Randolph Football Running Back Trio lifts team to Final 4

RANDOLPH – There was still snow on the ground when John Marshall got his Randolph High Football team ready for the 2021 spring COVID season following the cancellation of the 2020 fall season.

Marshall was in his first season as the program’s head coach after serving as an assistant the previous two years. After seeing just 17 athletes on the roster that spring, Marshall’s thoughts immediately turned to finding a way to rebuild the program post-pandemic.

Later that year, when football returned to normal months, Marshall led Randolph to his very first Super Bowl.

Fast forward to 2024, and the Blue Devils are inching closer to a second Super Bowl title.

The top-seeded Blue Devils returned to the Final Four with a decisive 40-8 win over No. 8 Narragansett in the Div. 8 quarterfinals at Randolph High on Friday.

The Blue Devils face No. 4 Nashoba Valley Tech in the semifinals next weekend at a neutral site.

In 2023, Randolph entered the state tournament as a No. 12 seed, nearly upsetting No. 4 Cathedral, 16-12, in the quarterfinals.

The Blue Devils would not be denied a spot in the semifinals this season.

More: High school football scores from across Massachusetts: MIAA quarterfinals and more

“A year ago we sat in the same spot and watched another team lift the trophy,” Marshall said. “That really motivated us in the offseason.”

Randolph got two touchdowns each from running backs Haggai Joseph, Mekhi White and Senecca Spencer on Friday. The rushing attack has been brutal all season, even without injured captain Nathanyel Gomes-Correia.

Spencer got the party started early in the first quarter for Randolph with a 15-yard rushing touchdown. Joseph followed that up with a 48-yard touchdown run at the end of the first quarter. Then White threw his hat into the running back race, scoring from 62 yards out with 9:28 to play in the second quarter.

It’s a friendly competition between the three backs, but splitting carries in the backfield has also taught them to be unselfish this year.

“For us, we block hard. When we know who’s going to get the ball, we block hard for each other,” Joseph said.

As dominant as the offense was, so was the defense. Narragansett was shut out for the first three quarters and scored with just over a minute left. The score also marked the Warriors’ first possession to reach the red zone.

But what Marshall has noticed more than solid offensive or defensive play is the buy-in for what he calls the “Winners Do More” mentality, especially in the classroom. For him, that’s a big reason why the team is holding the MIAA Final Four flag high and competing for its second title in four years.

“This week the numbers came out. We have several kids on the honor roll. About half of our team is taking classes at the AP level. That’s remarkable for a football team,” Marshall said. “They’re doing high-level academic work and playing great football. I think that just goes hand in hand. If you work hard in the classroom, you’re going to work hard on the field.”

This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Randolph High Football defeats Narragansett in MIAA Division 8 Elite 8