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The Marshall High School football team hosted Robinson High School on Friday, September 26th at Bush Field in Marshall on Homecoming. The Lions came into the game with a record of 3-1, while Robinson came in with a record of 1-3.

Robinson kicked off to Marshall to begin this conference battle in front of a big crowd.  The Lions began their first drive at their own 19-yard line. On the first play from scrimmage, Luke Brodie handed the ball off to Lucca Giannavola. He went around the right side and went from the 19 all the way to the 35 for a Lions first down. After a run for 4 yards by Giannavola, QB Luke Brodie hit Gavyn Bowden for a first down with a gain to the Lions 46. The Big Red then moved quickly into Robinson territory on a run by Giannavola, followed by a counter to the left by Liam Keim. The drive stalled, however, and the Maroons took over on downs at their own 35.

On a night when Robinson pulled out its bag of tricks all night, a double pass on first down scored a 65-yard touchdown. The extra point kick was good, and the Maroons took a 7-0 lead with 7:53 to go in the opening quarter.

On the ensuing drive, Marshall went three-and-out with a critical missed opportunity, and Robinson capitalized on the situation by driving all the way down into the red zone. The Marshall defense, however, held strong inside their own 5, and the Lions kept the Maroons out of the end zone. Marshall took over on downs after the big stop inside their 5 with 2:29 to go in the first quarter.

Hoping to flip the field, Marshall again went three-and-out and punted the ball to their 38-yard line, where Robinson took possession. It didn’t take long for the Maroons to hit pay dirt again, for on the first play from scrimmage, a pass on a slant pattern went all the way for a touchdown. With the extra point, the Lions found themselves trailing 14-0. Another quick strike for Robinson stunned the homecoming crowd, and Marshall looked completely out of sorts while trailing 21-0 early in the second quarter.

On the next drive for Marshall, a screen pass from Luke Brodie to Lucca Giannavola was caught near the right sideline, and Giannavola took it all the way to the house to put the Lions on the scoreboard.  After the two-point try failed, Marshall trailed 21-6 with 9:32 to go before the half.

The Lions defense could not stop the Maroons on the ground or in the air, as Robinson marched down the field for another touchdown on their next drive just like they had on 3 of their 4 previous possessions. After the extra point was no good, Robinson led 27-6 with 5:58 left in the half.

Marshall began their next possession at their own 23-yard line. Lucca Giannavola took a handoff on second down at the Marshall 26 to the Robinson 47, and after a taunting penalty on Robinson, Marshall had a first and 10 at the Maroons 32. Silas Dean took the next handoff and ran to the Robinson 10. After a short run, a fumble on second down put the Lions once again behind the chains back at the Robinson 23 where Marshall faced a third and 22. Two unproductive plays later, Marshall turned the ball over on downs at the Robinson 25-yard line with a little over 3 minutes remaining on the clock.

Marshall’s defense stiffened on the next set of downs. Tevin Cribelar made a great play separating a receiver from the ball on second down, then a third down pass fell incomplete. On fourth down, a bobbled snap ended when Bryer Jansen tackled the Robinson punter near the red zone where Marshall took over on downs.

After Liam Keim rushed the ball down inside the 10, Lucca Giannavola plowed his way into the end zone for his 11th touchdown of the season. After the two-point try failed, Marshall now trailed 27-12 with just over a minute and a half to go before halftime.

Robinson drove the ball on their next possession to the Marshall 25 as the clock ticked down towards halftime, and after a throw into the end zone fell incomplete, Robinson attempted a 42-yard field goal as time expired. The kick was short and left, and Robinson took a 27-12 lead to the locker room.

Robinson took the second half kickoff and began their opening drive at their own 33-yard line. On third down, Robinson QB Reese Johnson escaped the clutches of Marshall defenders and threw a jump pass for a first down. The Lions continued to struggle on defense, and with 9:07 to go, the Maroons punched it in the end zone from 13 yards out.  With the extra point good, Marshall found themselves down 34-12.

Marshall began their next drive at their own 25-yard line. After an offsides call on Robinson moved the ball up to the 30, Luke Brodie strapped back and threw a deep pass that was caught by Kaiden Sanders at the Robinson 37. One play later, Lucca Giannavola picked up a first down at the 25, and the Lions continued churning yardage up the middle. A couple runs by Giannavola brought the ball down to the 7. He then ran to the 4 on the next play. On third and one from the 4, quarterback Luke Brodie rushed the ball up the middle for a touchdown. The two-point try was stopped, and Marshall now trailed 34-18.

From their own 42 to begin their next possession, Robinson had little trouble moving the ball down the field on the Lions defense, but on a third and 7 from the Marshall 32, a pass fell incomplete to make it fourth down. On fourth down, a pass was dropped, and with just under two minutes remaining in the third, Marshall took the ball over at their own 32.

After a nice first down run by Liam Keim, the Lions kept running the ball, first with Lucca Giannavola, followed by Luke Brodie. On a third down call, Brodie faked the handoff and threaded a perfect pass in stride to Kaiden Sanders on a post pattern to move the ball down to the Robinson 30 and a first down.

On a big third-and-6 from the Maroons 27, Lucca Giannavola took the handoff and ran off tackle to the right. He spun off tacklers and raced untouched to the end zone for a huge Marshall touchdown. On the two-point conversion, Giannavola rushed the ball through the 4 hole and scored. Marshall now found themselves down by only 8 with the score 34-26 with 11:14 to go in the game as the Marshall side roared.

The Lions defense took the field for the most important defensive sequence of the night for Marshall. After a face mask penalty on Robinson and a stop by the defense, Robinson gained a first down to keep the drive going. On third-and-15 from the Lions 43, Josef Stafford blew up the play when he rushed Reese Johnson into an incomplete pass. Robinson then punted the ball to the Marshall 14 with just over 6 1/2 minutes left.

With the Lions down by one score and a two-point conversion, Lucca Giannavola ran the ball twice for a first down. The Lions then got behind the chains and faced a third and 11 from their own 26 with 5:02 to go when Marshall head coach Steve Weber called timeout. A post corner route fell incomplete, and the Lions lined up to punt on fourth down. Luke Brodie punted the ball to the Robinson 34 where the Maroons took over with 4:43 to go on the clock.

The Lions stuffed Robinson’s Reese Johnson on first down, then Tevin Cribelar came up and stopped a Robinson trick play on second down. On third-and-11, Robinson did a hook-and-ladder pass play for a first down to the Robinson 46. That play seemed to take all the momentum away from the Lions. The Maroons then moved the ball steadily into Marshall territory while milking the clock. On a third and 2 from the Lions 32, Marshall’s Josef Stafford broke through and tackled Reese Johnson for a one-yard loss. With 1:25 to go, Robinson went for it on fourth down and three and got the first down at the 29. The Maroons then ran out the clock and won the game by the score of 34-26, spoiling Marshall’s homecoming.

For the Lions, Lucca Giannavola ran the ball 27 times for 185 yards (2 touchdowns and a two-point conversion). He also caught one pass for 53 yards and another score. Luke Brodie passed for 114 yards and a TD. He also scored a touchdown on the ground.  Kaiden Sanders led all receivers with 2 receptions and 52 yards.

On the defensive side of the ball, Lucca Giannavola had 13 tackles and Josef Stafford had 12 to lead the Lions.

Marshall (3-2) plays their next game Friday, October 3rd when they travel to Sinclair-Vidoni Field in Casey to take on the Casey-Westfield Warriors. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 PM.

Tom Lisella’s photos of the game are on Facebook!