Article and Photos by T Ray Henry
The Marshall High School football team opened the 2026 season by hosting Wesclin High School from the Cahokia Conference on a warm and humid night at Bush Field in Marshall on Friday, August 21st. In last season's opening game between the two schools in Trenton, the squads put on an offensive display, taking the game to overtime before the Lions scored a touchdown and a two-point conversion to win in a walk-off by the score of 36-34. Both teams qualified for the IHSA Class 2A state playoffs, with each team ending their season by falling to an undefeated foe. With both squads graduating some key contributors, this contest featured two young teams looking to find their footing in the early going (Marshall has 6 seniors on the roster, while Wesclin has 7).
For the first quarter and a half, both defenses ruled the gridiron, with the only scoring threat coming on a 27-yard field goal attempt by the Warriors which was blocked with 8:21 to go in the second quarter.
On the ensuing drive, Marshall's offense finally got on track, buoyed by multiple Max Welsh rushes. The Lions kept chewing up yardage until the clock ticked down to under two minutes before halftime. With just under a minute and a half to go before the break, Marshall's David Sherrell took a handoff and broke over the left side to paydirt from 11 yards out. Marshall took a 6-0 lead into the half.
The Lions came out in the second half looking to go up by two scores, and with their defense pitching a shutout thus far, the offense started clicking again. On a fourth down and 7 just over midfield, Marshall QB Luke Brodie connected with Bryce Parker for a first down at the Warriors' 37 to keep the drive alive. Brodie connected again with Parker on the right side, and after a couple more runs and two costly penalties against Wesclin, Marshall suddenly had the ball inside the 5-yard line with a first-and-goal. Three plays later, Marshall's Max Welsh went into the end zone from 4 yards out to put the Big Red in front 12-0. The Lions decided to go for two, and Brodie connected with Wyatt Geltz in the left flat of the end zone for the two-point conversion. Marshall now led 14-0 with 3:35 remaining in the third quarter.
The Warriors were determined to cut into the Lions' lead on their next drive, moving the ball all the way down into the red zone before Marshall’s defense stiffened. On a fourth and 9 at the Marshall 20 yard line, Lions sophomore Thomas Stafford broke through the line and stopped the Warriors' quarterback for no gain at the 20. With the turnover on downs and 1:15 to go in the third quarter, Marshall's offense came out and maintained possession for 4 1/2 minutes through the end of the third and up until there was 8:30 left on the clock in the fourth when Wesclin got the ball back on their 27-yard line.
The Warriors flashed their explosiveness on the next drive as they drove 73 yards in 5 plays, culminating with a 45-yard touchdown pass. After converting the two-point conversion, Wesclin cut the Lions' lead to 14-8 with 6:42 to go in the game.
On the ensuing kickoff, Wesclin was called for contacting the ball before it advanced the required ten yards, so Marshall took over possession on offense at midfield. The Lions then worked on running the ball while chewing up both yardage and time. The Lions drove the ball down inside the Wesclin 5, then the offense sputtered with penalties which pushed the offense back. Two potential game-sealing touchdowns were called back, and the drive ended at the Wesclin 3-yard line with under 2 minutes to go on the game clock. The Lions’ defense held strong by defending two long passes which fell incomplete, then the Big Red forced a safety to make the score 16-8 with 1:33 to go. Wesclin attempted another onside kick, but the Lions recovered and ran out the clock in the victory formation. When the final horn sounded, Marshall came away with a 16-8 win over Wesclin to begin the season 1-0.
Max Welsh led the Lions with 122 yards on 17 carries and a touchdown. Luke Brodie ran the ball 11 times for 64 yards. He was also 6 for 12 in passing for 59 yards. Silas Dean had 22 yards on the ground and caught a pass for 10 yards. Dean also had a touchdown and a huge run both called back due to penalties.
While dominating on defense, Marshall was led in tackles by Rocco Giannavola with 7. Josef Stafford had 6, while Lachlan Smith finished the game with 4. Josef Stafford, Lachlan Smith, and Thomas Stafford each had a sack. In the game, Marshall’s defense held Wesclin to a total of 154 yards, 73 of which came on the Warriors’ lone scoring drive. Marshall generated 255 yards in offense and held onto the ball 11 minutes longer than Wesclin.
Marshall (1-0) travels to Sparta Saturday, August 29th to take on the Sparta-Steeleville Bulldogs (1-0) in a non-conference game scheduled to begin at 4:00 PM at Sparta High School.
David Sherrell scores the first touchdown of the season for Marshall against Wesclin
Max Welsh (23) rushed for 122 yards and a TD in the Lions' win over Wesclin
The Lions defense was dominating while holding Wesclin to 154 total yards in Marshall's 16-8 win
Marshall QB Luke Brodie connected on two fourth-down passes and a 2-point conversion in the Lions' win over Wesclin