Marshall Advocate, Publisher

 

The Marshall Lions and their fans made the long trek to Albion Friday night for their first game of the 2011 football season.

 

Many expected that the Edwards County (EC) Lions would be a little more competitive this year, since they have formed a football coop with Grayville and their numbers are up. Wrong. It was even more lopsided than last year - so bad that the Lions racked up a 46-0 lead by the end of the first half.

 

Most of the Marshall starters exited the game long before the half time buzzer, and the entire Marshall Lion lineup contributed to a 52-12 Marshall win.

 

Marshall kicked off to Edwards County to begin the game. Edwards Co. ended the series with a 12-yard loss, thanks to tackles by Andre Strohm, Shawn Ahlers and Cole Rice.

 

Taylor Sanders received the kickoff and ran the ball 35 yards to the EC 17 yard line. The Lions quickly scored as quarterback Jacob Duncan handed off to Strohm, who ran in for the touchdown.

 

Daniel Littlejohn’s extra point kick was good and Marshall led 7-0 with 8:45 left in the first quarter.

 

EC was again overwhelmed as the tough Marshall defense of Dalton McNeely, Adam Kendall, Jared Boyll, Zach Bartnick and others held the southern Lions to the line of scrimmage. A pass was completed to Ethan Taylor, who was powerfully laid out by Strohm, forcing EC to punt.

 

On the first Lion down,  Duncan kept the ball and ran 46 yards for Marshall’s second TD. The Littlejohn kick was good and Marshall led 14-0 with 6:35 on the clock.

Tackles by Jared Boyll and other Marshall defensive players soon forced EC to punt once again. Sanders received the ball and carried it to the 49 yard line.

 

Again, Marshall didn’t waste any time and on the first play, Rice broke loose and ran the ball within five yards of the goal line. Bartnick blasted up the middle for a touchdown. The Littlejohn kick was good and Marshall led 21-0.

 

EC received its first of several penalty calls and lost 15 yards for holding before  starting their drive on the 14 yard line. The relentless Marshall defense held them to a loss, forcing them to punt yet again.

 

No sooner had Marshall got possession when second quarterback Austin Osborne connected with Rodney Troutman and the 6’4” tight end was off - 69 yards for a touchdown. EC blocked the Littlejohn kick and Marshall moved out to a 27-0 lead.

After the kickoff, EC made little progress against the superior Marshall force. To begin with, Strohm drove the EC receiver over ten yards off the field, and tackles by Boyll  and Troutman dashed any EC hopes for the series.  The first quarter ended with the Marshall Lions leading 27-0.

 

In the first few seconds of the second quarter, Osborne made a lateral pass to Strohm, who ran 49 yards to the endzone. Littlejohn’s extra point kick went through the uprights and Marshall led 33-0.

 

On EC’s first possession, Jake Toutloff was sacked by several Marshall Lions. EC dropped the ball on the next play and lost five yards. They were soon forced to punt.

The Lions gained a first down on a pass to Shaun Ahlers and soon scored on a 30-yard pass from Osborne to Sanders. The extra point kick was blocked and Marshall led 39-0 with 7:31 on the clock.

 

In one of the most interesting plays of the game, EC’s Tyler Smith received the ball, and for a second many spectators (me included) thought that EC had finally earned a first down. Not so! The Marshall defense had knocked the ball loose and quarterback Derrick Davidson grabbed it and ran over 20 yards toward the Marshall goal. Brock Hook made several carries and soon crossed the goal line for a Marshall TD. The extra point kick was good and the northern Lions led 46-0.

 

The  EC ball carrier received the kickoff and was taken down at the 30 yard line by Taylor Padgett.

 

EC finally earned a first down in spite of the strong Marshall defense, which included several tackles Wyatt Taylor.

 

Chris Collier made several gains for EC, but Brett Hook squashed Edwards County’s first chance for a TD by knocking the ball away from the intended receiver in the endzone.

 

A tackle by Heath Ray and Jon Newbold then knocked the ball carrier out of bounds, again  denying EC the prize.  Marshall took over on the 2 yard line as the first half came to an end. Marshall led 46-0.

 

Chad Leitch gained 4 for Marshall at the start the third quarter. A pass by Davidson was intercepted by EC’s Levi Rogers, and EC finally got on the board with a score by Toutloff. EC trailed 6-46.

 

A fumble by Marshall quickly put the ball back in EC hands. They moved steadily downfield held to minimal gains due to tackles by Brett Hook, Mitch Royer and Zach Tharp.

 

Collier finally crossed the EC goal line for the second EC TD.  The 2-point conversion failed and Marshall led 46-12.

 

The Marshall Lions wasted no time scoring with a 55-yard run by Chad Leitch.

The freshman squad went in with the final four minutes.They kept EC to minimal gains and soon gained possession. At the final buzzer, it was Marshall 52, Edwards County 12.

 

The game was a benefit for the Edwards County Shriners, and the Shriners named Andre Strohm MVP of the game.

 

Head coach Todd Evers was very pleased with the win. “Offensively, Jacob Duncan only played a few plays due to a bruise on his thigh,” explained the coach. “By the time he was cleared by our athletic trainer Holly (Shumaker), we were already up by four touchdowns, so we used the opportunity for the Lions’ second quarterback, Austin Osborne, to get some game experience.”  “Osborne is not your typical #2 quarterback,” added Evers. “Any time you have a quarterback that knows your offense inside and out, you don’t hesitate to give him a chance.”

 “Defensively, I thought we played really sharp. We had a lot of gang tackling, what we really want to see in week 1.”

 

“Of all areas that need improvement, our special teams definitely need cleaned up.”

“This week we look forward to a tough week of practice in preparation for Flora. Flora’s always well-coached and they have a few athletes back from last season. I anticipate them to be a tougher game.”

 

The Lions will host Flora this Friday at Bush Field.

 

Andre Strohm - 1/17, 1TD; Austin Osborn - 2/7; Chad Leitch - 3/55, 1TD; Jacob Duncan - 1/46, 1TD; Cole Rice - 2/44; Brock Hook - 5/21, 1TD; Taylor Padgett - 3/17; Zach Bartnick - 1/1, 1TD.

 

Andre Strohm - 1/49, 1TD; Shaun Ahlers - 1/11; Brock Hook - 1/5; Taylor Sanders - 1/30, 1TD; Rodney Troutman - 1/69, 1TD.

 

Austin Osborn - 4/5, 159 yds (3TD); Jacob Duncan - 1/2, 5 yds.

 

 Andre Strohm - 7, Shaun Ahlers - 2, Taylor Maurer - 2, Logan Goldsberry - 1, Jacob Duncan - 2, Cole Rice - 4, Brock Hook - 3, Taylor Padgett - 2, Mitch Royer - 5, Brett Hook - 5, Taylor Sanders - 1, Ben Tomasino - 3, McQuaid Peterson - 2, Jon Newbold - 1, Zach Bartnick - 1, Nolan Miller - 1, Jared Boyll - 5, Dalton  McNeely - 1,  Cotey Thompson - 2, Heath Ray - 2, Adam Kendall - 1, Zach Tharp - 7, John Kuhn - 5 (2 sacks), Nathan Zellers - 1, Justin Lewis - 1, Rodney Troutman - 2, Wyatt Taylor - 3, Zach Claypool - 1.

 

Kicking:

 Daniel Littlejohn - 4/7

 

SUMMARY: First Downs: M - 10, EC - 8; Rushing Yards: M - 207, EC - 117; Passing Completions/Attempts: M - 5/8, EC - 5/9; Passing Yards: M - 164, EC - 22; Passing TD/INT: M - 3/1, EC - 0/1; Punts average: M - 0, EC - 6/37; Fumbles Lost: M - 1/1, EC - 0/0; Penalties/Yards: M - 4/18, EC - 4/25; Total Yards (offense): M - 371, EC - 117.