Marques (4 TDs), Fairhaven roll
FOXBOROUGH — Justin Marques will be carrying the Agganis Trophy back to Fairhaven.
The junior running back rushed for 228 yards and four touchdowns on 46 carries, setting a state Super Bowl record for rushing attempts, leading the eighth-seeded Blue Devils to the MIAA Division 6 Super Bowl with a 26-22 victory over third-seeded Salem on Thursday evening at Gillette Stadium.
“I think I gave it to him almost every time tonight, and I probably should have given it to him more,” said Fairhaven coach Derek Almeida, who led Falmouth to a Super Bowl in 2016. “He just runs the ball so hard. He was mad at me when we quarterback sneaked [on a failed fourth-down attempt in the fourth quarter] down on the goal line, and he’s probably right.
“I probably should have [given it to him], and it almost cost us the football game.”
Salem took over at its own 6-yard line, trailing 19-15, but Richie Senna forced a fumble and Colby Correia recovered at the Salem 36. Eight plays later — six of them handoffs to Marques — and the Blue Devils were back in the end zone, leading 26-15 with 3:48 left.
Using the triple option, the Blue Devils (12-1) kept the ball on the ground for 71 of its 73 plays, piling up 371 rushing yards behind an offensive line that was constructed from scratch during the offseason.
In the era of pass-oriented spread offenses, there is still a segment of the team that enjoys running the option.
“I get to kick some guy’s [expletive] a lot,” said left guard Ben Comey. “I’m just firing out, grab ’em and throw ’em to the ground. It’s really fun. I love football. I love this team.”
They ran their blocking schemes like a well-oiled machine, over and over and over again — 3, 4, 5 yards at a time. Fairhaven’s offense dominated the time of possession, controlling the ball for 31:02 of the 48 minutes, and longer in the second half (17:19) than Salem had it for the entire game (16:58).
The defense also created problems as Salem (10-3) had three turnovers, two that set up Fairhaven TDs, including one in the red zone before halftime.
In the final two playoff games, Marques carried the ball 90 times and scored nine touchdowns. He finished with 38 touchdowns for the season.
After surpassing the previous Super Bowl record for rushing attempts set by Holyoke’s Cedric Washington with 45 in the 1995 Division 1 West final against Greenfield, Marques said he still had plenty left in his tank.
“I love it. I love being able to give a punch to the other team,” Marques said. “Every time, they all think I’m going to get tired out. I love being able to ground and pound for my team.”
Salem quarterback Corey Grimes was 8for-18 passing for 160 yards with two TDs and an interception. He hit Albert Pujols for a 15-yard TD with 1:52 remaining to pull within 26-22, but Fairhaven’s Jared Reardon recovered the onside kick and the Blue Devils kneeled out the game at celebrated the school’s first title since 2000.