Medford’s Justin Marino finds a way

Get the ball to the 20, and senior quarterback Justin Marino will take care of the rest. With just over two minutes to play on Sept. 26, after a 64-yard touchdown on a fumble return erased the 0-3 Medford football team’s slim lead over Revere, that’s essentially what head coach John Curley told his assistants […]

CryptoFortress

Nov 1, 2024 - 07:56

Get the ball to the 20, and senior quarterback Justin Marino will take care of the rest.

With just over two minutes to play on Sept. 26, after a 64-yard touchdown on a fumble return erased the 0-3 Medford football team’s slim lead over Revere, that’s essentially what head coach John Curley told his assistants on the sideline.

There wasn’t the panic of dropping to 0-4 that there might have been in the winless starts of old for the Mustangs, which just last year earned their first winning season since 1997. Curley and Co. knew the odds of a game-winning drive were different.

With Marino as a key catalyst and the toughness of the players around him, the program is different.

Medford ran quarterback sweep after sweep with Marino to move the ball down the field in a hurry. The Mustangs got inside Revere’s 20-yard-line, and Marino – also the kicker and punter – nailed a field goal from about 36 yards out to deliver a 17-14 win.

You wouldn’t know it was Marino’s first career field goal attempt that won the game. But as Medford (5-3) won the next four en route to the program’s longest win streak since 1982, you would know there isn’t much Curley wouldn’t trust in his star senior with the game on the line.

“We have a vision (for the program),” Curley said. “Since I met (Marino), he’s been fully bought into the program. He wears blue and white the right way. He tries doing everything the right way. He’s not perfect by any means, but he tries to do what he can for the team and he gives us his all.”

Within the program’s turnaround from a team that hadn’t posted a winning season in 27 years and even lost 14 straight games, Marino has stood out all over the field and off it to feed that vision.

He’s always started on defense either at linebacker or at safety since Week 4 of his freshman year, racking up 162 tackles, 27 tackles for loss, 7 interceptions, 7 forced fumbles and 1.5 sacks on his career. Up until this year, though, he rotated between receiver and wing on offense – where he played all last year in a 6-4 season.

This is the first year he’s played quarterback for the program, which speaks volumes to his team-first mentality and impact.

“I think it means a lot more, the way he’s started … he’s such a team guy,” Curley said. “He’s willing to play anywhere for us. … He’s just a competitor.”

“I just started to buy in real early,” Marino added. “Even though we had those down seasons my first two years here, I bought into coaching, I bought into my teammates, and they bought into me. We became a family and as you can see, the program completely shifted. … Playing these different positions, you get to see the field, you get a better sense of these positions. It just puts me in a better spot to make plays for the team and puts me in a better spot to just win games.”

With 1,066 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns in eight games this year, along with 553 passing yards for four touchdowns and three interceptions, he’s stepped up big as quarterback. Trailing 12-0 at halftime to Lynn English three weeks ago, Marino took over as a rusher and passer to fuel a 20-18 comeback win.

Pair that with a five-touchdown game against Chelsea last week, a four-touchdown game against Somerville on Oct. 4, and even the way he connected with receiver Darius Weekes in a rare competitive loss to Everett two weeks into the season, and putting him at quarterback and safety might have been the perfect move for him.

“He’ll do whatever he can to get the job done,” Curley said. “I was (talking) about this three weeks ago. We were running offset heavy run, and I’m like, ‘They don’t know about (Marino), they don’t know he has a good arm.’ And I think (teams) kind of undersize him, a little bit. He brings the thunder on defense, and I think it takes for him to give someone a blow for them (to know). … He’s a dangerous player, and he’s sneaky dangerous. And I think it’s because he’s not a talker.”

What makes Marino’s impact even all the more impressive is how new the sport is to him.

Marino always wanted to play football, like his father, Michael Marino, and grandfather, Nunzio Marino, did for Medford, but wasn’t allowed to play it until he got to the high school. He only ever played soccer, basketball and baseball until his freshman year.

Seeing year after year of Medford’s woeful years could deter someone from wanting to take on the sport as a new one at the high school. Marino looked at the opportunity a different way.

“I was kind of always in a football household,” he said. “Once I got to high school, I knew I wanted to play football and I didn’t care who it was for. I’m glad I met the people I did, and we tried to put this program in a winning way.”

He’s done just that in four years, which is something Curley believed Marino could contribute toward since the coach saw his competitiveness as a freshman.

Doing so with his family, teammates and community behind him has made it all the more special for Marino.

“I just try to take it game by game, I only have so many with these boys left,” he said. “I try to just take every moment in and celebrate with my family after these games. It really means the most to me to go hug my mom, my dad, my sister, all the people that show up for me. It just feels good to get Ws and turn this city around.”

NAME: Justin Marino

SCHOOL: Medford

AGE: 18

HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 6-2/190

POSITION: QB/OLB/SS

NICKNAME: Marino

FAMILY: Michael Marino (father), Erin Marino (mother), Lia Marino (sister), Dylan Marino (brother)

ACCOMPLISHMENTS: School single-game touchdown record, junior captain of football and basketball

FAVORITE PERSONAL MOMENT IN SPORTS: Hugging my family after junior year Thanksgiving game