by Parma, OH — Junior running back Marquise Hall scored two touchdowns in the third quarter, a stingy well-coached defense forced four turnovers, and the Padua Franciscan Bruins came up big in the second half to route the NDCL Lions 21-14 at home on Friday night.
FIRST HALF
It became apparat very early on that tonight’s contest was going to be a defensive slugfest.
On both team’s inaugural drive, the two offenses were unable to find much traction as they struggled to move the ball effectively. Both those drives ended up with punts for both squads early in the first.
Coming into tonight’s game, the Lions of NDCL were destined to keep their leading rusher; senior running back Burke Buell involved offensively. Averaging 7.4 yards per carry and having had eclipsed the 1000-yard rushing mark in just 7 games, it was clear to see why.
However, the Bruins did a solid job keeping the senior running back in check for most of the first half.
The Lions did a better job moving the ball during the second quarter as they found themselves in field goal range multiple times. Unfortunately, two unsuccessful Gianni Spetic field goals from 54-yards as well as 36-yards kept the goose egg on the scoreboard for Lions at intermission.
Also moving the ball more efficiently in the second quarter was the Bruins as Marquise Hall did a nice job finding seams in the defense as he quickly gathered over 30 yards on his first 4 carries of the evening. Unable to garner any first half points also, the halftime score was a 0-0 tie and no clear momentum on either side was prevalent.
SECOND HALF
More action came to fruition in the second half as the two squads found the endzone a total of five times combined!
Marquise Hall got the scoring efforts going for Padua as he absolutely exploded for a 46-yard end-around touchdown run minutes within the third quarter. Hall came into tonight’s battle leading the Bruins in all-purpose yards, so it only made sense that he would begin to get more involved after just a handful of touches in the first half.
Down by 7, the Lions we reluctant to give the ball to anyone besides Burke Buell. Buell single handily drove the NDCL offense down the field and he even capped off the drive with a six-yard touchdown run in which tied the ball game at 7 a piece.
Padua’s third quarter offensive surge continued on their following drive as a 50-yard pitch-and-catch from junior quarterback Tyler Tusai to junior tight end Fred Borkey set up a first and goal from the one. A run up the middle by Marquise Hall just one play later resulted in a touchdown in which gave Padua a 14-7 advantage over the visiting Lions.
The Lions were able to respond to the Bruins on their following possession as Burke Buell again was able to cap off another steady drive for the Lions, this time with an impressive 21-yard touchdown scamper in which he broke two tackles on the end-around run to find the endzone for the 12th time this season.
Big runs by Rod Love on the ensuing Padua possession helped the offense push the ball down the field once more against the NDCL defense. It was Love who capitalized on some tremendous blocks by the Bruins offensive line as he took the handoff from Tyler Tusai 20-yards and into the endzone to give Padua a 21-14 advantage late in the fourth quarter.
Unable to respond to the score, the Lions ultimately ended up turning the ball over on downs which gave Padua the ball back in which they were able to run out the clock and secure the crucial Crown Conference win against the NDCL Lions.
Padua finds themselves sitting at .500 as they improved to 4-4 on the campaign.
NDCL falls to 2-6 after losing yet another very close game late.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Marquise Hall – 2 rushing touchdowns, 100+ all-purpose yards
UP NEXT
NDCL: Heads to Louisville to play the Leopards on Oct. 14.
Padua: Travels to Cuyahoga Falls to take on Walsh Jesuit on Oct. 14.
