BOWLING GREEN – A playoff game in November is what high school football players and coaches work for, and that is what the Marshall County Marshals earned when they lined up against Bowling Green Friday, the defending 5A State Champions with a 22 game win-streak to their credit. At the final buzzer, the Marshals fell to the Purples 43-14, achieving the third highest point total against Bowling Green this season.
The Marshals finish the 2016 season 5-6, making great strides in the direction that the program has been striving for under Head Coach Evan Merrick in his third season at the helm.
“You get to the very end and you can reflect, and you look at this season and what we’ve done, it is a reward”, said Merrick. “What we told the guys just now is, this senior class has left this program in better shape than how it started and that’s how you build. They’ve left a legacy and a bar for us to reach going forward.”
“Unless you win it all, you’re season ends with a loss, but I thought we fought hard against a very good team, likely the favorite to win in 5A and our kids fought to the very end and I’m so very proud of them, very proud of our seniors and young guys that stepped up in some key spots and we’re going to access this season, reflect and build going forward, but 2016 was a step in the right direction for us.”
Bowling Green, #1 in the 5A poll and State Champions four of the last five seasons, scored 28 points in the first quarter on a 16 yard pass from senior quarterback Clark Payne to wide receiver Ziyon Kenner, a 32 yard reception from Payne to Luke Brown, a 36 yard run by Jamale Carothers and 88 yard catch by Carothers with 27 seconds left in the first quarter.
The Marshals put together a good drive in the second quarter, highlighted by a 25 yard pass from Skyler Smith to Lucas Forsythe, a 4th down pass complete to Trevor Fisk and a nine yard touchdown pass from Smith to Forsythe for a touchdown that culminated an 80 yard drive. The extra point attempt was added by Daniel Gardner to put the Marshals on the board trailing 28-7.
Bowling Green scored again on a 38 yard run by Carothers and again just before halftime on a pass from Payne to Deangelo Wilson to lead 43-7 at halftime.
Bowling Green brought in sophomore quarterback Beau Buchanan in the second half which was played with a running clock, but the Marshals would win the half with the only score for either team coming with just 1:22 left in the game on a 38 yard pass from Smith to Tristin Prange and extra point kick by Gardner.
In post game comments, Coach Merrick said, “This team has put us in places we haven’t been for a while. You see a level of confidence come from these guys and when you see the hard work start to pay off a little bit, it gets exciting. I think that’s what this year has done for our guys and we look forward to what it brings, but we’re going to sit back and enjoy this one going into the winter.”
Merrick said this team from summer workouts to November, “loves coming to work, loves working with each other and playing together.”
This year’s team certainly lived up to their motto “get better every day, get better every week.”
Game Stats:
Total Offensive Yards: Marshall 245, Bowling Green 415
Rushing: Marshall 61, Bowling Green 103
Marshall: Green 25/72
Bowling Green: Carothers 2/74, 2 TDs
Passing: Marshall 184, Bowling Green 312
Marshall: Smith 6/28, 184 yards, 2 TDs
Bowling Green: Payne 8/10, 269 yards, 4 TDs
Receiving
Marshall: Prange 6/83, TD; Forsythe 4/69, TD; Fisk 2/25
Bowling Green: Carothers 2/126, TD; Wilson 4/77, TD; Brown 1/32; Kenner 1/19, TD