Photo: Half-time talk with the Junior Marauders.

It was an intense half-time talk from the coaches to the players at Belmont’s Harris Field.

“This is your house! This is your home field and your home crowd. All these people came to see you. This is what you work for. This is what football is all about. Now you have to want it!” 

Look up at the coaches were the faces of a determined team, players willing to go the extra mile … even though none of them are old enough to shave. 

The team on the field last week were 42 seventh and eighth graders comprising the 2015 Chenery Middle School Junior Marauder Football team, for the second year providing essentially an opportunity for middle schoolers to learn the fundimentals of the game while having fun.

“We like to tell the kids they are part of the program that leads to the High School even though some of the players just want to play in Middle School,” said Jamie MacIsaacs, the team’s head coach.

That connection with the growing football culture in Belmont was emphasized as the High School team stopped by to watch the action as Belmont took on Bedford in a game where both sides were on the upslope of the skills learning curve.

But the emphasise of the program is to learn the game and have fun doing so, said MacIsaacs. 

And the team is starting to win games, winning in Winchester after losing the year before. And while the Junior Marauders weren’t able to engineer a victory against the visitors, they did appear to have a good time on their future home field.