Mt. Markham wins big on opening night of Mohawk Valley football season
WINFIELD - The Mt. Markham offense struck quickly to start Friday's Week Zero football opener and just kept coming in a 55-0 win over Utica's Notre Dame Jugglers.
Brothers Dom and CJ Jones each ran for two touchdowns in the first half and Thomas Doremus added two more in a game that saw the the Mustangs build a 42-0 lead before halftime.
"They were playing so selflessly," coach Loren Winegard said of his Mt. Markham players. "Guys could have piled up numbers, but they only care about one stat and that's the one at the end of the game."
Jamison Young got the scoring started with a 32-yard touchdown run less than four minutes into the game to cap Mt. Markham's first possession. The Mustangs blocked a Notre Dame punt later in the first quarter and CJ Jones ran 12 yards for his first touchdown, and Dom Jones ran 20 yards to score on a fourth-and-nine play in the final minute of the opening period after a long run by Trevor Lockwood on the previous play when penalties had backed up the offense.
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The onslaught continued in the second quarter. CJ Jones had a 31-yard touchdown nullified by a holding penalty and scored two plays later from 11 yards out. Morgon Ferguson bulled his way across the goal line after Dom Jones was stopped at the 10-yard line later in the period, and Jones added a one-yard touchdown of his own before halftime.
Doremus ran for both of his touchdowns in the third quarter. The first one covered five yards and the second touchdown, a 14-yard run, came after Drake Alsante covered a loose ball at the Notre Dame 30 on the ensuing kickoff.
Notre Dame threatened to break up the shutout early in the fourth quarter and had a first down at Mt. Markham's 9-yard line before Young recovered a fumble.
The Mustangs shut out three opponents during the regular season last fall and recorded shutouts in the last two games of the 2021 season. The 2022 offense topped 50 points twice.
Mt. Markham plays at home again next Saturday against Westmoreland/Oriskany. Notre Dame plays its home opener at Sal Longo Field in Proctor Park next Saturday against Section V South Seneca.
This article originally appeared on Times Telegram: Mt. Markham starts Mohawk Valley's high school football season with win
