1 week Ago By Lauren Rosenberg
The Marshall Mavericks earned their crown as Class 5A bi-district champions after defeating the Montgomery Bears 35-14 at Maverick Stadium. Montgomery started the opening drive aggressively. After a few first downs, Marshall stood their ground, coming up with aggressive tackles and forcing a fourth down.
To counter the defensive intensity, Montgomery went for it on fourth down, but Marshall forced a fumble and set up their offense on the 31-yard line. Alton Henderson scrambled for 20 yards before scampering in for a 4-yard touchdown run to give Marshall an early 7-0 lead. Jayden Cooks came up with his first sack of the night to give Marshall the ball back.
Despite Semaj Gatson’s 52-yard run, the Mavericks’ offense was plagued with numerous penalties. They weren’t able to capitalize on their prime field position and turned the ball over on downs. Cooks came up with a second sack to force a Bears’ punt.
As the quarter ticked down, Marshall would set up shop on the first drive of the second quarter at their own 39-yard line. After a few plays, Henderson burst for a 44-yard touchdown run, breaking three tackles en route to the end zone to put Marshall up 14-0. In the rare instance of Marshall’s defense allowing yardage, Montgomery drove down the field to the one yard line leading to a 1-yard touchdown run by Damion Taylor to cut Marshall’s lead to seven.
After stopping Marshall, the Mavericks set up in a routine punt formation. Instead, the bunt was blocked by the Bears, who saw all green grass ahead to tie the game up at 14 heading into halftime. The only offense in the third quarter came courtesy of the Mavericks.
Both defense locked in, but Henderson found room for a 16-yard run to set up a 4-yard touchdown run by Isaiah Bush to give Marshall a 21-14 lead. Knowing they needed to be aggressive, Montgomery set up for a field goal that everyone could tell was going to be a fake. They did attempt a fake pass to the kicker, who got rammed by Jeremiah McCowan after a great defensive read.
“I was feeling good [on my tackles] and I just read my keys and did what I was supposed to do. I know if I get a hole to the guy, then my teammates are coming to help, and that’s really what it’s all about,” said McCowan. After not completing a pass in the first half, Henderson found his second receiver on the evening; he had an earlier 18-yard pass to Judson Illingworth, Raijon Sims for a 77-yard lob pass for a touchdown.
Sims was locked down by Montgomery but was able to catch a perfectly placed pass from Henderson and find green grass ahead to put Marshall up 28-14. After forcing another three-and-out on Montgomery, Marshall took over on offense. Semaj Gatson immediately ran untouched for 31 yards to the end zone to give Marshall a 35-14 lead.
Marshall was able to get a first down and, inside Montgomery’s red zone, lined up in victory formation and the celebrations started. Gatson led the team in rushing with 167 yards and one touchdown. Bush ran for 86 yards and a touchdown.
Henderson shined on offense with 99 passing yards and one touchdown and 128 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Henderson felt great the entire week and going into the game, he knew he had a job as quarterback to lead his team past a gritty Montgomery squad. “I was just seeing a lot of open holes.
The coaches always say when we see green grass, you go and that’s what I did. I just hit the gaps and hit it hard and tried to get the [win] for my team,” said Henderson. This playoff win is a special one for Coach Jason Hammett, but also especially his team.
It’s the first playoff win in the books for Coach Hammett as head coach of Marshall and he gives all the praise to his squad. “I feel great. These kids keep fighting no matter what adversity is put in front of them.
They just keep responding. I’m super proud of them on that and it’s exciting to watch. It’s something we’ve talked about since January is getting back to this point and going back to see [Midlothian] Heritage and perform better than we did last year.
I thought we had a chance last year and gave it up. Our guys are in a mindset that that’s not part of what they want to do. I’m super excited for us and what this team can do,” said Hammett.
With everyone on offense rolling, Hammett is proud of each guy on the field. With the way his team adjusted to Montgomery’s offense showed how ready Marshall was for this game. “We got [to Montgomery] early and then they adjusted so we adjusted.
Everyone of them out there [did they job]. Alton ran the ball and threw the ball well. On Semaj’s long run, Raijon and [Tyler] Johnigan blocked their tails off along with the guys on the line.
That’s how we win. We won’t win with just one guy. We have a whole bunch of dudes that love football and love each other,” said Hammett.
Their ability to execute on defense was one of the greatest points of emphasis for Marshall. With Montgomery’s two-quarterback offense, Marshall excelled in stopping Montgomery’s flow. Montgomery totaled 84 rushing yards and 79 passing yards, something the Bears are not accustomed to.
“Montgomery played [Reggie Williams] in the first two series and then switched to [Jack Merryman]. Williams was still injured so they decided to pull him out. You could see [Merryman] produce with both his arms and legs a bit.
I was super proud every time they kind of flexed a little bit and made a few yards. Our defense responded whether it was a physical play on the running back, that’s probably the most impressive thing about our defense tonight. They contained the running backs all night long.
Those running backs are used to rushing for 150 yards a game and our guys kept them in and tackled hard. It’s what we talked about all week. How do you fit your gap? Where do you have to go when you see something and how do you get there? We were locked in from the first to the end,” said Hammett.
Both McCowan and Henderson are really looking forward to their rematch against Midlothian next week. “This is our second chance at Midlothian. This is a game we have to stay low and ahead and I feel like we’ll come out with a win,” said McCowan.
“I’m really, really grateful to God. I’m going to give it to God. I’m fired up,” said Henderson.
Marshall will play Midlothian Heritage with the date, time and location still to be determined..
