Annawan-Wethersfield’s surprising run game wears down Marquette

KEWANEE – More often than not in the last decade or so, it’s been the Marquette Academy football team that wears down its opponents, not the other way around, and definitely not by a team with the passing attack like this one.

“They ground us down. But I’m very proud of our kids. We have a lot of young kids out here, and they played hard.”

—  Marquette football coach Tom Jobst

The Crusaders notched the first touchdown in their season-opening battle with defending Class 1A semifinalist Annawan-Wethersfield here on Friday night, getting a 24-yard scoring pass from sophomore quarterback Alex Graham to senior tight end Vic Mullen on their second possession of the game.

But that’s where the offense stopped for MA, which managed just 90 yards rushing and 149 total yards on the night against a fast, strong Titans defense.

The home team, renowned in recent years for its passing game, was somewhat successful against the Cru overall, as senior quarterback Coltin Quagliano completed 15 of 31 passes for 177 yards. But it was the A-W ground game that changed the tide of the game, over the final three periods accounting for most of its 111 yards and all three of its TDs in a 24-6 win over Marquette.

“The kids did well tonight against a very talented team,” said MA coach Tom Jobst. “I don’t think I’ve ever had a team compete against a quarterback like this kid. He’s good, and the running back (Reece Gripp, 19 carries for 88 yards) is no slouch either. Give them credit.

“They do what they do, and they do it very well. It’s not like we blew coverages or anything, because we made the tackle right on the catch, but they’re just very crisp at what they do. There’s not much to say when the pass is spot on like it was tonight.

“Hats off to them. Their defense was really strong … and their (run) offense wore us down. They’re really quick and strong. They ground us down. But I’m very proud of our kids. We have a lot of young kids out here, and they played hard.”

An interception and 12-yard return to the Titans 24 by MA’s Jurnee Reed set up Graham’s skinny-post scoring pass to Mullen, the Louisville University signee, with 3 minutes, 26 seconds showing in the opening period.

However, after Marquette halted the next A-W drive, coach Logan Willits opted to utilize Gripp more. That resulted in an all-run, nine-play, 51-yard drive to an 11-yard scoring run by Cole Troxel at 4:19 of the second stanza.

That must have helped the hosts find their rhythm. While the defense kept stuffing the MA runs between the tackles, the offense used a drive of six runs and eight passes to a three-yard burst by Quagliano. He hit Gripp for the PAT and a 16-6 lead.

Still in it, the Cru got a break when a bad snap over the head of A-W punter Matthew Sweeney gave them the ball at the 2. However, two questionable penalties backed them up, and the series ended up in a Graham pass picked off, one of three for the first-time starter in 13 tries (5 for 13, 59 yards).

“It was an outstanding effort after we got our pregame jitters out of the way,” said Willits. “They did some things that we weren’t necessarily prepared for, it’s often a crapshoot in Week 1, especially against a team you don’t know, so in the run game, we weren’t really sure what they were going to do. But once we made our adjustments, we were more balanced as far as 50-50 run and pass.

“Defensively, we’re stout. We play six to eight defensive linemen every game, every year, so we trusted them to be stout between the tackles and to take on blockers so our linebackers could run free, and we saw that a lot tonight, the linebackers untouched and able to go and make plays, with strong support on the edges.”

Marquette is scheduled to return home next Friday night to host Stark County.