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By Michael Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
The Walpole High football team traveled to Marblehead on Friday evening to kick off their 2016 season in a non-conference match.
The Rebels defense, which was led by senior defensive tackle Matt Rando and senior middle linebacker Zach Conrad, stepped up to the challenge and applied pressure on Magician quarterback, Drew Gally, throughout the contest.
The pressure applied by Walpole’s front seven led to a Mark Nicholson interception midway through the second quarter and sacks by Patrick Kearns and Conrad. However, the stout defensive play by the Rebels was not enough, as Marblehead shut out Walpole 27-0 in the season opener.
Tim Hayes (four receptions, 33 yards) led the Rebels in receiving, while Ferry Armand (three receptions-21 yards, 16 carries-33 yards) anchored the Walpole rushing attack.
In terms of field position, the Rebels and Magicians were dead even, with both teams being able to pin one another back deep into their own territory at multiple points throughout the game. The Walpole special teams unit, which was led by gunner Luke Wassel, was able to turn a couple of tough offensive series into positives on multiple occasions by pinning Marblehead up along their own goal line.
However, Marblehead was eventually able to break free of the bad field position due to a strong rushing attack. Both times the Magicians got pinned back by Rebel special teams, Marblehead converted the bad field position into long scoring drives that ate up a bunch of clock, which ended up being a major difference in the game.
Marblehead also took advantage of turnovers, as they were able to strip-sack Rebel quarterback Charlie Auditore once and intercept him once as well. Both of the turnovers resulted in scoring drives for the Magicians, while the Rebels were unable to convert their turnovers into any type of points.
Whenever you open up a season on the road against an opponent you are unfamiliar with, it is going to be a huge challenge. The 2016 Rebels are a very young team with much to look forward to this season, especially within the Bay State Conference. The Rebels will look to crack the win column when they take on Needham in their home opener on Friday night.
