The Lions hosted Flora Friday night in their first home game of the 2011 season. They took the win easily by a score of 44-7.

 

To start out the game, Marshall’s Cole Rice received the opening kick off by the Flora’s Moises Carro and moved rapidly down the field as quarterback Jacob Duncan connected with Rodney Troutman for a 17-yard gain and twice to Taylor Sanders for 5+ gains, then kept the ball and broke through the Wolf defenders for a 43-yard touchdown run with just 2:10 off the clock. Daniel Littlejohn’s extra point kick was good, and Marshall led 7-0.

 

Each team received a penalty call, and Flora actually lost ground in their first campaign. Gonzalez ran for six yards, but his team lost 9 on the next two plays, thanks to tackles by Troutman and Sanders. Then their attempt  to punt was thwarted by Andre Strohm, and Marshall took over the ball on the Wolves’ 13 yard line. It took only one play for Strohm to dart over the goal line for another Lion score. With another good extra point kick by Littlejohn, Marshall led 14-0 with 6:56 left in the first quarter.

 

Flora pushed downfield on carries by Gonzalez, Carro and Dillon Orel. All were pulled down by Strohm.

 

Flora was again forced to punt, only to find it blocked by Strohm. Jared Boyll scooped up the ball and ran to the endzone. The ball was called back to the 20 yard line, but that was a mere inconvenience as Duncan fired the ball to Sanders for the score. The extra point kick was good and Marshall led 21-0 with over three minutes to go.

 

Flora fared even worse in their next series. Their punt at least made it into the air this time, but to the chagrin of the Flora team and fans, Sanders took it back 50 yards for another Lion TD. Littlejohn booted the pigskin through the uprights and Marshall led 28-0.

History repeated itself in the next few minutes as the Wolves failed to get a first down and punted. Sanders again received the ball and this time returned it 40 yards to score. Flora blocked Littlejohn’s kick, but the Lions still led 34-0.

 

Gonzales received the kickoff and was brought down by John Kuhn. They failed to gain any yardage and fumbled the ball. It was recovered by Cole Rice, and Marshall resumed control.

 

Austin Osborn came in for Duncan. He handed off to Rice and Sanders. By 4th down, the Lions were on the 33 yard line and opted for a field goal by Littlejohn. The kick was good and Marshall led 37-0.

 

Justin Lewis brought down the Flora receiver on the kickoff. The Wolves’ next series featured a fumble (which they recovered) and a 15-yard loss due to a bad snap.

Once the ball was back in Lion hands, Rice carried the ball for several short gains and Osborn connected with Sanders for a 35-yard gain. Flora finally got the ball back on downs on their 5 yard line but was soon forced to punt. Shaun Ahlers received the ball and ran it to  the 31 yard line.  A “roughing the kicker” call put the ball back in Flora hands. Their luck ran out after securing a first down, though, thanks to a blocked pass by Brock Hook, tackles by the tough Lion defense and several incomplete passes.

 

After the halftime break, which featured the Marching Lions playing a melody of songs by Lady Gaga, the game continued with Marshall kicking off to Flora. Kuhn stopped the Wolf receiver and Dalton McNeely pulled down the ball carrier for a 5-yard loss on the first play. The Lion defense held Flora to no gain and they were forced to punt.

 

Duncan shot the ball to Sanders and Strohm, who carried the ball 20 and 14 yards, respectively, to the Flora 10 yard line. The Lions lost 5 yards on a penalty call, but Marshall was soon on the goal line with carries by Duncan, Rice and Strohm. One final push and Duncan was over the line for another Lion TD. Littlejohn’s kick pushed Marshall out to a 44-0 lead.

 

The Wolves tried to move downfield but were stopped by Ryan Sanders, Jon Newbold, Taylor Padgett, McQuaid Peterson and a host of Lions, and Marshall took over possession on the 50 yard line.

 

Moving into the fourth quarter, Padgett  and Chad Leitch carried for moderate gains and a first down. The Lions soon lost the ball on downs. Flora blocked the punt and moved swiftly down the field with several first downs. Tackles were made by Padgett, Wyatt Taylor, Leitch, Corey Wallace and Zach Tharp. The Wolves finally found the endzone on a pass from Ethan Gossett to Kyle Nicholson. The extra point kick was good and the game soon ended with Marshall winning 44-7.

 

Andre Strohm - 3/16, 1TD;  Austin Osborn - 1/2; Chad Leitch - 1/6; Jacob Duncan - 4/66, 2TD; Cole Rice - 5/13; Taylor Padgett - 2/3.

 

 Clay Titus - 1/10; Taylor Sanders - 6/99, 1TD; Rodney Troutman - 1/17.

 

Austin Osborn - 2/3, 39 yds; Derrick Davidson - 1/1 10 yds; Jacob Duncan - 5/8, 77 yds, 1TD.

 

Andre Strohm - 6, 2 blk punts; Ryan Sanders - 3; Shaun Ahlers - 2; Taylor Maurer - 5, 1 sack; Logan Goldsberry - 2; Chad Leitch - 1; Cole Rice - 2; Brock Hook - 3, 1 int; Taylor Padgett - 4; Corey Wallace - 3; Taylor Sanders - 2; McQuaid Peterson - 4; Jon Newbold - 1, 1 sack; Gary Walker - 1; Zach Bartnick - 6, 1 sack; Nolan Miller - 5; Jared Boyll - 12; Dalton McNeely - 3; Heath Ray - 3; Adam Kendall - 4; John Kuhn - 6, 1 sack; Justin Lewis - 3; Rod Troutman - 5; Wyatt Taylor - 3; Zach Claypool - 1; Zach Tharp -3.

 

Daniel Littlejohn - 5/6, 1FG - 43 yds; Taylor Sanders - 2 punt returns, 121 yds, 2TD.

 

First Downs: M - 11, F - 6; Rushing Yards: M - 98, F - 63; Passing Completions/Attempts: M - 8/12, F - 4/12; Passing Yards: M - 126 yds, F - -7; Passing TD/INT: M - 1/0, F - 1/1; Punts/Average: M - 1/0, F - 7/16; Fumbles Lost: M - 0/0, F- 4/1; Penalties/Yards: M- 6/45, F - 4/25; Total Yards (offense): M- 224, F - 56.