MARSHALL OPENS DISTRICT 6-5A WITH DOMINATING WIN OVER NACOGDOCHES 38-7

The Marshall Mavericks used a stingy defense and a balanced offense to slay the Nacogdoches Dragons 38-7 in the District 6-5A opener for both teams.​​​​​

Nac opened the game with an impressive time-consuming drive that went 75 yards and ended in a 7-0 lead with nearly half of the quarter gone at 6:56 remaining in the first.

Marshall answered quickly with 62 drive of their own thanks to the legs of Doug Johnson to tie the game up 7-7 with 3:27 left in the opening quarter.

After a bobbled punt the Dragons started deep in their own territory at the 14.  The Mav defense would stiffen and force Nac to punt.

Doug Johnson would find pay dirt again as the Mavs took their first lead of the game 14-7 with 9:42 before halftime.

Nac came out firing on their next possession and connected on a 42 yard pass to get deep into Maverick territory but Marshall's defense again shut them down and forced another punt.

Marshall offense would sputter on their next possession and punt the ball back to Nac but Ayden Thompson got a huge interception to stop the Dragons once again.

The final minute before halftime would prove to be a wild one.

Following the interception the Mavericks were unable to convert on a 4th down at the Nac 25.

The Dragons return the favor and go a quick 3 and out and are forced to punt with just 42 second left in the half.

Marshall threaded a screen pass that appeared to be headed to the end zone until a Nac defender stopped the receiver from scoring with a horse-collar tackle with 0:00 left on the clock.  The penalty allowed the Mavericks an untimed down and they kicked a 22 yard field goal to go up 17-7 at the break.

The Maverick passing game again came to the rescue with a touchdown pass to Aiden Green for a 24-7 Marshall lead midway through the third.  

While the offense got a little drowsy in the third with a couple of punts, the Mav defense kicked it into high gear with several sacks of the Nac quarterback.

Marshall found the end zone again early in the fourth to up the score to 31-7 with 11:15 remaining in the game.

One final score was tallied at 6:45 for the final of 38-7.

The Mavericks finished the night with 433 total yards.  297 on the ground and 136 through the air.

Running back Doug Johnson finished with 241 yards on 36 carries. 

The Marshall defense held Nac to 208 total yards; the Dragons had -6 yards in the third quarter.

The Mavericks improve to (2-2) on the season and more importantly (1-0) in 6-5A play.

They will now travel to Texarkana to take on the Texas High TIgers in the annual grudge match.