The Lions traveled to Mahomet Friday night to take on the Mahomet-Seymour Bulldogs.

The Bulldogs are a 4A school with twice the enrollment of Marshall and were quite confident that they would be victorious. When the Marshall fans arrived at Mahomet, they were met with a carnival atmosphere with live music, inflatables for the kids and plenty of grilled food. The Bulldog fans were having what they call Dawgapaloosa, a special celebration they have when they think that they are about to stomp another team. There must have been a thousand people celebrating behind Bulldog grandstand prior to the game.

All of this was a bit intimidating to the Marshall fans, most of whom were already fearful of game’s outcome.

But the Lions were underred by all the Mahomet pomp and circumstance. They took the Bulldogs by surprise and gained an early lead about midway into the first quarter. The Bulldogs were plagued with penalties which helped the Lions, and the Lion players showed a lot of grit and determination. Marshall led throughout the game, holding the Bulldogs to a single touchdown late in the game. Marshall took the win by a final score of 20-7.

The game started off in an unique way with the game ball being brought to the field by a skydiver. Marshall took the opening kickoff with Lee Combs taking the ball and making a good return behind great blocking.

Quarterback Taylor Duncan ran the ball for a first down on a third down play. Conor Littleton provided an excellent block that allowed Duncan the running room. The offensive line then provided good protection that allowed Duncan to complete two passes, one to Austin Wetnight and the other to Dustin Morey.

The Lions got another first down thanks to a personal foul called against Mahomet-Seymour. The Lions got called for illegal motion on the next play and then went three downs without moving the ball. Duncan punted the ball all the way to the one-yard line. Deep in Bulldog territory, Tyler Bishop almost caused a safety, but the player was able to escape. The Bulldogs went four out and had to punt back to Marshall.

Patrick Parsley returned the punt for the Lions. On third down, Taylor Duncan found his brother Jacob Duncan for a 28-yard touchdown play. Luke Nelson added the extra point and the Lions took an early 7-0 lead.

On the kickoff, Mahomet was called for holding. The Bulldog quarterback completed a pass which gave them a first down. On second down, the quarterback was called for intentional grounding as he was trying to avoid a sack by Dalton Sanders. Trey Trudeau was there to flush the quarterback out of the pocket for Sanders to sack.
The Lions took over on a loss of downs when the Mahomet quarterback made an incomplete pass to his receiver. Duncan connected with Wetnight again, but then penalties were assessed to both teams. Marshall was called for intentional grounding and Mahomet-Seymour was called for a late hit on the quarterback.

The first quarter ended with Marshall still in possession of the ball with a first down. The Lions couldn’t move the ball by running or passing, so on fourth down and 17 yards to go, Nelson hit a 42-yard field goal to give the Lions a 10-0 lead.

On the kickoff by Marshall, the Lions were called for a facemask penalty which gave the Bulldogs an extra 15 yards to their return. Jared Boyll, Bishop and Sanders kept the run to one yard, but on the next play the Mahomet player broke away for a first down. The Bulldogs attempted to run to the left side but fumbled the ball which was recovered by Parsley at the 16 yard line.

Duncan completed a pass to Morey and then Andre Strohm broke loose for a huge play that took the Lions to the midfield. From there, Duncan completed a pass to Wetnight for another 15-yard gain. From the 25 yard line, Combs ran to the two yard line.

The Bulldogs brought on the defense and kept the Lions out of the end zone. On fourth down, Nelson came in and hit a 24-yard field goal, extending Marshall’s lead to 13.
Duncan kicked off and the receiver was covered by Sam Wetherell, Parsley and Littleton. In spite of heavy Lion pressure, the Bulldogs were able to move the ball up the field. Two Bulldog touchdown attempts were deflected by the Duncan brothers in the end zone. The last deflection was on fourth down with about one minute to go in the first half.

Marshall took over at the 31 yard line and the first half ended with Marshall leading 13-0.

The Lions made a surprise play to begin the second half. The Lions made an on-side kick and recovered the ball. The Lions were unable to capitalize on the play and went four and out. Duncan punted the ball to the Bulldogs.

Mahomet-Seymour kept hammering up the middle, determined to put points on the scoreboard. Defending for the Lions and making the plays were Boyll, Parsley, Jacob Minnich, Sanders, Combs and Bishop.

On fourth down, the Bulldogs pulled their trick play out and faked a punt. The pass was complete for a first down. However, on that play, a Mahomet-Seymour player was injured. After about 30 minutes, an ambulance finally arrived at the field to take the injured player to the hospital. The Marshall fans were even more appreciative of the excellent service provided by their hometown ambulance crew.

On a third down play, Boyll read the quarterback and intercepted a pass. Marshall went four straight downs and had to punt.

The Bulldogs had an excellent return all the way to Marshall’s 38 yard line and then were set back five yards on an illegal motion penalty. On the next play, Jordan Grooms knocked a pass away in the end zone. The Mahomet quarterback was penalized for passing beyond the line of scrimmage.

On third down, the Bulldogs decided to mix it up again. The quarterback pitched the ball to the running back who then pitched it back to quarterback. The pass was complete to an open man downfield. After being penalized again, Mahomet-Seymour threw to a man in the end zone. Logan Cannady was there to intercept the ball. The Bulldogs were called for another penalty for an illegal man downfield.

Marshall went four downs and had to punt to the Bulldogs. The player took the ball all the way to Marshall’s 45-yard line. With just two minutes left in the third quarter, Mahomet-Seymour ran the ball up the middle. The third quarter ended with the Bulldogs on Marshall’s 20 yard line on third down and five yards to go.
As the final quarter got underway, the Mahomet quarterback kept the ball but was brought down by Sanders for no gain. On fourth down, the Bulldogs were called for illegal motion and set back five yards. Mahomet-Seymour went for it on fourth down. The quarterback scrambled away from Sanders and Bishop, but couldn’t get away from Strohm who took him down for a loss.

At this point, Marshall had the clock on their side as well as the lead. Duncan gave the ball to Combs and Strohm to run. He completed a pass to Morey for a first down. The Bulldogs kept sending the blitz, which kept the Lions fairly quiet. However, on third down, Strohm found a hole in the defense and scampered down the field for a 15-yard gain.

The Bulldog pressure continued, and the Lions were unable to penetrate further up the field. On fourth down, Duncan punted the ball and the Bulldogs took over at the 15 yard line.

The Bulldogs continued to pound up the field. On a second down play, the quarterback completed a pass from their own 31 yard line and the receiver was off to the races. Cannady caught him in the nick of time with a shoestring tackle and prevented the touchdown. With the ball now on Marshall’s 15 yard line, the Bulldog quarterback ran the ball to the four yard line.

A flag for a late hit was called on Marshall, putting the ball on the two yard line. The quarterback kept the ball on the next play and took it in for a touchdown. The extra point was good and the Bulldogs were on the board 13-7 with just over four minutes left in the game.

Mahomet-Seymour kicked the ball deep and Combs brought it out to the 30 yard line. A flag was called on the Bulldogs for a horse collar tackle and Marshall got the ball on the 45 yard line.

On the first down play, a high snap went over Duncan’s head but he recovered the ball for a loss of yards. On a passing play to Morey, the Bulldogs were called for pass interference which resulted in an automatic first down for the Lions.

Marshall’s game plan at this point was to keep the clock running by keeping the ball on the ground. Combs got the ball a couple of times and then Duncan kept the ball for a first down. Combs picked up a couple of yards and took the ball to the 38 yard line.
On second down, Duncan handed the ball off to Strohm, who found the open hole and ran it in for a touchdown. Nelson tacked on the extra point, and Marshall pulled ahead to a safer 20-7 lead.

On their next possession, the Bulldogs aired the ball, and the game ended with Duncan intercepting a pass in the end zone. It was a huge 20-7 win for the Lions.
After such a pre-game buildup, the Mahomet fans were devastated, and the Marshall fans couldn’t have been happier.

Taylor Duncan was nine passes for 25 yards. He carried the ball 25 times for 37 yards. He was sacked four or five times which counted against his totals.

Austin Wetnight had four receptions for 52 yards, Dustin Morey had four catches for 47 yards and Jacob Duncan had one catch for a 28-yard touchdown reception.
Lee Combs carried the ball nine times for 19 yards. Andre Strohm had six carries for 88 yards and a touchdown.

Coach Todd Evers was very pleased with his team’s performance, "We didn’t make many mistakes and our offensive line did a great job pressuring their quarterback."
"Taylor Duncan played smart football and Andre Strohm did a great job. He’s (Strohm) just a sophomore and that’s great news for me!"

The Lions will face a very tough Cumberland team at home this Saturday night.In preparation, said Coach Evers, "We’re just concentrating on getting better every week."