Alliance football wins Backyard Brawl trophy, playoff spot in road shutout of Marlington
LEXINGTON TWP. — The Alliance Aviators were all business Friday night at Marlington in their annual high school football rivalry game.
A win would guarantee the Aviators a playoff spot, and possession of the Backyard Brawl trophy.
The Aviators rolled to a 36-0 victory, achieving an overall record of 6-4 and 3-2 in the Eastern Buckeye Conference.
Head coach Tim Goodman was impressed with his team’s play.
“I thought the kids played a really good game,” he said. “We know that we have a lot of explosive athletes. We just need to make sure we play our game and don’t make mistakes.”
Aviators top Blue Streaks: Alliance football's Brendan Zurbrugg makes Lake pay for not putting Aviators away
Alliance can now look ahead to the playoffs.
“We are just excited to be in,” Goodman said. “Region 9 is a tough, tough, tough region and we know we are going to get a really, really good opponent Week 1. This challenge for the guys is that we have only won one playoff game in school history, so we are giving ourselves a chance to do something that has not been done before.”
The Aviators built a 24-0 halftime lead before going on to their second straight shutout.
Alliance senior quarterback and Oklahoma recruit Brendan Zurbrugg was just too much for the Marlington defense.
Aviators roll over Minerva: 8 first-half TDs leads Alliance High School football to rout of Minerva
In the first half, Zurbrugg was a perfect 9-for-9 passing for 142 yards and two touchdowns. On the ground, he rushed 12 times for 156 yards, which included an 80-yard run for a score.
Senior K’Vaughn Davis hauled in scoring passes of 24 and 45 yards, while Ramhir Hawkins added five catches for 84 yards and a score.
“We knew it was a win-or-go-home game,” Zurbrugg said. “So, we came out here and played hard and did what we needed to do.”
Marlington (6-4, 2-3) moved the ball well between the 30-yard lines but could never get it into the end zone. The Aviator defense forced the Dukes to turn it over on downs five times.
“Our defense is getting better and better,” Goodman said. “We have had a lot of turnovers on defense due to injuries, so I think the guys are getting used to their new positions. They are starting to play good team defense for the first time this year. We have always had a good offense and now the defense to rising to their level.”
Zurbrugg was also proud of the way the defense played.
“They are improving every single week,” Zurbrugg said. “They are playing great right now. If they continue to play like this, we can be a dangerous playoff team.”
As well as the Aviators played on offense and defense, they couldn’t make an extra point.
They missed their first five extra point attempts, with three being blocked.
“I have never been on a team that has struggled the way we have this year,” Goodman said. “This is something we are really going to have to improve on going into the playoffs because every point matters in Week 11. So, we really have to focus on that.”
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Alliance High football shuts out Marlington, earns playoff spot
