Marshals fall in season opener to Mayfield 37-0

Marshall quarterback Skyler Smith (14) hands off to running back Dalton Nelson (31) in the Marshals season opener against Mayfield.
Marshall quarterback Skyler Smith (14) hands off to running back Dalton Nelson (31) in the Marshals season opener against Mayfield.

DRAFFENVILLE – The Marshals received the opening kick to start the 2015 season against Mayfield but were forced to punt giving the Cardinals the ball on their 35 yard line. A few plays later and the Marshals have the ball back on their 23 yard line following an interception by Trevor Fisk.

That drive for the Marshals was short-lived with Mayfield’s interception giving them good field position, going 48 yards for the touchdown and 7-0 lead.

The Marshals fumbled on their next possession which set Mayfield up for their second touchdown and a 14-0 lead.
Mayfield would score once more in the first quarter, on a 15 yard touchdown pass from Landon Arnett to Trajon Bright to lead 20-0 after the extra point attempt was no good.

Collin Gunn (12) leads the way for Mason Green (22) during a punt return against Mayfield.
Collin Gunn (12) leads the way for Mason Green (22) during a punt return against Mayfield.

Starting from their own 19 yard line with 43 second left in the first quarter, the Marshals picked up a first down, the first of the game but were eventually forced to punt which se put Mayfield in position for a second quarter touchdown on a 31 yard pass from Arnett to a wide open Lane Kennemore to lead 27-0.

Mayfield would score two more times in the first half on a 26 yard touchdown pass from Arnett to Jordan Harrison and a 33 yard field goal to lead 37-0 at halftime, which would be their winning total for the game.

The Marshals opened the third quarter with an on-side kick by Daniel Gardner that was recovered, setting them up from their own 49 yard line. A facemask penalty on Mayfield moved the ball to the 35 yard line followed by off-sides on Mayfield which set up a 39 yard field goal attempt by Gardner that was wide left.

A fumble recovery by the Marshals in the fourth quarter was followed by a 24 yard pass reception from Skyler Smith to Tristen Prange which would set up another field goal attempt by the freshman soccer place kicker that was just right of the goal post.

Head Coach Evan Merrick said one thing they can take away from the game is the effort from his players.
“Our kids played hard the whole game”, Merrick said. “We talked to them at halftime and we’re already down 37-0 and you can’t change that. We said let’s build for the second half and set the tone for our season.”

“At the end of the day this game is not going to be what defines our season. We learned a lot from this game and got better despite some of the negative things that happened. We’ve got to make sure we don’t have as many penalties and several missed assignments that I think is a lot of week one type things. When you play a team like Mayfield, those missed assignments get exposed.”

Mayfield had 346 total offensive yards in the game, 234 coming in the air from Arnett who was 12/19 for 204 yards. Bright had 10 carries for Mayfield for 115 yards. The Cardinals were penalized 95 yards, had 12 first downs and turned the ball over three times.

The Marshals had 78 yards of total offense, 50 of those on the ground led by Dalton Nelson with 22 carries for 47 yards. Smith was 4/12 in passing for 28 yards with Prange catching two of those passes for 22 yards. Marshall County had six first downs in the game and a total of 40 yards in penalties, turned the ball over two times.

Marshall County will host Ballard Memorial next Friday in the Hall of Fame Game.

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