Friday Night blitz: Durfee football runs into tough Fairhaven team in Week 1

FALL RIVER — Justin Marques and the defending Division 6 champion Fairhaven wasn't satistified winning the program's fourth Super Bowl last season, they're hungry for more.

It showed in Friday's season opener against Durfee .

"It feels great winning tonight," said Marques after the Blue Devils rolled past the Hilltoppers in the season opener for both teams, 44-7. "None of (tonight) is possible without that offensive line. They're our biggest force of the game. They're out there every single time, getting low, running hard and getting us the ball."

Marques started the evening, rushing for 55 yards on 12 carries and scored a touchdown as Fairhaven took a 21-7 lead into halftime. But the senior star running back was all business in the second half, rushing for 106 yards and adding three more touchdowns. Marques finished the night with 161 yards on 22 carries.

"I just had to run harder in the second half," Marques said. "They're tried to get in our heads all game and it didn't work. We just have to keep running as hard as we can and keep getting batter. It's the first game and we have some stuff to fix but it feels good to win."

For Durfee (0-1), it was not the start they envisoned to begin the season after a strong preseason.

"(Fairhaven) is a very good football team," Hilltoppers head coach Taylor Brown said. "We knew that coming in. We knew it was going to be physical and a tough game. It was one thing to stop the scheme but you have to stop their players. They have really good players on the other side. I give them a lot of credit."

Marques scored the Blue Devils' first touchdown of the season from 1 yard out to give Fairhaven (1-0) the early lead. Durfee bounced back on its second drive aided by a pass interference penalty. Sophomore quarterback Matt Sherry got the Hilltoppers on the board, connecting with junior wide receiver Alvin Gaston, who made a spectacular leaping grab in the back of the end zone to tie the game at 7-7.

From there, the Blue Devils scored 37 unanswered points, including a Marques 59-yard scamper to paydirt along with a safety on a punt attempt. Overall, Fairhaven rushed for over 350 yards.

"I think in the second half we got really sloppy," Taylor said. "We had a couple of injuries. But we have to learn from those mistakes and get better from there."

Takeaways

Overall, Fairhaven rushed for over 350 yards. Beside Marques' heroics, senior quarterback Cameron Burke had 91 rushing yards and scored a touchdown. Senior Richie Senna scored his first varsity touchdown in the first half. Junior running back Aaron Lague had 71 yards rushing.

Matt Sherry was making his first varisty start of the season under center for the HIlltoppers. He completed 12-of-15 passes, including his first eight passes. He threw for a touchdown and had no interceptions. Christopher Prenda had a 46-yard kickoff return. Gaston also caught five passes before leaving the contest.

Blue Devils head coach Derek Almeida on Marques and his team's performance: "(Justin) is a phenomenal football player. He wants to go out in his senior year and play the best football he has ever had in his life. I think he showed that tonight. But I'm just proud of the whole team and the kids up front. They buy into our culture. Durfee has some big, strong and athletic lineman and it was tough sledding a little early. But as the game went along, out kids just knocked them off the ball.

Fairhaven kicker Tristan de Medeiros made all seven extra point attempts.

Herald News and Taunton Daily Gazette sports editor Steven Sanchez can be reached at ssanchez@heraldnews.com. You can follow him on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @Chezsports.

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Friday Night blitz: Durfee football runs into tough Fairhaven team in Week 1