Marblehead High School football fans know the season opener is a little more than a week away. On Friday night, Sept. 6, the football Magicians will take on the Bishop Fenwick Crusaders in Peabody to begin the 2024 campaign. They will then be going up against powerhouse King Philip in Norfolk the following Friday night, Sept. 13. Both games will begin at 7 p.m. They will finally return home to play on the new Piper Field turf against Shepherd Hill, another non-league foe, on Sept. 20, also at 7 p.m.
After one more non-league tilt at North Andover on Sept. 27, the Magicians will start the Northeastern Conference (NEC) Lynch Division season versus visiting Beverly on Oct. 10 at 7 p.m.
Last year, coach Jim Rudloff’s team lost its first four games against three of the four teams mentioned above. They ended up 5-5 overall in 2023, but were 4-0 in the NEC Lynch Division to take home the title.
What does it all mean this fall? Coach Rudloff gives his early thoughts on what lies ahead with plenty of detail on a team that might surprise many throughout the next three months.
Rudloff’s program is more popular than ever with 65 players showing up for the first day of practice on Aug. 16.
“We are very happy with the numbers,” he said.
Of course, it’s difficult to gauge the compete level until the scrimmage season gets underway against an actual opponent. They had their first one against Lynn English last weekend after press deadline, but from just the practices alone, Rudloff says everybody “looks great, but the scrimmages will give us a chance to evaluate the players better. Those results will probably change our depth chart at every position.”
The veteran coach added that it’s still very early in the process to determine who will start, but a couple of more scrimmages will answer that question more definitively. After the scrimmage against the Bulldogs, they took on West Springfield Aug. 27, before Billerica comes to town three days later on Friday at 5 p.m. The freshman squad will go up against the Indians prior to that exhibition. The rookie encounter will kick off at 3:30 p.m.
Another indication that they should be competitive once again is the simple fact that the players are willing to put the work in all year long.
“We had about 25 players participate in different 7-v-7 leagues over the summer, and we had 99% of the team at summer conditioning and strength training camps,” said Rudloff. “The work those kids put in should pay off for us as we move forward.”
Senior leadership is another good indication of teams that win, and the Magicians have that covered, once again. Rudloff is particularly pleased with the seniors that did not play all that much on the varsity last year when they were juniors. They include running back Yandel Garcia, offensive lineman Jadon Janock, wide receiver Kiernan Moss, linebacker Thomas Tedesse and Ben Zamanski.
“All of these players have been making tremendous strides during the first full-week of practice,” the coach said.
After playing the Thanksgiving Classic against Swampscott the night before Thanksgiving, the Magicians, with any luck, could be playing at Gillette Stadium the following week in the Division 3 Super Bowl game. But first things first, they are just concentrating on getting ready for the Bishop Fenwick Crusaders in the season opener on Sept. 6, as they will be looking for revenge after last year’s loss to the Peabody school.
