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MA crushes Black Knights By BARRY BURLESON
Editor  | Photos by Barry Burleson
Defense
(Above) Chase Smith (80) and Jake Delashmit take down a Knight. (Below) Kirby Jones (65) pressures the West Memphis quarterback. |
The Patriots traveled over the Mississippi River Friday night and wrapped up the regular season with their easiest win yet. Marshall
Academy scored four touchdowns in the first quarter and was on cruise
control the rest of the way versus winless West Memphis (Ark.). The
final score was 49-0. The Patriots improved to
8-2 overall and finished 3-1 in district play. Next up is a state
playoff game at Leake Academy this week. The Black Knights fumbled on their first offensive play Friday and MA’s Dustin Allen recovered. It
took the Marshall offense three plays to score from the West Memphis
34. Quarterback Hank Owens ran to the end zone from 10 yards out. Chase
Carpenter kicked the first of his seven extra points on the night. On
the Knights’ next possession, Elgin Lafever intercepted a pass and with
a face mask flag on the home team, MA was in business at the West
Memphis 15. Jake Delashmit scored the touchdown on a 1-yard plunge.  Lafever
picked off another aerial midway through the first period. On first
down, Owens found an all-alone Aaron McAlexander for the 40-yard
touchdown strike.
The Black Knights reached the
Marshall 36 on their next possession. That’s when Neil Murphy and Allen
hit the quarterback for a loss; then a fourth-down pass attempt fell
incomplete. The Pats took over but fumbled and
lost 16 yards to their own 25 on first down. On the next play Owens
dodged a couple of would-be tacklers and dashed 75 yards for six
points. It was 28-0 after one period. Marshall
added a touchdown with 7:19 to go in the second quarter. Owens
connected with Kevin Fitzpatrick over the middle for 68 yards and a
score. The first half ended with MA’s Chase Smith
leaping and stealing a pass away from a West Memphis receiver. He
returned it 90 yards for an apparent score. The interception stood but
the touchdown was called back due to an illegal block on the Pats. The clock ran non-stop the bulk of the second half. The Patriots scored two more times. Zack Pritchett threw to McAlexander for a 41-yard touchdown with 3:37 left in the third period. Then midway through the fourth quarter, Lafever darted 29 yards along the sideline for a touchdown. As
time was winding down, defensive back McAlexander picked off his 11th
pass of the season, which is believed to be tops in the state this
season – public school or private school. The Patriots ran the ball 28 times for 212 yards. Owens rushed for 95 yards. MA was three of five passing for 141 yards. The Black Knights had 32 carries for 109 yards. They were three of 13 through the air for 32 yards. Most all Marshall defensive players shared the spotlight – getting three and four tackles each.  | Photo by Barry Burleson
Picking up yards
MA’s Trey Johnson (30) looks to avoid a Knight. In back is Zack Pritchett, who made the handoff. |
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