Sports
Coach's Chat: MHS Football Game 1 Preview
In this first installment of a weekly piece for the fall, MHS football Head Coach Jim Rudloff talks about wrapping up pre-season and preparing for Pentucket.
While Hurricane Earl may have disappointed local storm enthusiasts with its anti-climatic landfall, it caused scheduling and preparation issues for many high school football teams around the North Shore, including Marblehead.
In preparation for the hurricane, the Magicians moved their scrimmage against Melrose from Saturday to Friday, costing the team valuable practice time, while limiting evaluations made by the coaching staff.
"We lost a full day of special teams practice on Friday because of the schedule change, and then we had to shorten our scrimmage from a normal game simulation to a controlled offense/defense style," said second-year coach Jim Rudloff. "We didn't get a chance to break down some of the deciding factors that determine movement on the depth chart."
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As a result, the final week of preparation for the regular season was all the more important -- especially when considering the challenge facing the Magicians when they travel to Pentucket Regional this coming Saturday.
"[Pentucket] are a bigger, faster team than they were last year, with big backs and a quarterback that has excellent balance in managing the game, running with the ball and throwing," said Rudloff
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The Magicians have to be prepared to face an aggressive offense that can be just as effective in running and short-yardage completion schemes as it can utilizing its deep-threat weapons.
"Traditionally, teams that run the Wing-T offense run the ball 75% of the time, even as much as 80-85%, and try to catch you with an over-the-top pass when you begin to cheat forward for the run," explained Rudloff. "With the receivers and the talented quarterback they've got, we could see them run a much more balanced attack."
With the possibility of Pentucket relying on its big-play potential through the air, Marblehead's secondary will have to be at its best.
"We've got two veteran defensive backs who played in the Super Bowl last year, with their experience and speed we can feel comfortable with them back there," said Rudloff. "But I've been reminding them all week that they can't forget their assignments or get caught watching the backfield, because this team will beat us deep if they do."
The Magicians and Sachems kick off the 2010 season Saturday, Sept. 11 at 1 p.m. at Pentucket Regional High School
