of-12 for 103 yards through the air and 41 yards on the ground.

Next up, the Magicians will face top-seeded Melrose.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/33aZ9SG