With a playoff game on the line, Grafton rose to the challenge on Friday. They never let the Marblehead Magicians onto the board and left with a 35-0 win. Grafton's victory was all the more impressive since the Magicians were averaging only 14.4 points allowed on the season.
Grafton's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Finn Gilmore, who rushed for 201 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 8.0 yards per carry. Gilmore's rushing production has been exceptional for a while as that marked his 14th straight game with at least 105 rushing yards dating back to last season. The team also got some help courtesy of Brendan McMahon, who rushed for 58 yards and a touchdown on only five carries.
Grafton wouldn't let Marblehead keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force three fumbles. Grafton can thank Austin Mccormick and Zeeland Youngblood for forcing all of them. Grafton got some further help from James Hanna: he picked up two sacks, made five total tackles, and defended a pass in addition to snagging an interception.
Grafton was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 315 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 215 rushing yards in five consecutive contests.
Grafton pushed their record up to 10-0 with the win, which was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 35.2 points. As for Marblehead, the loss snapped their winning streak at seven games and leaves them with a 7-3 record.
Grafton and Marblehead are set to take part in some playoff action in their next matches. Grafton will face off against Scituate at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. Scituate knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 31 points or more in their past eight matches -- so hopefully Grafton likes a good challenge. As for Marblehead, they will have a little extra prep time after the defeat as they won't be playing again for a while. They'll take on Swampscott at 6:30 p.m. on November 27th.
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