The Marblehead High Football Magicians were off to Berwick, Maine, once again to play in another 7-on-7 tournament at Marshwood High School.
With a more veteran group last summer, the Magicians came home with the championship. But the current stable of young players also enjoyed success in the Pine Tree State, only to lose, however, to Cambridge’s Buckingham Browne & Nichols prep school in the finals. They finished up with a 6-1 record.
The Magicians took on the Londonderry, New Hampshire, High School A-team in the Maine opener. It was a game that went down to the wire, before they defeated their Granite State counterparts by two points, 20-18. They then faced three Maine schools — Noble (20-6), Bonny Eagle (20-6) and York (24-12) – and took care of all of them to complete pool play.
Heading into the next round, they went up against the other Londonderry team in this tournament, winning pretty much going away, 27-12, setting the stage for the semifinal triumph over Chelmsford, 19-6, to propel them to the championship game against aforementioned BB&N.
The Magicians were definitely confident for a repeat of last year’s championship heroics. “Our goal coming into this tournament was to win it again,” said senior Pete Rhodes. “But there are a lot of new kids on our team this year, who are still trying to learn the playbook, and right now that’s more important than winning every 7-on-7.”
Nonetheless, it was still a close final that ended up going BB&N’s way to the tune of 15-12.
While it is fun playing in these organized summer scrimmages, the real work to get ready for the season lies within the daily grind. “We have morning workouts Monday through Thursday beginning at 6 a.m.,” said Rhodes. “We have conditioning drills on the field, before lifting weights in the weightroom. All of this helps us get ready for the preseason (in late August) and ultimately the regular season.”
Tim Wales, Rhodes’ classmate and teammate, thought they did “phenomenal” in Maine, before losing to “a very good BB&N team.”
Wales was impressed by quarterback Marcus Waitekus, along with the “usual standouts” like Madden Lyons, Trent Brown and James Machado.
“The younger players also stepped up nicely, when we needed a break,” added Wales, who also mentioned that seniors Owen Coyne, Armany Villar and Vidal Clarke among others have been “amazing” on and off the gridiron, as well.
The Magicians have since returned home to resume daily workouts, while getting ready for more 7-on-7s against more familiar North Shore foes every Sunday at Piper until the first day of practice with head coach Jim Rudloff and his staff on Aug. 24.
