The Marshall Lions opened their 2009-2010 football season against cross-county rivals Casey-Westfield Warriors. After a very rainy day, the rain had ended and the stands on both sides of the field were packed.
Both teams remained scoreless at halftime and the Marshall fans were hopeful for a victory against Casey. The Warriors turned on their running game the second half and proved to be too much for the Lions to handle. The Warriors took the victory by a score of 28-7.

Clinton Scott of Casey opened the game with the kick off which was fielded by Lee Combs of Marshall. The Lions had several good possessions including a third down run by Andre Strohm for the first down. The next play Marshall was penalized for illegal motion and sent back five yards. Connor Littleton and Combs carried the ball before Marshall was again called for illegal motion.

Quarterback Taylor Duncan connected with Austin Wetnight, but was short of a first down. Marshall was forced to punt.

Billy Seeley of Casey received the punt and was tackled by Colby Boyer. In their next possession, Casey was also penalized twice. The Warriors were called for holding and then for illegal procedure. On a long third down, Dalton Sanders tripped up Casey quarterback Brett Livvix, causing a fumble. However, Ethan Brewer of Casey recovered the ball.

Seeley ran around the left side but was unable to get the first down after being tackled by T. Duncan. On fourth down, Casey attempted a 43-yard field goal which was unsuccessful.

With about three minutes left in the first quarter, the Lions took over at the 20-yard line. On first down, Marshall was again called for illegal motion and set back to the 15-yard line. Strohm took the ball on the next play and gained about 16 yards. He took the ball again and gained another five. Combs took the ball on second down and tacked on another five yards for a Marshall first down.

On a pass to Littleton, the ball was fumbled and Casey recovered. To end the first quarter, Casey was on the move and Livvix made a first down.
In the second quarter the Warriors had first down on the 49-yard line. Seeley again had another good run but was brought down by Patrick Parsley. Aaron Rhoads handled Seeley on the next carry. On second down, Austin Ragsdale fumbled the ball and Rhoads recovered for the Lions.

Just minutes into the second half, Marshall began their march up the field. On a third down pass, T. Duncan connected with his brother Jacob Duncan for a first down. Strohm carried for a couple of yards, and then T. Duncan completed a pass to Combs for another first down. T. Duncan kept the ball and pushed ahead for yet another first down.

Casey’s defense stepped it up a notch and by the fourth down, Marshall was forced to punt. T. Duncan put the ball at the four-yard line, forcing the Warriors to begin deep in their territory.

 
On the first down play, Strohm kept Seeley to a five-yard gain. With an illegal motion penalty against Casey, they were pushed back to the four-yard line again. Seeley tried to run it out, but was met by Parsley and Sam Chubb. On third down, Livvix found Chris Unzicker open for a first down. Unzicker got the carry on the next play but was stopped by Strohm after gaining seven yards.

With only three minutes left in the first half, Seeley broke away for a 40-yard run. T. Duncan made the tackle.

Casey kept creeping closer and closer to the end zone with carries from Seeley, Ragsdale and Livvix. Tyler Bishop, Rhoads and Combs were there to stop them. With just over a minute left and the Warriors threatening at the 30-yard line, Livvix kept the ball for a first down. With just 24 seconds remaining, Livvix pushed forward for another first down. From the 14-yard line, Seeley ran to the eight-yard line, leaving eight seconds on the clock.

The Warriors were going to attempt a field goal but fumbled a bad snap. The ball was picked up and Casey attempted to run the ball in, but was tackled just short of the goal line. The clock ran out and the game remained scoreless at half time.
To begin the second half, Jacob Minnich kicked off for the Lions. The ball went out of bounds, so the Warriors took over at the 35-yard line. It took the Warriors about three minutes and hard running by Seeley, Unsicker, and Nate Evans to get the ball into the end zone. On second down and goal, Livvix handed the ball off to Seeley who ran the ball in from the one-yard line. Clinton Scott kicked the extra point giving the Warriors a 0-7 lead.

Marshall turned the ball over to Casey on downs when they were unable to get a first down.

On their next possession Casey scored again. Seeley ran in for another score from the 16-yard line. Scott hit the extra point and Casey extended their lead to 0-14.
Marshall moved the ball up the field for the rest of the third quarter. T. Duncan completed a pass to Combs. Strohm had several good runs including a 15-yard run. The third quarter ended with the Lions in possession of the ball at the 10-yard line.
The fourth began with T. Duncan taking the ball up to the one-yard line. He kept the ball on the next play and scored for Marshall. Luke Nelson kicked the extra point and Marshall was on the board 7-14.

Casey got the ball back with about 11 minutes left in the game. Seeley and Unsicker continued to put their heads down and run up the middle. The Lions’ defense struggled with trying to stop the run. Seeley scored for the third time on a two-yard run. The extra point was good again and Casey extended their lead 7-21.

During their next possession, T. Duncan found Austin Wetnight open. The ball was tipped off of Wetnight’s fingers and intercepted by Seth Brewer of Casey.
With good blocking from their defense, Evans and Ragsdale each had good carries. Quarterback Livvix kept the ball and took it in from the one-yard line. Scott hit the extra point and the Warriors led 7-28.

Strohm took the kick off from Scott. The ball was stripped from his arm and Casey recovered. Casey put in their reserves and kept the ball until the clock ran out.
Marshall was handed their first loss by a score of 7-28.
For Casey, Billy Seeley ran in three of their touchdowns and Brett Livvix ran one into the end zone.

For the Lions, quarterback Taylor Duncan had 12 carries for 44 yards and one touchdown. He was six for nine pass attempts for 59 yards. He threw one interception.
Andre Strohm carried 12 times for 63 yards. Lee Combs had three carries for 16 yards and had three receptions for 37 yards.

Jacob Duncan carried the ball one time for five yards and Austin Wetnight made one reception for six yards.

Coach Todd Evers said that his team had been preparing for Casey’s run, but just couldn’t stop them. "Coach Sinclair is a great half time adjuster," said Coach Evers. "We had trouble getting Taylor (Duncan) out in the open. We have things we need to work on."

Marshall will play Mahomet-Seymour on the road next Friday night.