The Lions rolled over the Pioneers, who were celebrating their Senior Night. The Lions led 40-0 by the halftime break, and began substituting players in the third quarter. The Pioneers scored once on an interception by  Kasey Newlin, and the final score was Marshall 49, Palestine 6. 

 

 The Pioneers kicked off to begin the game, and Logan Goldsberry returned the ball to the 40 yard line.

 

Quarterback Jacob Duncan launched several passes. The first two were incomplete but on the third, he connected with Taylor Sanders for a big 24-yard gain and first down.

 

The Lions’ offensive line of Adam Kendall, Jared Boyll, Dalton McNeely, Justin Lewis, John Kuhn and Nolan Miller rolled down the field to the six yard line with a 16-yard carry by Andre Strohm and 14-yard pass play to Sanders,  Two more plays and Strohm burst across the goal line for a touchdown. The extra point kick was unsuccessful, and Marshall led 6-0 with only two minutes off the clock.

Joseph Eckert received the Littlejohn kickoff and carried it to the Palestine 22 yard line.

 

The Pioneers gained a first down after passes to Eric Pointon and Eckert. But on their first play of the new series, Sanders intercepted a pass attempt by Palestine quarterback Kasey Newlin, and the Lions regained possession on the Palestine 39 yard line.

 

The Lions got off to a slow start with a fumble and 10-yard loss on the first play and an incomplete pass on the second, but hit pay dirt when Duncan connected with Rodney Troutman, who bolted 60 yards, breaking several tackles along the way for the second Marshall TD. The Littlejohn kick was good, and Marshall led 13-0 with 7:17 to go in the first quarter.

 

Eckert received the kickoff and took it to the 29 yard line. The Pioneers kept trying to pass and on the third attempt, Sanders snagged another interception, and the Lions took over on the 50 yard line.

 

The Lions rolled down the field with carries by Strohm, Shaun Ahlers, and Duncan. They ran into some tough defense by Palestine as Duncan was taken for losses by Newlin and Pointon. Littlejohn attempted a field goal from the 25 yard line but missed the mark.

 

The Lions minimized the Pioneer gains in their next series with tackles by Strohm, Hook, Bartnick and Kuhn. A pass was knocked away by Taylor Maurer, and the Palestine was forced to punt.

 

Marshall took over on the Palestine 37 and Strohm squeezed in a 14-yard gain just before the buzzer.

 

Just two plays into the second quarter, Duncan passed to Sanders, who zipped into the end zone for a TD. Littlejohn aced the extra point kick, and Marshall led 20-6 only 34 seconds into the second quarter.

 

Palestine couldn’t get past the tough Lion defensive line of McQuaid Peterson, Adam Kendall, Zach Bartnick, Dalton McNeely, Rodney Troutman, Taylor Maurer and Nolan Miller, and Maurer knocked down another Pioneer pass attempt to force a punt.

 

Marshall rolled down the field with big carries by Strohm and Duncan and a 25-yard touchdown pass to Sanders. Littlejohn sent the ball through the uprights, and the Lions led 27-0.

 

The Lion defense kept Palestine to minimal gains with tackles by Boyll and Peterson, forcing them to punt once again. Ahlers returned the punt and was brought down by Dylan Webster.

 

This Lion series belonged to Brock Hook, who was over the goal in four carries for a Lion TD. The extra point attempt was unsuccessful, and Marshall led 33-0 with 6:01 left in the second round.

 

Later in the quarter, Ahlers received a punt and was taken down on the Marshall 20 by Dylan Webster. The Lions scored in two plays with a 14-yard carry by Hook and a final 8-yard push up the middle by Strohm. The extra point was good, and Marshall led 40-0. This triggered a continuous running clock throughout the remainder of the game.

 

Just before the halftime buzzer, the Pioneers tried an aerial campaign, but failed due to pressure from John Kuhn and other Lion defenders.

 

After the halftime break, the tough Lion defense held Palestine to a single one yard gain on their first series and werer forced to punt. The Lions zoomed down the field with big yardage gains by Duncan and Strohm. Strohm burst over the line for a 46-0 lead Marshall lead.

 

Eckert received the kickoff and was taken down by Heath Ray.

The Pioneers fumbled on their first play, and the Lions were back on the offensive. After a pair of short carries by Cole Rice and a short pass to Paul Wieland, Littlejohn made a 28-yard field goal to give the Lions a 49-0 lead.

 

Palestine’s Eckert received the kickoff but was stopped on the 14 yard line by Gary Walker. Schmidlin and Webster made steady gains. Tackles were made by Mitch Royer, Zack Tharp and Ray. The Pioneers attempted a pass, which was broken up by Hook and gave up the ball just short of another first down.

 

After a couple of carries by Cole Rice, a pass was intercepted by Kasey Newlin, who bolted downfield for a Pioneer touchdown with two minutes left in the game.

The game ended with a score of 49 Marshall, 6 Palestine.

 

While foes on the field, the teams united in the battle against cancer with most players wearing bright pink socks.

 

The Lions will host Robinson Friday for Senior Night.

 

Andre Strohm 9/105, 3TDs; Chad Leitch - 1/1; Jacob Duncan - 10/46; Brock Hook - 4/25, 1TD.

 

Receiving (rec/yards)

Andre Strohm - 2/10; Shaun Ahlers - 1/3; Brock Hook - 1/11; Paul Wieland - 1/4; Taylor Sanders - 6/88, 2 TDs; Rodney Troutman - 1/50, 1TD.

 

Jacob Duncan - 10/20, 166 yards, 3TDs; Austin Osborn - 1/3, 4 yards.

 

Andre Strohm - 3; Shaun Ahlers - 2, 1 pass brk; Logan Goldsberry - 3; Jacob Duncan - 1; Cole Rice - 1; Brock Hook - 3; Mitch Royer - 2; Paul Wieland - 1 pass brk; Brett Hook - 1 pass brk; Taylor Sanders - 1, 2 int, 1 pass brk; McQuaid Peterson - 3; Gary Walker - 1; Zack Bartnick - 3, 1 sack;  Jared Boyll - 8; Dalton McNeely - 1; Heath Ray - 2; Adam Kendall - 1; John Kuhn - 4; Wyatt Taylor - 1; Zack Tharp - 3.

 

Daniel Littlejohn - 6/8, 9 kick-offs 456 yards; Andre Strohm - 1 punt 48 yards; Shaun Ahlers - 2 punt returns 39 yards; Taylor Sanders - 1 punt return 10 yards.