Marlington High School football scores on first 5 possessions, routs Minerva
LEXINGTON TWP. – The Marlington Dukes needed to win, and they rolled over Friday night over Minerva.
Marlington scored on its first five possessions of the first half and broke a two-game losing streak in a 49-6 Eastern Buckeye Conference victory over Minerva.
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Marlington head coach Joe Cardinal was pleased with the way his team played on both sides of the ball.
“I am very proud of our guys,” Cardinal said as fireworks were being fired off after the Dukes’ homecoming game victory. “We have really good kids that play as hard as they can, and I am really proud of them.
“I thought they executed well, and I thought we had a pretty good game plan tonight.”
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The Dukes (5-3, 1-2) ran just five plays on their opening possession before senior running back Carter Difloure plowed into the end zone from the four with 7:37 left in the first. He followed that with another four-yard run with just under a minute left in the quarter for a 14-0 lead.
Marlington put the game away in the second with three touchdowns to force a second-half running clock.
Marlington ran only seven plays in the second quarter but scored on three.
The first came on a 15-yard pass from senior quarterback Beau Himmelheber to Difloure, a 15-yard run by sophomore Luke Stanley and a 70-yard bomb to freshman Cam Evanich just before halftime.
“That is a testament to our coaching staff,” Cardinal said. “Defensively, (Defensive Coordinator Zaid) Abueteen and his staff put in a lot of hours watching film. I thought they did a really good job.”
Minerva (0-8, 0-3) ran 35 plays and used a lot of clock but couldn’t get the ball into the end zone. The Lions’ third position went for 15 plays and four first downs but ended with no points on the board.
Despite Minerva’s struggles the past few years, Cardinal predicted good things for the Lions.
“They play incredibly hard,” Cardinal said. "That is a testament to those guys. They fought the whole game and didn’t give up. They are a well-coached team that is down right now. But things look good, and they have the right staff to get them turned around.”
The Dukes received the second half kickoff and brought out some trickery.
Luke Stanley fielded the kickoff, sprinted to the right then flipped the ball to Himmelheber, who took it the distance for the score and a 42-0 lead. Stanley scored the final Duke touchdown early in the fourth quarter.
The Lions’ lone score came late in the fourth quarter on a five-yard run by senior running back Devon Patterson.
All season, Cardinal has taken it one game at a time. The last two games will be no different.
“All season long we have had a one-game mentality,” Cardinal said. “So, we will enjoy this win tonight and start getting ready for Salem tomorrow.”
This article originally appeared on The Alliance Review: Marlington High School football turns fast start into rout of Minerva
