The Marauders ended their Sept. 27 game 45 points above the Irving Tigers. This impressive margin of victory began with a safety scored in the first few minutes of the game, which set the stage for more Marauder scoring plays to follow. The Tigers displayed an intense running game on their two scoring plays, earning a total of 193 rushing yards. However, it was not enough to combat the lead earned by the Marauders early in the game.
Head coach Kevin Atkinson was proud of the work that his team had put into the game.
“We had a few too many penalties in the first quarter, but we rebounded and we executed our game plan, and we finished the night right where I wanted,” Atkinson said.
The first quarter began with a safety earning the Marauders two points. Soon after, sophomore quarterback #13 Garrett Nussmeier found senior tight end #82 Gus Sralla in the end zone for a touchdown. Seven more points were put on the board after sophomore left back #45 Tyler Gainey intercepted an Irving pass and ran it in for a touchdown. The third and final touchdown of the quarter was scored by senior running back #2 Justin Dinka, with a pass from Nussmeier. The Tigers finished the first quarter with a touchdown of their own, bringing the score to 23-7 at the end of the first.
In the second quarter, senior quarterback #14 Carter Bir subbed in for Nussmeier for the rest of the game. Dinka scored his second and final touchdown of the night, which was answered with a touchdown by the Tigers who failed to complete the point after. The score at the half was 37-13 Marauders.
The Marauders kept the Tigers scoreless for the rest of the game and racked up two more touchdowns in the third quarter, scored by junior wide receiver #3 Jaden Robinson and Dinka. Senior running back #35 John Boudreaux scored the only touchdown of the fourth.
The Marauder offense appeared to be unstoppable, as they racked up 288 rushing yards, Dinka accounting for 173, and junior wide receiver #17 Alex Fontaine earning the second most at 26 yards total. The passing game totaled 199 passing yards, with Nussmeier throwing for 81 yards in the first quarter, and Bir throwing for 166 for the final three quarters of the game. In addition, the offense complete six-out-of-six third down conversions.
Defensively, the red and silver only gave up 13 points throughout the game. The Marauder defense held the Tigers to an average of four yards per carry and five yards per pass. The interception run in for a touchdown by Gainey was the highlight of the night for the defense.
Due to the lead earned by the red and silver early on and various injuries, this game was the optimal opportunity for non-starters to shine. Senior defensive lineman #83 John Brand had to leave the game in the first half due to a potential injury.
“We played very tough, even with some of our back-ups in, they did the job that needed to be done,” Brand said. “We needed some guys to step up and play the game.”
The red and silver will play their homecoming game next week against Irving-Nimitz at home at 7:00 p.m.
