If attitude means anything, the Marblehead Football Magicians appear to be in midseason form.
Coming off of a summer in which they won 22 games in several 7-v-7 tournaments, including championships in Maine and at Merrimack College, Coach Jim Rudloff’s boys were eager to prematurely curtail their summer days off to begin practice last Friday morning (Aug. 15), at the ungodly hour of 6 a.m.
‘The guys had very high energy for the morning practice,” said quarterback Finn Gallup.
After early morning meetings with the coaches, the team was ready to take that first step onto Piper Field this year for a full two-hour practice with helmets but no pads.
Rudloff was pleased with the turnout of veteran players on hand for the first day of practice. He estimates 55 were there anxious to get going.
“We weren’t sure what we would get because we lost 27 last year to graduation,” said Rudloff.
The Magicians weren’t in pads for Day 1. It was all about learning assignments and alignments, according to Rudloff.
They also worked out on Saturday, but Sunday was a mandatory MIAA (Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association) day off. It was back to work on Monday, however, with another early morning 6 a.m. start. They will continue to workout early until school begins next week.
Gallup liked what he saw after Day 1.
“We went over our first installation of offensive plays as a team to go along with loads of specific positional work, while the overall practice was high tempo that went smoothly,” he said.
A key ingredient of any winning team centers on its camaraderie, and, according to Gallup, they are not lacking in that department.
“This is one of the closest-knit group of guys that I’ve ever been a part of,” he said. “We’ll need to maintain this high tempo throughout all of our practices, which should translate into (success once the regular season gets underway).”
The 2025 captains were announced late last week, and Finn is one of six players who will hold down that important leadership role this season. He is joined by Declan Gibson, John Schieffer, Owen Dulac, Breydan Callahan and Rylan Golden. Together, they are ready to lead their teammates back to the playoffs.
“We’re all so pumped up right now to be captains of this team,” said Finn.
The veteran Marblehead coach endorses these selections.
“All six players should be very proud of the fact that they were elected by their teammates, and that says a lot about who they are,” Rudloff said.
Gallup understands that the intensity level has to be present at all times to accommodate a regular season schedule that is right around the corner, because Labor Day comes early this year on Sept. 1.
The first preseason scrimmage is just days away at St. John’s Prep in Danvers on Saturday, Aug. 23, at 10 a.m. The Magicians will then come home to Piper Field to play host to West Springfield just three days later on Aug, 26 at 5 p.m. They will wrap up the exhibition slate against host Billerica on Aug. 29, also at 5 p.m.
That’s three scrimmages in less than a week, but the condensed schedule will get them ready for the regular season opener at Lynn’s Manning Field against non-league Lynn English on Friday night, Sept. 5, at 7:30 p.m.
The home opener will take place the following week against non-league Bishop Fenwick on Sept. 12 at 7 p.m.
