Marlin/LaVega?

[Chris Hart]

Anyone know the outcome of this one?

[FranksBullDog]

How about them dogs! score 34 marlin 6 lavega

[Gobbla2001]

way to go marlin, keep it up...

[zeke]

http://www.wacotrib.com/sports/newsfd/auto/feed/sports/2004/08/29/1093758641.18121.7094.8224.html


8/29/04 Marlin mows over La Vega at WISD, 34-6
By BRICE CHERRY Tribune-Herald staff writer
Eight months after the Marlin Bulldogs played for the state 3A football title, they got the chance to lift a trophy — only this trophy was for winning at the H-E-B Heart of Texas Kickoff Classic.

If the Bulldogs continue to play like they did Saturday night, however, they might get another chance at that much grander UIL prize.

Marlin jumped out to a three-touchdown advantage and coasted to an easy 34-6 win over La Vega Saturday night in the finale of the four-game kickoff event at Waco ISD Stadium.

The game was a rematch of last year's hard-hitting bi-district playoff clash, won by Marlin, 30-14, in a game that was closer than the final score indicated. On Saturday night, though, the game may have been more lopsided than the final would reveal, as La Vega mounted few serious challenges against the Bulldogs' fierce defense.

Senior running back Tank Smith and junior quarterback Jeremy Smith — known simply as Tank and J-Mo in Marlin circles — picked up where they left off in 2003. Smith rumbled for 94 yards and three touchdowns on 11 carries to earn game MVP honors, while Sanders rushed for 154 yards and one score and passed for another 127 yards to claim the Offensive Player of the Game award.

After Kevin Nutt barely missed wide left on a straight-on 41-yard field goal attempt on Marlin's first possession, the Bulldogs got clicking on their second. They marched 52 yards in just three plays, the capper a weaving 33-yard TD jaunt from Sanders.

Then the Bulldog defense got involved, as on third down of La Vega's ensuing possession, cornerback Devon Hughes stepped in front of a Vincent Williams pass and trotted in for a 20-yard score.

After a Smith 13-yard run made it 20-0 Marlin early in the second quarter, the Pirates sprung to life. Williams guided the team downfield on an impressive 10-play march that included a tremendous diving 34-yard grab by Karrington McCutcheon. The drive culminated with six points when Williams rolled out to his right under pressure from a host of Bulldog defenders and gunned a laser beam in traffic to William Cartwright for a two-yard score.

That brought La Vega to within 20-6, but Smith quickly changed that, as two plays later he popped off a dynamite 67-yard touchdown run that included two Barry Sanders-like cutbacks.

Though the Pirates showed occasional flashes of brilliance, they only threatened once more in the game, marching to the Marlin 18-yard line midway through the third quarter before a sack and three straight incomplete passes stalled the drive.

Williams, who was playing his first game in nearly a year after tearing his ACL last fall, finished 16-of-30 for 201 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions, both of which were picked off by Marlin's Hughes. Joe Sanders was Williams' most reliable target, grabbing five passes for 123 yards.

Sophomore linebacker Reginald Randolph played a strong game for the Pirate defense, and picked up the Defensive Player of the Game award.

M (1st): Jeremy Sanders 33 run (Kevin Nutt kick); M (1st): Devon Hughes 20 interception return (kick failed); M (2nd): Tank Smith 13 run (Nutt kick); LV (2nd): William Cartwright 2 pass from Vincent Williams (kick blocked); M (2nd): Smith 67 run (Nutt kick); M (3rd): Smith 3 run (Nutt kick).