Bulldogs top Mason to move on
The Marlin Bulldogs won a hardfought battle with 6th-ranked Mason to earn a spot in the Quarterfinals on Friday night in Cedar Park.
Marlin defeated Mason, beating the Punchers 40-37 in an exciting contest to advance to the next round.
Marlin received the ball to start the game and came out the gate lightning fast with a 57-yard touchdown on a screen pass from Roderick Suiters (9) to Caden Judie (2) for an early 7-0 lead.
The Bulldog defense held tough and forced Mason to punt. The offense didn’t go very far and had a three and out.
The Punchers fought back, converting a fourth and 10 then scored on a 4-yard touchdown run to make the score 7-6 after a missed extra point.
Marlin and Mason exchanged three and outs and the first quarter ended with Marlin ahead 7-6.
The Bulldog defense struggled to start the second quarter and allowed a 33-yard run. They forced Mason into a fourth and 5, but failed to stop the conversion.
The Punchers scored on a 6-yard touchdown run to take the lead 12-7. Marlin tried to answer on offense, but didn’t advance very far and went three and out. The offense quickly returned to the field following a fumble recovered by Marlin.
The Bulldogs couldn’t take advantage of the turnover and were forced to punt. Mason drove down the field and scored on a 1-yard touchdown run to increase their lead to 18-7. The Bulldogs tried to respond in the last few minutes of the quarter, but faced a fourth and 2.
The Bulldogs shocked Mason and converted a clutch fake punt. Marlin continued to march down the field with a 25-yard pass from Suiters to Aarik Smith-Shelley (12). That was soon followed with an unbelievable 19-yard touchdown catch by Jordan Womack (1) to close the gap to 18-13 going into halftime.
“It changed all the momentum,” Bulldogs Coach Jeff Rogers said. “It helped the kids get a little bit of reality set in that we’re going to be ok. Once we got that touchdown, we knew we had to make some adjustments at halftime, and come out in the second half and try to find a way to win.”
Marlin kicked off to start the second half, and got the ball back very quickly with an interception by Suiters.
They faced a fourth and 4 early and converted on a big 32-yard run by Womack. The Bulldogs kept the momentum going and capitalized with an incredible 7-yard touchdown run by Suiters to take a 20-18 lead. The Punchers answered back with a 16-yard run then a 28-yard run.
Mason finished the drive with a 7-yard touchdown run to give them a 25-20 lead. The Bulldogs returned to the field on offense and answered with a huge 44-yard catch by Keiayr Young (11). That would lead to a 1-yard touchdown run by Ty’raun Bell (5) to retake the lead 26-25 following a failed 2-point conversion.
The Marlin offense quickly returned to the field with help from an interception by Keyshaun Massington (8). The Bulldogs took advantage of the turnover with a big 33-yard catch by Womack, which was followed with a 1-yard touchdown run by Suiters to increase their lead to 33-25 at the end of the third quarter.
Mason scored first in the fourth quarter on a 9-yard touchdown run to close the gap to 33-31 after a failed 2-point conversion. Marlin drove down the field with help from a dynamic 35-yard run by Suiters, but their drive was halted by a fourth and 8. The Bulldogs went for the fourth down conversion and were unsuccessful.
The Punchers took over on offense drove down the field with an 80-yard pass and scored on an 11-yard touchdown run to go back ahead 37-33. Marlin rallied back with a 13-yard catch by Dai’viyon Evans (13).
The Bulldogs sent the crowd into a frenzy with a clutch 25-yard touchdown catch by Womack to take back the lead 40-37. The Bulldog defense held strong with a minute left in the game and forced Mason into a fourth and 4.
The defense sealed the victory with a forced fumble and a recovery to win the game 40-37.
Roderick Suiters was phenomenal on both sides of the ball. He threw for 307 yards and three touchdowns along rushing for 70 yards and two touchdowns, and caught an interception on defense.
Aarik Smith-Shelley was very productive, catching six passes for 90 yards. Jordan Womack was unstoppable, catching five passes for 85 yards and two touchdowns.
The defense was a turnover machine, forcing two fumbles and two interceptions, both interceptions led to points and the second fumble sealed the victory in the end.
“It was great,” Rogers said. “Turnovers are what you win and lose football games on. We were able to get some tonight that worked to our advantage.”
As they advance in the playoffs, Marlin will take on the Ganado Indians in the quarterfinal round of the playoffs. The game will be on Thursday, Dec. 5, at Toyota Rattler Stadium in San Marcos and kickoff is set for 7 p.m.