Maroons’ offense too strong: Defending state champs take it to Marquette, 49-19
Defending state champs take it to Marquette, 49-19
Marquette’s Brody Clements, right, breaks a tackle and makes it into the end zone for a touchdown during a high school football game played against Menominee at the William R. Hart Stadium in Marquette last Thursday. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)
Marquette’s Evan Brown returns a kick during a high school football game played against Menominee at the William R. Hart Stadium in Marquette last Thursday. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)
Marquette quarterback Winston Leonard sets to pass during a high school football game played against Menominee at the William R. Hart Stadium in Marquette last Thursday. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)
Marquette’s Brody Clements, right, breaks a tackle and makes it into the end zone for a touchdown during a high school football game played against Menominee at the William R. Hart Stadium in Marquette last Thursday. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)
Marquette’s Evan Brown returns a kick during a high school football game played against Menominee at the William R. Hart Stadium in Marquette last Thursday. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)
Marquette quarterback Winston Leonard sets to pass during a high school football game played against Menominee at the William R. Hart Stadium in Marquette last Thursday. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)
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MARQUETTE -- Menominee sent out its punt team on 4th and 4 from its own 38-yard line with 8:39 left in the first quarter last Thursday night, then never snapped it to the punter.
Instead, Jackson Myszak took a direct snap out of the Maroons' single wing formation and ran 62 yards untouched for a touchdown. It was the first of seven Menominee TDs in a 49-19 nonconference win at Marquette's William R. Hart Stadium.
MSHS fell to 0-2 while the Maroons are now 2-0.
The defending MHSAA Division 7 state champions led 16-0 by the end of the first quarter. After Myszak's run, quarterback Dylan Beal found a wide-open Jett Thonne for a 63-yard score, then hit Myszak in the corner for a 2-point conversion with 1:30 left in the period.
Marquette answered on its next drive. Signal caller Winston Leonard hit junior Wesley Robinson down the field to the Menominee 20, and on 3rd and 8 the senior quarterback found Brody Clements on a flat route for a 14-yard TD, his first of the season. Eric Epper's extra-point kick made it 16-7.
Caleb Barstow stripped the ball from Sentinels running back Landen Faccio late in the half, and a facemask penalty on the return gave the Maroons the ball inside the Marquette 20. Beal threw a 6-yard TD to Brody Daigneau with under a minute left for a 22-7 halftime lead.
Faccio opened the second half with a 53-yard run to the Menominee 18, but MSHS turned it over on downs at the 10. Beal answered by finding Zander Jurkiewicz alone on a drag route for a 43-yard TD, and Jacob Counts kicked the extra point.
Leonard got one back on 4th and 19, throwing off his back foot to Evan Brown for a 37-yard TD that pulled the Sentinels within 29-13 with 5:19 left in the third. Jurkiewicz caught his second scoring pass on another fourth down, and Josiah Youngren blocked the kick.
Faccio scored from the 1 with 17 seconds left in the quarter to cut it to 35-19, but the Sentinels wouldn't score again. Leonard was intercepted twice in the fourth quarter, by Daigneau and by Kiefer Chouinard, and Beal threw a TD to Thonne as Myszak also added a 34-yard scoring run.
Myszak finished with 240 yards rushing on 25 carries. Beal completed 9 of 11 passes for 209 yards and five TDs. Leonard was good on 21 of 36 passes for 278 yards, two TDs and two interceptions, while Faccio ran 16 times for 84 yards.
When asked about next week's conference game at Sault Ste. Marie, coach Eric Mason said, "Right now? Not good."
It is Marquette's first road game of the season. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Friday.
This story was generated by CubReport for area high school sporting events, with Marquette Senior High School serving as a launch partner in this pilot program. CubReport is a nonprofit initiative dedicated to expanding coverage of high school athletics and generating new financial support for participating athletic departments. CubReport is also supported and incubated by Innovate Marquette SmartZone. For future game stories, visit online at cubreport.ai.