MHS Drops Season Opener 29-28 to Pentucket

With less than 30 seconds to play in regulation and a one-point lead over Pentucket Regional High School, a botched snap on a punt play forced a Marblehead safety and an eventual 29-28 defeat at the hands of the Sachems in the Magicians' season opener on Saturday afternoon in West Newbury.

In a game loaded with big-yardage plays and frustrating turnovers by both teams, including two interceptions collected by the Pentucket quarterback and defensive back Mike Doud, two late-game errors by the Magicians tipped the scales in favor of the Sachems.

The Magicians defense recovered a fumble on Pentucket's opening play from scrimmage, and converted the Sachems' error into the first touchdown of the game. A deep completion from senior quarterback Dan Colbert to senior tight end Matt Perlow set up a one-yard TD run by junior tailback Will Quigley for the 7-0 lead.

The score was the first of four touchdowns on the day for Quigley, who rushed for three and caught one despite battling muscle cramps for much of the second half.

Pentucket responded with a sustained drive that took them nearly 70 yards to the end zone, capped by a Paul Treado touchdown run.

The ensuing possession for Marblehead started slowly, but featured back-to-back gains of more than 20 yards by Quigley – one to end the first quarter and one to start the second. Quigley pounded through the line for his second score of the day as Marblehead took its second lead of the game, 14-7. During the drive, Magicians head coach Jim Rudloff elected not to punt when faced with a fourth-and-2 situation; a decision he would repeat twice on the afternoon.

Pentucket again marched the length of the field, racking up almost 75 yards on its next possession and knotting the game at 14 a piece on a 32-yard completion from Doud to senior Dan Cashman.

With 1:39 remaining in the first half, Colbert tossed his first of two interceptions of the day as Pentucket's Mike Doud reeled in the errant pass in Marblehead territory. Just four plays later, the Sachems had captured their first lead of the game at 21-14.

Colbert was again intercepted by Doud just one minute later on a deep pass to the Marblehead sideline. Despite Doud's impressive cross-field return after the catch, the time expired during the return and the half ended without consequence.

Marblehead smothered the Sachems attack to start the second half, sacking Doud and later forcing a misplayed handoff that allowed the Magicians to take over on the Pentucket 32-yard line. Faced with a fourth-and-10 situation, Rudloff again held the punting team off the field, yielding a Colbert screen pass to Quigley for a 32-yard score to tie the game at 21.

Two plays into the fourth quarter, Oliver Kim forced the Sachems third turnover of the contest, corralling a Mike Doud pass for his first interception of the season. After consecutive completions to Colton Dana over the middle to cross midfield, Will Quigley again exploded for a gain of more than 40 yards carrying the ball, leading to his fourth and final touchdown of the game.

With just over two minutes to play in regulation and a 28-21 lead, a miscommunication on the part of Marblehead's Dan Colbert and Oliver Kim resulted in a misplayed pitch. Pentucket recovered on the Marblehead 10-yard line with a chance to tie or take the lead.

On fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line, the Sachems ran a QB sneak to creep within one point of the Magicians 28-27. In a gutsy call by Sachems head coach Steve Hayden, Pentucket attempted a two-point conversion to take the lead, rather than settling for a tied score. The play was defended perfectly by Marblehead, and the Magicians preserved its lead.

Pentucket failed to recover an onside-kick attempt, and the Magicians appeared to have the game in hand with 1:47 left to play and a one-point lead.

After three unsuccessful running attempts in a scheme to knock time off the clock, Coach Rudloff signaled for the punting unit with 25 seconds on the game clock.

Needing only a clean punt and the ability to prevent a big play for a victory, the Magicians were unable to execute, misplaying the special teams snap and surrendering two points on a safety.

With one knee on the ground and time expiring, Pentucket escaped an exciting season opener with a 29-28 victory and a 1-0 record.

Marblehead returns to action after a shortened week of preparation at home against Ipswich on Thursday at 7  p.m.