Patriots second in district
It turned into a tough night for the Marshall Academy football team Friday.
With the District 1-3A championship at the line versus Oak Hill Academy at West Point, the Patriots fell short, 20-14. It was their first loss of the season.
“We just didn’t play well,” coach Tony Banks said. “Oak Hill had a good game plan and wanted it more than we did. On the road, we came out flat, and good teams make you pay for it.”
The Patriots move on to the state playoffs for the 15th consecutive season. The sixth seed will host Kirk Academy, the 11th seed, Friday night at 7 p.m. At Heath Barnett Field.
“We have to regroup,” Banks said.
Oak Hill cashed in a 50yard drive in the first quarter to take the early momentum. Cameron Dill found Nathan Harrington in the corner of the end zone for the 16-yard touchdown. The extra-point try failed.
The Raiders reached as far as the MA 31 on a drive that started late in the first quarter and carried over into the second. But the Patriot defense rose to the occasion.
The offense continued to sputter in the first half. Two incompletions ended the next possession.
Marshall made a move to try to get on the scoreboard before the intermission. Starting from its own 18, Landon Houston kept the ball for 14 yards but left with an ankle injury. Two passes from Jimmy Morales to Rusty Bolden moved the ball to the Oak Hill 26. After going backwards, Morales kept for 15 yards and a first down, but the half ended on an intentional grounding flag and an incomplete pass.
Coach Banks said it was another game where key players were not able to play due to sickness, injuries and other reasons.
“We had to move folks around again,” he said. “We haven’t had the same offensive line in two games all year, and Oak Hill made us pay. We’ve been doing that all year not having key players and piecing things together — and it caught up with us.”
The Patriots managed to tie the game on their first possession of the third quarter, a 58-yard drive after a squib kick.
Houston connected with Bolden for a 21-yard gain. Ethan Helton carried for a pair of first downs. Houston then threw 14 yards to Hayes Henry for the touchdown. The point-after attempt was no good. The game was tied at 6 with 9:14 left in the third quarter.
The MA defense forced a three and out. Colton Neal had pair of big runs for the Pats, pushing the ball to Oak Hill 32. After a pass interference, they had a first and 10 at the 17 but failed to get any points.
The Raiders scored twice in the first seven minutes of the fourth on rushing plays of 20 and 8 yards. The Patriots trailed 20-6 with 5:02 left.
Henry provided some lightning for Marshall on the ensuing kickoff. He returned it 80 yards along the sideline for a touchdown. Houston kept for the two-point conversion.
The Raiders recovered the Patriots’ onside kick and later converted on a fourth and 6 with 54 seconds remaining and was able to run out the clock.
“We didn’t play well all the way around, but we still had our chances,” Banks said. “We couldn’t come up with a stop there.”
The 7-1 Patriots next host the 5-5 Kirk Raiders to start the playoffs. Marshall beat Kirk 21-18 just two weeks ago in Grenada.
“We have to play well and play with a lot of confidence,” he said. “Kirk will come in here ready to play.
“We need to get some people healthy this week, and I like our chances.” The Marshall-Kirk winner will travel to face Brookhaven Academy in the next round, set for Friday, Nov. 5.
The Class 4A state semifinal round will be Friday, Nov. 12, with the championship game November 19.