'Follow me'; Record-setting RB setting the bar high for defending state champion Fairhaven

FAIRHAVEN — From winning a Super Bowl to shattering the school’s all-time touchdown record a year ago, Justin Marques has already left his mark on Fairhaven High ’s football program.

Yet, the senior running back isn’t content relying on past accomplishments.

“He wants to be better,” said Fairhaven head coach Derek Almeida. “I want him to be better. I think he’s got a lot of things he can work on and a lot of things he can improve on.

“I think he wants to play better football and he wants the team to play better football. He asked for a tougher schedule because he wanted tough opponents. When a kid asks you that, you can tell they get it. He wants to raise the level of the team and himself.”

As the defending Div. 6 Super Bowl champs, Fairhaven has added BC High to its schedule for Week 2.

“I think the potential for us is very high right now,” said Marques, who has taken on a bigger leadership role from year’s past.

“Before he’s been more of a quiet leader, leading by example,” Almeida said. “This year it was like, ‘Follow me. This is how you do things. Listen to me.’ The young kids like him. The older kids like him. Overall, he’s doing the things he should be doing to set the tone the right way.

“He knows what he wants and he knows what it’s going to take for us to do things special as a team and for him to also excel as an individual.”

Week-by-Week breakdown: 2024 football schedules for SouthCoast's nine teams

Last year Marques not only broke his own Fairhaven High single-season touchdown record with 38 scores, he also surpassed the school’s all-time career mark of 41 set by Nate Pickup in 1992 with 68 touchdowns.

The Blue Devils knocked off three higher seeded teams on the way to their first Super Bowl crown in 23 years. At Gillette Stadium, Marques broke the MIAA record for carries in a Super Bowl when he rushed 46 times for 228 yards and scored four touchdowns in a 26-22 win over Salem.

FOOTBALL HEADQUARTERS: Find all of our 2024 SouthCoast high school football coverage

Having accomplished so much, there was talk that Marques might consider leaving for a prep school, but he said he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to do more at Fairhaven High.

“There was no reason to leave,” he said. “The whole offensive line was coming back. We have the best coaches I’ve ever had in my life, and we have new younger guys coming up.

“I just want win games with my team. I want to make the playoffs again and hopefully make another trip (to Gillette), but you have to take it day by day, practice by practice and game by game. My goal is to just have fun with my teammates and win more games with my team.”

LEADING THE WAY UP FRONT

All six offensive linemen — Zach Moura, Ben Comey, Fin Reynolds, AJ Medeiros, Anthony Monteiro and Adam Marashio — that played key roles a year ago are back with five of them healthy entering 2024.

“It definitely lets us progress faster,” said Moura. “Now it’s just an expectation to know certain things which is really nice. It allows us to get into full speed with hitting a lot faster. It’s a nice privilege to have everyone coming back.”

Almeida said that the experienced offensive line has Fairhaven a step ahead in the preseason.

“The thing I love about experience is you’re practicing better right away because they know what they’re supposed to do and that gives everyone else a better rep — whether you’re on the offense with them or you’re on the scout team,” Almeida said. “The whole level of the program rises.”

FILLING THE VOID AT QUARTERBACK

Even though the Blue Devils return a big core of their team from a year ago, they lost starting quarterback Jayce Duarte to graduation.

Senior Cam Burke and junior Evan Lamontagne are vying for the starting quarterback spot this fall.

“Cam Burke has varsity experience on defense. He got to play a little bit at quarterback last year late,” Almeida said. “Evan was our JV quarterback last year so he got to play a lot more quarterback.

“Lamontagne is a little longer. He's a little bit more of a thrower but does a nice job with the option as well. Burke is a little more compact where he’s quicker and stronger. They both came in ahead of where I thought they would be so we’re excited right from Day 1.”

KICKOFF TO 2024

The Blue Devils open 2024 on Sept. 6 at Durfee. They return home for a Week 2 matchup against BC High before three straight games at Old Rochester, GNB Voc-Tech and Seekonk.

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: 'Follow me'; Record-setting RB setting the bar high for defending state champion Fairhaven