Both the Marblehead and the Swampscott football teams came to their traditional Thanksgiving Day clash chips on their shoulders, having seen their dreams of repeating as Super Bowl champions dashed earlier this month.
But only the Magicians were able to take out their frustrations once play started, as they walloped Swampscott, 48-7, Thursday morning at Piper Field.
The Magicians got three touchdowns from junior Chris Dewitt, one on a pass from quarterback Miles O’Neill, one on a 37-yard interception return and the final one another defensive gem late in the fourth quarter, when Dewitt pounced on a Big Blue fumble in the end zone to put an exclamation point on an easy win.
“To close the season with a win like that is great for the team, great for the seniors,” Dewitt said. “We all worked really hard to get to this point. The defense got at it today; the offense got at it today; everybody was doing their part. It was great, a great win. It is always good to beat Swampscott.”
O’Neill opened the scoring in the first on a 4-yard run, and he hit Shane Keough and Zander Danforth for two more scores.
It was a very good day on both sides of the ball, said Magicians coach Jim Rudloff.
“I think the kids were ready to play today,” Rudloff said. “We came out with good energy. Sometimes, we come out overly so, overly aggressive, but we did very well today. We got things going right away.”
The Big Blue, who lost starting quarterback Zack Ryan on the Dewitt pick-six, got an 8-yard touchdown pass from freshman Jack Spear to Elijah Burns in the third quarter, but it was too little, too late, as the Magicians were still up big, 41-7.
Rudloff said that beating Swampscott any time is nice, but this one certainly helped after his team’s playoff loss to Milton.
“The way this game went certainly takes a little of the sting out of the Milton game,” Rudloff said. “We went out with a win. It doesn’t erase the Milton game, but it helps. It’s a good way for this season to end, especially for the seniors, who have been part of something pretty special here.”
Senior running back Eddie Johns was glad his team responded after a very frustrating playoff loss to Milton.
“It was awesome to go out and kill those guys, always good,” Johns said. “We had two weeks to prepare, and we made the most of it, watching a ton of film to get ready, and it paid off.”
Rudloff said that three of his big guns, Danforth with a broken collarbone, Connor Cronin with a torn meniscus and Shane Keough with a torn ACL, competed hard on every play in every game despite their injuries, and are due for some medical attention in the near future.
