Article and Photos by T Ray Henry
The Marshall High School football team went on the road to Pierce Field in Sparta to take on the Sparta-Steeleville Bulldogs in a non-conference football game on Saturday afternoon, August 29th.
On a very warm, sunny day, the Lions started out of the gate very well, stopping the potent Bulldog attack on the game’s opening drive. The Lions took over possession on their own 23-yard line. After the first two offensive plays went nowhere, the Lions were facing a third and 12 from their own 21. Marshall quarterback Luke Brodie stepped back and threaded a pass over the middle to receiver Bryce Parker, and Parker dragged a couple Bulldog defenders to the Marshall 40 for a first down. The two Lions connected on another third down play to put the ball at midfield and another Marshall first down. The offense started clicking on the ground with David Sherrill and Max Welsh moving the chains, then a pass on a hitch pattern in the right flat from Brodie to Parker put the ball inside the Sparta red zone at the 19-yard line. On third and 3 from the Sparta 12, Marshall’s Max Welsh took the handoff up the middle and carried two defenders into the end zone for a Lions touchdown. Owen Griguhn came on and drilled the extra point, and with 5:30 to go in the opening quarter, Marshall led Sparta 7-0.
Coinciding with the play clock malfunctioning from that point on, the game entered into an alternate universe as the high-powered aerial attack of Sparta proved to be a big challenge for the young Lions defensive secondary. With the Bulldog ground attack being stymied by Marshall’s defensive front, the home team resorted to its passing game to regain momentum. With five seconds remaining in the first quarter, Sparta quarterback Dariontez Monroe, who threw for 417 yards and 4 touchdowns, scrambled to his left at the Marshall 15 and threw across his body to the right corner of the end zone where it was caught by Tyrell Charles for a touchdown. The quick-strike drive of 65 yards took just 2 minutes. Marshall blocked the extra point, so the Lions remained in the lead 7-6.
In the second quarter, Marshall kept grinding out yards, but the offense never threatened the Sparta defense. With the Lions backed up on their 25-yard line on fourth down, Luke Brodie launched a 60-yard punt all the way down to the Sparta 15. On the first play of their drive, Sparta’s Monroe threw a pass to a streaking Jakhai Dancy up the left seam, and Dancy outran the Lions defense to the end zone for an 85-yard touchdown reception. The Bulldogs scored on their two-point try, and with 6:01 to go before halftime, Sparta led 14-7. The Bulldogs tacked on another long touchdown pass and two-point conversion, and the first half ended with Marshall trailing 22-7.
The Lions had a chance to get back into the game in the second half on three occasions, but a critical fourth down run was called 6 inches short of the line to gain, a Sparta interception which occurred in the end zone, and a fumble – no fumble – “I think a white jersey touched the ball after being out of bounds” side judge call ended any chance for the Lions to swing momentum back in their favor. The Bulldogs continued to throw the ball as Marshall struggled to defend the pass, and in the end, Sparta came away with a 36-7 win over Marshall to go to 2-0 on the season. Sparta scored in every quarter of the game (touchdown in the first, 2 touchdowns in the second, and one touchdown in each of the third and fourth quarters). Sparta is averaging over 40 points in their first two games, so it will take a fast defensive backfield and a D-Line which can rush the quarterback and make him uncomfortable to solve the Sparta puzzle. For a program that struggled on the field for many years, including losing at Marshall by 30 points last year, the Bulldogs got in the weight room all off-season and changed the trajectory of its football program’s future. For the game, Sparta outgained Marshall 474 yards to 260. Marshall outgained Sparta 108 to 67 on the ground, but the difference was in the passing game, as Sparta had 417 yards passing to Marshall’s 152.
For Marshall, Max Welsh led the team in rushing with 38 yards. David Sherrill finished with 28 yards on the ground, and Silas Dean had 13 yards. Luke Brodie, who ran for 19 yards, was 12 for 22 through the air for 152 yards. Bryce Parker had a career day in receiving, hauling in 4 catches for 58 yards. Wyatt Geltz had 3 catches for 35 yards, Eli Thompson had 1 reception for 23 yards, and Cooper Danke had 1 catch for 19 yards and a run for 3 yards.
Marshall (1-1) travels to Paris on Friday, September 4th to take on the Tigers in the conference opener for both teams. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 PM at Paris High School.
Max Welsh (23) was a workhorse in the Lions' ground game on their opening drive against Sparta
Marshall's Cooper Danke (20) goes up and catches a pass from Luke Brodie against Sparta
Reed Ramey intercepts a Sparta pass during second quarter action
Bryce Parker (6) had his best day on the gridiron for Marshall, catching four passes for 58 yards vs Sparta