Lions defeat Martinsville

The Lions Football Team defeated the Martinsville Bluestreaks Friday by a score of 41-14.

Reese Higginbotham kick-ed off for the Streaks. Lee Combs caught the ball for the Lions at the 20 yard line. He ran all the way to the Martinsville 34 yard line.

The Lions garnered two first downs on carries by Kyle Burnam, and Taylor Duncan ran the ball in for Marshall's first touchdown. The extra point was no good and the Lions led 6-0.

The kickoff was caught by Jared Higginbotham, who ran the ball to the Lions' 33 yard line.

Quarterback Harry Downey threw the ball to Bobby Short who ran the ball for a first down. Short made several more short carries.

Tackles were made by Lions Jake Hoalt, Ryan Shumaker, Caleb Johnson, Ryan O'Rourke, Vance Bohannan, Tyler Howard, Drew Kendall and Stephen Bowen.

The Streaks were unable to score, and the Lions took possession of the ball on their 30 yard line. Burnam garnered a first down as Jared Truelove knocked him out of bounds.

The Lions gained another first down on a run by Taylor Duncan. Duncan and Burnam made some short carries. Tackles were made by Bobby Short and Jared Higginbotham. Martinsville took possession.

The Streaks lost ground on several plays and soon found themselves on their own five yard line. A punt by Draper was blocked by Lion Drew Kendall, and Marshall took control of the ball. In short order, the Lions scored on a 15-yard pass by Travis Johnson to Caleb Johnson.

With another Johnson-to-Johnson pass was good for the two-point conversion, and the Lions led 14-0.

After the kick off, the Streaks made slow progress from their end of the field thanks to the tough Lion defense of Joseph Bartnick, Tyler Howard and others.

The first quarter ended with a carry by Burnam. He was tackled by Finney and Cribelar.

Early in the second quarter there were penalties called against both teams. After those, the Lions moved the ball downfield on carries by Dustin Morey and Travis Johnson. Making tackles for Martinsville were Bobby Short, John Dodd and Ethan Nash.

The Lions advance continued on carries by Burnam, Duncan and Shumaker - all the way to Martinsville's one yard line. Quarterback Travis Johnson sneaked over the line for another Lion touchdown. The extra point by Blake Hook was good and the Lions led 21-0.

Soon after Martinsville's Short received the kick off by Hook, play was stopped due to injury. John Dodd was taken off the field by ambulance.

Both teams had their troubles toward the end of the half. Two fouls were called against Marshall. Short and Finney gained a few yards for the Streaks, but just before the buzzer, Downey dropped the ball, recovered it, then threw it to a teammate in the endzone, only to have it intercepted by Caleb Johnson.

After the half, play resumed as Sam Chubb kicked off for the Lions. Martinsville managed some short carries. These were met with strong resistance from the Lion defense of Shumaker, Kendall and others.

The Streaks fought their way downfield on carries by O'Rourke and Short and Downey. Quarterback Down-ey connected with Short for the Bluestreaks' first touchdown. The extra point kick by Reece Higginbotham was good and the score was Marshall 21, Martinsville 7.

Lee Combs caught the Martinsville kick off and ran to the 31 yard line. Burnam, T. Johnson, Duncan and Shumaker moved the ball steadily downfield behind the tough offensive line of Brown, Bohannon, Howard, Bartnick, Miller and Bowen.

Travis Johnson ran the ball in for another touchdown. The Hook extra point was good and Marshall led 28-7.

As the fourth quarter got underway, Johnson made a pass to Alan Wolter for a first down. Combs and Wolter each made 11-yard carries and Johnson passed to Tyler Shotts for another touchdown. The extra point wasn't good, but the Lions led 34-7.

Short received the kick off by Chubb and returned the ball to the 38 yard line. Downey passed to Jake Hilderbrandt, who made an impressive 62-yard touchdown run. It was called back for an illegal block, but the

Streaks came right back downfield to score on a pass from Downey to Short. The extra point was good and it was Martinsville 14, Marshall 34.

With 5:30 left in the game, Johnson passed to Wolter, who ran the ball in for a final Lion touchdown. The Hook extra point was good and the Lions took the win 41-14.

The Lions will host Cumberland Friday at 7pm. The Bluestreaks play at Lawrenceville on Friday at 7pm.