This fall’s Marquette Crusaders have had two different types of games this season: scrappy losses to really good teams and overwhelmingly convincing victories.

Friday down in Elmwood for a matchup of 3-3 teams, the Crusaders were overwhelmingly convincing.

Marquette dominated host Elmwood/Brimfield 51-6, outgaining the Trojans 405-136 in yards from scrimmage thanks in large part to a 128-yard, four-touchdown rushing performance courtesy of senior Grant Dose.

“Really, it was just the inside run,” Dose said when asked about his success. “Our interior line’s amazing. I’ve been running on the varsity level for three years now, and the O-line is the best I’ve ever had. We run the ball, run the ball hard, and get yards every play.”

That offensive line was indeed dominant, with the Cru (4-3) averaging 7.4 yards per attempt on its 40 rushes compared to 2.9 on 37 rushing attempts for Elmwood/Brimfield (3-4).

“We’ve got a really close group of guys, and we all sort of understand the assignment,” senior guard Austin Ferracuti said. “Our main thing is physicality, physicality, physicality. Coach preaches that throughout the whole year, and we come out on Friday nights and we show that physicality and win games.

“That’s just how it goes.”

Marquette quarterback Anthony Couch also put in an impressive performance right from the start, finding 6-4 sophomore receiver Blayden Cassel for a 45-yard touchdown off play action on this night’s first offensive snap on his way to a 6-of-11, 109-yard, one-touchdown performance. He also added a rushing touchdown.

Cassel (two catches for 71 yards and a TD) and Jaxsen Higgins (three receptions for 27 yards) were his top targets, Dose catching Couch’s other completion for a nifty 11-yard gain.

“He’s the whole key to the offense,” Dose said of Couch. “He does all the reads, all the passes knows every route, every blocking assignment, everything. All of us, we just have to do our job. He has to know everyone’s job, and he does that. He’s the real glue to our offense.”

The Crusaders led 14-0 after one quarter, Dose’s first touchdown run (from 5 yards out) coming some five minutes and change after Couch’s game-opening strike to Cassel. Marquette didn’t score on its next two possessions – its only two possessions that didn’t end in a touchdown or the end of a half – but did get Couch’s second touchdown run (2 yards) to make it 28-0 at halftime.

Three Crusaders scores in the third quarter kicked in the continuous clock, with Dose scoring from 2 yards out twice and Couch running in a 4-yard keeper to make it 45-0 heading to the fourth.

Marquette’s Landyn McEmery (4 yards) and Elmwood/Brimfield’s Gus Ulrich (1 yard) each found the end zone in the running-clock fourth quarter to complete the scoring.

“They’re, they’re really good,” Elmwood/Brimfield coach Todd Hollis said. “They’re big, physical, really athletic. There’s no soft on that team, for sure, and we knew that coming in.

“We weren’t able to get any surge ... and I just have a ton of respect for what they did to us tonight. That team, they might make a run.”

Easton DeBernardi intercepted a pass from Trojans quarterback Evan Patterson (4-of-7 passing, 30 yards), Connor Baker recovered a muffed kickoff, and Luke McCullough, Cassel, Caden Shreve, and Ferracuti all recorded tackles for loss for the Crusaders’ defense.

“It took a little while to get going, we were a little sloppy, but once we got going and executing what we do, yeah,” first-year Marquette head coach Ken Carlson said. “The kids played well – very well in the second half. ...

“We’re starting to get things rolling, getting our athletes the ball, and the line has really come together these last three or four weeks.”

Marquette is scheduled to host Knoxville (4-3) in Week 8, a game that has been pushed back to a 1 p.m. Saturday kickoff at Gould Stadium.