Eagles face uphill battle

Before the Marshall High football team could even settle into Saturday night’s game against St. Genevieve, it was down by two scores.

The Valiants went up by two touchdowns less than two minutes into the game, which was played at Sun Valley Poly High, and it only got worse as the Eagles fell, 49-6.

“It took all 11 guys on every side of the ball to lose this one,” Marshall Coach James Zall said. “We can score points and we know we have the heart to play, but we have to get the energy up.”

St. Genevieve’s quick, no-huddle offense was clicking from the beginning. On the very first play of the game, the Valiants’ Asah Jefferson took the opening kickoff 53 yards to Marshall’s 42-yard line. Three plays later, St. Genevieve (4-0) was up, 7-0, when Anthony Blue ran for a 24-yard touchdown less than a minute into the game.

Marshall (1-2) was held to a three-and-out on its ensuing possession. The punt attempt, which was from the Eagles’ 10, was blocked and walked in for a touchdown by the Valiants’ J.P. Martin, increasing the lead to 14-0 less than two minutes in the game.

“I liked that we got out to a fast start,” St. Genevieve Coach Timothy Kenney said. “We always like to make sure our guys get out to a quick start. I thought the energy level was high to start the game.”

Special teams played a big part in Saturday’s game, as Marshall was forced to punt on its next two possessions. The first was partially blocked and went 18 yards to Marhsall’s 38 and the third went for zero yards to the Eagles’ 20.

“Whenever we get into the red zone, we tell our guys they need to capitalize on those chances,” Kenney said.

That’s exactly what the Valiants did, turning them both into touchdowns. The first score came on a 15-yard run from Blue and the second on a seven-yard touchdown run from St. Genevieve quarterback Andrew Arredondo.

Blue finished the game with six runs for 63 yards and two touchdowns. Arredondo ran for three scores, on runs of 34, 22 and seven yards, and passed for another. He racked up 177 total yards, 100 of which came in seven rushing attempts. Arrendondo also completed four of eight passes for 77 yards.

Josh Fuglsang caught Arredondo’s touchdown pass, a 34-yard reception that put St. Genevieve up, 42-0, heading into halftime.

The Eagles struggled offensively all game, generating 98 total yards in the contest, and were greeted with a running clock in the third quarter.

Clifton Butler was responsible for 55 of Marshall’s yards. He completed four of 11 passes for 12 yards, while getting sacked three times for a total loss of 27 yards, and rushing for 43 more yards in 11 carries.

“Putting everything on Clif is hard to do, it’s difficult to put everything on one player’s back,” Zall said. “There is always one person that steps up and tries to take it on, but we have to make sure everyone knows it takes all 11 to get a first down.”

Butler set up Marshall’s only score of the game when he broke a 46-yard quarterback keeper to St. Genevieve’s 10. A penalty pushed the ball to the five and Derrick Shepherd punched it in on a five-yard sweeping touchdown run, bringing the score to 49-6, after a failed two-point conversion, with 11:46 remaining in the game.

Zall said getting that score was important for his team.

“One thing we are good at is getting on the board,” Zall said. “We have never been shut out and, for this team, that’s a stepping stone.”

Before the Marshall High football team could even settle into Saturday night’s game against St. Genevieve, it was down by two scores.

The Valiants went up by two touchdowns less than two minutes into the game, which was played at Sun Valley Poly High, and it only got worse as the Eagles fell, 49-6.

“It took all 11 guys on every side of the ball to lose this one,” Marshall Coach James Zall said. “We can score points and we know we have the heart to play, but we have to get the energy up.”

St. Genevieve’s quick, no-huddle offense was clicking from the beginning. On the very first play of the game, the Valiants’ Asah Jefferson took the opening kickoff 53 yards to Marshall’s 42-yard line. Three plays later, St. Genevieve (4-0) was up, 7-0, when Anthony Blue ran for a 24-yard touchdown less than a minute into the game.

Marshall (1-2) was held to a three-and-out on its ensuing possession. The punt attempt, which was from the Eagles’ 10, was blocked and walked in for a touchdown by the Valiants’ J.P. Martin, increasing the lead to 14-0 less than two minutes in the game.

“I liked that we got out to a fast start,” St. Genevieve Coach Timothy Kenney said. “We always like to make sure our guys get out to a quick start. I thought the energy level was high to start the game.”

Special teams played a big part in Saturday’s game, as Marshall was forced to punt on its next two possessions. The first was partially blocked and went 18 yards to Marhsall’s 38 and the third went for zero yards to the Eagles’ 20.

“Whenever we get into the red zone, we tell our guys they need to capitalize on those chances,” Kenney said.

That’s exactly what the Valiants did, turning them both into touchdowns. The first score came on a 15-yard run from Blue and the second on a seven-yard touchdown run from St. Genevieve quarterback Andrew Arredondo.

Blue finished the game with six runs for 63 yards and two touchdowns. Arredondo ran for three scores, on runs of 34, 22 and seven yards, and passed for another. He racked up 177 total yards, 100 of which came in seven rushing attempts. Arrendondo also completed four of eight passes for 77 yards.

Josh Fuglsang caught Arredondo’s touchdown pass, a 34-yard reception that put St. Genevieve up, 42-0, heading into halftime.

The Eagles struggled offensively all game, generating 98 total yards in the contest, and were greeted with a running clock in the third quarter.

Clifton Butler was responsible for 55 of Marshall’s yards. He completed four of 11 passes for 12 yards, while getting sacked three times for a total loss of 27 yards, and rushing for 43 more yards in 11 carries.

“Putting everything on Clif is hard to do, it’s difficult to put everything on one player’s back,” Zall said. “There is always one person that steps up and tries to take it on, but we have to make sure everyone knows it takes all 11 to get a first down.”

Butler set up Marshall’s only score of the game when he broke a 46-yard quarterback keeper to St. Genevieve’s 10. A penalty pushed the ball to the five and Derrick Shepherd punched it in on a five-yard sweeping touchdown run, bringing the score to 49-6, after a failed two-point conversion, with 11:46 remaining in the game.

Zall said getting that score was important for his team.

“One thing we are good at is getting on the board,” Zall said. “We have never been shut out and, for this team, that’s a stepping stone.”