Game Pictures by Steven Marcus

View From The Stands by Ardent Cougar

The underrated Scarlet Hurricane was for real Friday night.  The Marion fans were out in full force, semaphore flag waving, giving warning.  But the danger was ignored, until the second half.

Two Porter second half fumbles spoiled the blow out for the Cougars.

Marion opened with a 10-play drive to the PC 40.  The ensuing punt was bobbled and the punter had to scramble toward the near sideline.  He got off a good hard smack on the ball, but it was angled out of bounds for only a 4-yard net.

Six plays later Jeremy Porter carried a dive play 37 yards for a touchdown.  Hedge’s PAT was good.

After a three and punt by Marion, the Cougars took over at their own 32.  Porter carried for an 18-yard gain.  Two plays later he ran for 25 more.  Josh Calfee had an 18-yard carry, and followed it with a score on a 6-yard pitch left.  

He showed great patience on this play, carrying laterally, and then cutting up field when his blocking arrived.  It was apparent that the Marion defense was expecting this play, but still could not stop it.  Hedge made the score 14-0.

The Scarlet Hurricane drove to their own 37, then had to punt.  The kick was high due to a hot rush by John Harman, and would roll dead at the 50.

Seven plays later Porter grinded his way in from five yards out for a score.  The snap, hold and Hedge’s kick were good, 21-0.

Marion responded with a four play, 80-yard drive, sparked by a 49-yard run by Marshall Doss.  He also carried for the touchdown from 3 yards out.  The PAT attempt was very low, going under the cross bar, 21-6.

PC could not get a drive going, and Hedge punted out to only the Cougar 43.

On 3rd and 7, Marion quarterback Brandon Creasy threw an out pattern to the right sideline, where it was tipped by Lucas Nester, and intercepted by Calfee.

“I had my hand on the ball, it went strait up, and I thought I had it,” said Nester.  “Then I saw Calfee.”

On the next play, Alan Wheeling showed off the Cougars vertical passing game with a 41-yard rainbow down the middle of the field to Matt Roan.

“It was a lovely pass over my right shoulder.  Alan laid it right in my hands,” said Roan.

Calfee scored two plays later, going off tackle right for a 10-yard carry.  The PAT was good for the 28-6 lead.

The Scarlet Hurricane gained 5 yards on three plays.  Britt Johnson had a 32-yard net on the punt, after a 7-yard return by Wheeling.

Porter ran for gains of nine, then ten yards.  Wheeling would drop back and complete the pass to Calfee in the left flat. 

Calfee was wide-open 5 yards downfield in the flat, and Wheeling, under a pressure rush, threw such a gentle arc touch pass.  Calfee ran for 11 yards after the catch, a 16-yard gain.

Wheeling has thrown five passes, all of them complete in the last two games; that’s Efficiency.  Six for six if you count the two-point conversion pass to Nester last week against Salem.

Six plays later Hedge completed a 31-yard field goal, with 9 seconds remaining in the half, 31-6.  

This was the final score for the Cougars for the night, but the margin was just too much for Marion to overcome.

Wheeling returned the kickoff to the PC 43, but the Cougars could not get a drive going, and Hedge would punt to the Hurricane 23.

Marion showed their character with a 16 play, 77-yard scoring drive.  Key in this drive was the success of the offensive line in driving the Cougar defensive line off the ball.  The linebackers and secondary were left to make the necessary tackles.  The longest play of the drive was the 10-yard touchdown by Doss.  

On the two-point conversion attempt, Creasy rolled right and ran toward the sideline looking for a receiver.  He threw too low in the endzone, incomplete, 31-12.

This drive had taken 7:43, and only yielded six points.  This left the Cougar fans feeling secure in their lead.  

Wheeling had another great kickoff return, 39 yards out to the PC 47.  Four plays later Porter was called for a fumble, and the Scarlet Hurricane recovered.

On 3rd and 2 from the Marion 49, Creasy took the option play himself and cut back to where the safety had been for a 42-yard romp.

Doss carried for a yard, but was stopped by Josh Slusser.  With 2nd and goal at the 8, Marion abandoned the running game that had worked so well on the 16-play scoring drive, for an ill-advised pass attempt.  Creasy threw a short curl pattern right, but Matt Roan stepped in for the interception pick. That ended the worrisome part of the second half.

“I had a pass read off the tackle and worked into the flat.  I broke on the motion of the quarterback’s arm and it was right there,” said Roan.

The Cougars put together an 11-play drive but Porter fumbled again at the Marion 41.

“The first fumble, I think I was on the ground,” said Porter.  “The second one, that was my fault.  It was just a bad game, I guess.  But we’re going to State, I’m not worried about it [fumbling].”

Marion would score again, and get a two-point conversion for the final score, PC 31-Marion 20.

On the next to the last play of the game, Wheeling’s foot was stepped on.  It was not an ankle turn, as fans feared.  There was a long delay as Wheeling lay on the ground.  There were flashbacks of Eric Webb’s injury in 1993.

“We’re a ball control team.  It’s hard for us to overcome turnovers like we had in the second half,” said Coach Joel Hicks.  “That was a spunky football team.”

“They were tough, played hard and didn’t give up.  They were the hardest playing team, they had a lot of heart,” said Nester.

“They fought hard, all the way to the end,” said Roan.  “They won their last two games in the 4th quarter.”

Roan had something to say about the difficulty the Cougars had in the second half.  “We all know we’re not done yet,” he said.

What does Roan think about the prospect of the Cougars playing at Liberty University, on Astroturf.  “I’ll have to get out the long sleeves,” he said.

Before the State game in Richmond against Thomas Dale, the Cougars practiced one day in the indoor facility at Virginia Tech, on Astroturf.  

Even Porter himself doesn’t know it yet, because he has never played on Astroturf, but expect to see some ‘sick’ phenomenal plays from Porter on Astroturf next Saturday.  He has the foot speed to be most exciting running back to ever play on Liberty University’s field.

“They were a good football team, worked to the ball well,” said Ben Davidson.

He had something to say about how the Cougars would respond to the scoreless second half.  “We will just come out there and get the man in front of us.  All you can do is come out and give it the best you’ve got,” said Davidson.

“Before the game, Coach Hicks and I agreed they would respond late,” said Wheeling.  “We out played them the first half.”

Scarlet Hurricane warning: too little, too late.

Lafayette upset Liberty Bealeton 3-0 to advance to the State Championship game in Lynchburg at Liberty University against the Cougars.  The message boards note that there were a lot of convenient ‘picky’ penalties on Liberty’s power running game.

Post Script

Gordon Cross had his wrist broken late in the second quarter.  He was distressed at half time, concerned about whether he would be able to finish the game. 

“It’s my last game here.  I was thinking at half while they were taping me to play, about my Grandpa, and how he raised me up,” said Cross.  “I gave it everything for him tonight.  He was at my every practice and every game, from peewee league, on up until 9th grade, when he passed away.  He raised me from fourth grade, after my mom died.  I thought about them, and my Grandma at half.  She’s been to every one of my high school games.  I dedicate my second half to all three of them.  They have been there for me when I needed them.”

On Marion’s 16-play scoring drive of the second half, Cross made the tackle on almost every play, with a broken wrist.

Cross has a plan to attend Elon where he is in line for a partial scholarship.

Game Pictures by Steven Marcus

View From The Stands by Ardent Cougar