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Patriots roll past Raiders By BARRY BURLESON
Editor  | Photo by Barry Burleson
Defense
A
swarming Marshall defense surrounds Oak Hill running back Doss Miller
in the fourth quarter Friday night. The Patriots include Chase Ferrell,
Neil Murphy, Evan Hickman, Trey Johnson, Stephen Pannell and Wood
Morris. |
Marshall Academy turned to the big play to blast Oak Hill Friday night at West Point. The
Patriots scored on plays of 75, 31, 39, 23 and 25 yards as they rolled
over the Raiders 35-7. MA improved to 7-2 overall with the non-district
win. “We scored real quickly to open the game,
and then we sort of lollygagged around,” coach Keith Wicker said. “But
we kicked it in gear and hit some more big plays.”  | Photos by Barry Burleson
Seeking additional yards
Marshall ball-carrier Taylor Maurey (42) tries to escape the grasp of Oak Hill’s Clay Henley (23). |
The Pats ran just 18 plays in the first half and scored on three of them. The
first came less than a minute into the game when quarterback Hank Owens
rolled right and found an open Elgin Lafever, who made the catch and
completed the 75-yard touchdown connection. Oak
Hill, which dominated time of possession but not the game, ran 13 plays
on its first possession but failed on a fourth and seven from the
Patriot 21. The two teams swapped punts -
including a 66-yarder by MA’s Chase Carpenter. The senior also had two
52-yard punts in the game, plus he was five-of-five on extra-point
kicks and booted five of six kickoffs into the end zone and the other
to the 1. Marshall switched to its “Wild Patriot”
formation for its next score. Kevin Fitzpatrick, lined up at
quarterback in the shotgun, pitched the ball back to Owens, who threw
31 yards to Aaron McAlexander for the touchdown. “I really wanted to save that play, but we needed a score, and I knew if we completed it, it would be a touchdown,” Wicker said. Later
in the second quarter the MA defense, led on the night by Chase
Ferrell’s 13 tackles, foiled the Raiders’ fake-punt attempt on fourth
and 12. The MA offense took over at its own 43
and struck quickly again - covering the 57 yards in only three plays.
Fitzpatrick got loose, got hit, spun away and reached paydirt from 39
yards out with 3:37 to go in the second quarter. The
Pats upped their lead to 28-0 in the third. Fitzpatrick had a 26-yard
kickoff return. Then two plays later, from the Oak Hill 23, Owens
tossed to Ferrell, who broke a couple of tackles and scored. MA fumbled the ball away three times in the last 15 minutes of the game.  | Hard-hitting game
Zack Pritchett (60) of MA puts the hit on Oak Hill runner Doss Miller. |
But
the Patriot defense managed to add a touchdown of its own. Neil Murphy
deflected a Raider punt, which Ferrell caught and returned 25 yards for
six points. That came with 1:42 to go in the third period. Oak
Hill avoided the shutout when it drove 92 yards in 12 plays. The big
play was a 24-yard pass from Conner Baird to Clay Henley. Then Doss
Miller, the Raiders’ workhorse, scored on a 13-yard run. Reid Posey’s
kick was good. Marshall’s McAlexader ended the game with his 10th interception of the season. MA
ran the ball 20 times for 172 yards, led by Ferrell’s 60 yards on six
carries. Owens was four of seven passing for 143 yards. The Pats had
just 35 yards in penalties, a season low. Jake Delashmit had nine tackles. Dustin Allen and Murphy had seven each. Oak Hill ran the ball 51 times for 152 yards and was six of 10 passing for 70 yards. The
Patriots end the regular season Friday night at West Memphis, a
District 1-AA opponent. They will start the playoffs the next Friday
night, Nov. 5, against the winner of this week’s Leake-Lamar clash. The
site of that opening round playoff contest will not be known until
after this Friday’s games. |
