After several continuous days of rain, Saturday, October 31, proved to be a picture-perfect football-playing
day. Bush Field was wet and muddy, but the day was crystal clear and sunny, bringing out many fans for both teams. It wasn’t
long before the players’ numbers were covered with mud, but no one from either team allowed that to slow them down.
Advancing to the second round of the IHSA 2A playoffs was at stake.
The Marshall Lions brought an 8-1 record to the game and the Westville Tigers were 6-3.
Marshall opted to receive the opening kick off, which was a short kick that was taken at the Marshall 45 yard line.
The opening play was a 15-yard pass from Taylor Duncan to Austin Wetnight.
After that initial play, the Lions had a hard
time moving the ball. On fourth down, T. Duncan punted the ball which strategically went out of bounds at the one yard line.
Colby Boyer was back on the roster as the long snapper for the Lions. Rodney Troutman was in the game replacing an
injured Dalton McNeely.
Westville finished their round of plays still on the one yard line. Great defense from Tyler Bishop, Trey Trudeau,
Dalton Sanders, Conor Littleton, Brendan Bartnick, Jared Boyll, Jacob Minnich, and Troutman forced the Tigers to punt on fourth
down.
Marshall took over at the 41 yard line. On the first play of the series, T. Duncan faked a run play and found Jacob
Duncan wide open down the middle of the field. He connected for a touchdown pass play. Luke Nelson added the extra point and
the Lions jumped to an early lead 7-0.
On the kick off return, Boyll, Sanders and Dylan Reed brought the ball carrier down. Westville attempted the run
and pass, but both were unsuccessful. Marshall got the ball back on a punt at their own 44 yard line.
On first down, T. Duncan kept the ball and maneu-vered his way all the way down to the Westville 13 yard line. After
that, the Lions struggled with moving the ball in the positive direction. They were called for two penalties, including an
illegal procedure call and delay of game. The Lions went for it on fourth down and 22 yards to go from the 25 yard line. T.
Duncan completed a pass to Andre Strohm, but it was short of a first down.
On a third down play, Tiger quarterback Matt Maser hit Brandon Pratt. Pratt broke away and ran it in from 76 yards
out for a touchdown. The attempted two-point conversion was no good, so the Lions hung on to a 7-6 lead.
Lee Combs took the short kick off from the Tigers. The first down pass attempt to Dustin Morey was over-thrown. On
second down Strohm showed his strength and determination. He was hit and appeared to be stopped but came out of the crowd
and ran it all the way in for a touchdown. Following the 65-yard run, Nelson hit the extra point and made the score 14-6.
Westville’s Mitchell Bryant had a good return on the kick off and was brought down by Sanders and Sam Wetherell.
The first quarter ended with Westville taking the ball across mid-field to Marshall’s 44-yard line.
To open the second quarter, the Tigers were called for a penalty which brought up a fourth down and four. Maser attempted
a pass which was defended by Jordan Grooms. It fell incomplete and Marshall took over at their own 39 yard line.
The Lions took about five minutes off the clock before scoring again. T. Duncan came out for one play after being
shaken up. He was replaced by his brother J. Duncan who ran the ball for a 10-yard gain. Strohm found an opening and ran the
ball in from the eight yard line. The point after by Nelson was good. Marshall extended their lead to 21-6.
Nelson kicked off for the Lions. Brendon Severado fumbled the ball, and it was recovered by Dylan Reed. Strohm
carried the ball down to the eight on three carries. However, the Tigers held the Lions there. Nelson hit a 28-yard field
goal and gave the Lions three more points.
The Tigers were called for two infractions and ended up punting on fourth down. It was a low kick which Marshall
got at their own 40 yard line.
T. Duncan found Littleton open for a 15-yard pass reception. T. Duncan kept the ball on fourth down and snuck it
in for a first down. T. Duncan found J. Duncan for another 15-yard gain for the Lions.
After two incomplete passes to
Morey, Nelson attempted a 30-yard field goal. He pulled the ball left, but Marshall ended the first half leading 24-6.
Nelson kicked off to begin the second half. Littleton, Trudeau and Boyll covered the runner and brought him down at the
31-yard line. Maser completed a pass to Ryan Blue but was brought down for a loss by Boyll on the next play.
On fourth down, Trudeau got a hand on the punt. T. Duncan got the ball, but fumbled it, giving it back to the Tigers
for a first down. Maser ran on the next play for a gain of only two. On the next play, he completed a screen pass to
Justin Moore. Moore fumbled the ball which was recovered by Strohm at the 40 yard line.
On Marshall’s next third
down play, Morey fumbled a pass reception which was recovered by Westville.
The Lions were determined to avenge the last play as Sanders continued to put pressure on the quarterback. On first
down, Sanders sacked Maser for a 12-yard loss. Jacob Minnich, Boyll, Trudeau, and Sanders brought Pratt down with no gain.
On third down, Maser’s screen pass was incomplete as he had to hurry and get rid of it because of the pressure from
Sanders.
Marshall got the ball on their 45-yard line as Westville punted on fourth down.
T. Duncan got the ball across the mid-field line on a carry and Strohm had a couple of good carries. On fourth down
and one yard, Strohm broke loose from some tackles and took the ball down to the 16-yard line. Lee Combs kept the ball for
a five-yard gain. The third quarter ended with Marshall in possession around the 10 yard line.
T. Duncan was sacked for
a four-yard loss. On fourth down, Nelson hit a 32-yard field goal, giving Marshall a 27-6 lead.
Troutman brought down the kick off receiver at the 30 yard line. Combs made a good tackle to keep the Tigers from
gaining any yardage, but Marshall was called for a facemask.
On fourth down, Sanders got another sack but Marshall was called for off sides. Pratt ran up the middle for a first
down. On fourth down, the Tigers were called for a penalty and set back five yards.
The Lions’ defensive line held
the Tigers on fourth down. Marshall got the ball back on their 45 yard line.
With about five minutes left, J. Duncan came in as quarterback. The Lions lost a yard on a fumbled snap, but Sam
Chubb was able to regain it on a carry on the next down. Troutman was injured and John Kuhn came in to replace him. Marshall
punted on fourth down.
Coach Todd Evers put in a whole new team to play out the rest of the game. Joining Chubb and Kuhn
were Dylan Reed, Taylor Sanders, Logan Goldsberry, Brock Hook, Taylor Maurer, Adam Kendall, Nick Kahl and Michael Brown.
Zach Waclaw came in as quarterback for Westville. There was no gain as Kendall and Brown defended the third down
play. On their next first down play, Waclaw was sacked by Reed. The game ended with the Westville player being sacked in the
backfield. The Lions took their first playoff win, 27-6.
Marshall advances to the second round play next Saturday against Williams-ville. The game will be held here at home.
Coach Todd Evers couldn’t say enough about the way his defense played, “They played outstanding. They
had a really good running game and we had to make a lot of adjustments, but the way our defense played, we can play with anyone.”
Marshall’s defense allowed only 145 total yards. Westville had only 25 yards in the second half.
“In playoffs, it comes down to special teams and turnovers,” said Coach Evers. “Congratulations
also to Dalton Sanders for breaking the quarterback sack record.”
Marshall Stats
Rushing
Taylor Duncan - 14 carries, 68 yds; Jacob Duncan - 3 carrries, 8 yds; Lee Combs - 2 carries, 4yds; Sam Chubb - 1
carry, 2 yds; Andre Strohm - 14 carries, 133 yds, 2 TDs.
Receiving
Dustin Morey - 1 reception, 6 yds; Jacob Duncan - 4 receptions, 91 yds, 1TD; Conor Littleton - 2 receptions, 24 yds;
Andre Strohm - 1 reception, 9 yds; Austin Wetnight - 1 reception 15 yds.
