Marshall County and Todd County Central met on the gridiron for the first time in 42 years Friday in Elkton. Their last contest came in 1978 when the Marshals won 32-7 under Head Coach Larry Crouse, the team that year finishing 7-4 and went on to finish 9-1 the following year.
The Marshals came in at 2-4 and Todd County Central 3-2.
Receiving the opening kick and starting from their own 28 yard line, the Marshals put together a 72 yard drive that ended with a one yard touchdown run by Kameron Bowerman. The drive was highlighted by a long pass from Quinn Smith to Logan Reese to the nine yard line. The extra point attempt was blocked but they were on the board with a 6-0 lead.
Marshall County took over on downs on Todd County Central’s first drive of the game at the Rebels 18 yard line. Despite a nice gain of 17 yards on a pass from Smith to Griffin Darnall, the Marshals would set up for the punt that was blocked, giving the Rebels the ball at the Marshall 23 yard line.
Todd County Central tied the game at 6-6 near the end of the first quarter, scoring on a 12 yard pass from quarterback Preston Moore to wide receiver Nate Reding. They lined up for the two-point conversion which was no good.
The Marshals got the ball back on a fumble recovery by Talon Smothers on the Rebels next possession, scoring their second touchdown of the game on a 62 yard pass from Smith to Reese on the first play from scrimmage. The extra point attempt good for a 13-6 lead at 7:00 in the second quarter.
On the kick off, the ball touched a Todd County Central player and was recovered by the Marshals giving them great field position at the Rebels 32. They scored on a six yard pass from Smith to Reese to take a 19-6 lead after the extra point kick was blocked.
Reding taking over at quarterback for an injured Moore, led the Rebels to a touchdown, scoring on an 11 yard run. The two point conversion attempt was good to cut the Marshals lead to 19-14 at halftime.
It turned out to be a scoreless second half, the Marshals turning the ball over on downs then getting it back on an interception by Chase Gibbs. An interception of Smith turned it back over to the Rebels who, unable to convert a first down, attempted a fake punt that was unsuccessful and it was the Marshals ball heading into the fourth quarter.
With great field position and just over six minutes remaining, the Rebels used up the clock on their drive to score the go-ahead touchdown but would turn it over on downs at their own 28 with 1:33 left in the game.
Needing a first down to run out the clock, Bowerman gets in on fourth and inches and the clock ran out on Marshall County’s third win of the 2020 season.
In post-game comments, Marshals Head Coach Steve Etheridge gave credit to his defense for their second half performance, holding the Rebels scoreless.
Most of the Marshals 257 yards came in the air. Smith completed 8 of 19 passes for 191 yards including two touchdowns. Reese was his leading receiver with four receptions for 139 yards and both touchdowns. Todd County Central gained most of their 260 yards on the ground, led by Riddick with 144 on 22 carries and Moore with 40 on 8 carries. The Marshals leading rusher was Bowerman with 41 yards on 13 carries.
After an 0-3 start to the season, the Marshals have won the last three out of four games, improving to 3-4. They will be back closer to home next Friday when they play Graves County in Mayfield. The Eagles are 5-2 after Friday’s 35-6 win over Muhlenberg County.
Marshall 6 13 0 0 – 19
Todd Co. 6 8 0 0 – 14