Published: November 01, 2009 02:55 am      

Tigers get stuck against Lions

Westville ends season at 6-4

MARSHALL — If Westville had one edge on the Marshall, it was team speed. The Tigers lost that advantage as soon as they stepped on the Lions’ field.

Recent rains had turned the field into what might charitably be termed “difficult conditions” — an almost bare field with slick mud one to three inches deep.

Playing on such a surface gave the advantage to the bigger team — the Lions of Marshall as they beat the Tigers 27-6.

Key in such circumstances is the blocking at the line and the Lions had the better of the up-front battle as they opened holes for their runners.

Yet, regardless of which team opened a hole, once the backs reached open field, they were hard to bring down as the tacklers often slipped trying to match the cuts of the runners.

The slick mud also hindered the passing game as blockers often were driven into the backfield if they lost their footing and the receivers had difficulty trying to grab a muddy ball with muddy hands.

Both teams struggled early as they tried to establish what they could or could not do on such a field.

The first break of the game went to Marshall when quarterback Taylor Duncan showed a nice touch when his pass hit his younger brother Jacob in stride for a 41-yard touchdown. With the extra point, the Lions led 7-0.

It took Westville two possessions before they could answer that score. Midway through the first quarter, the Tigers began to give the ball to Brandon Pratt and the junior dug his team out of poor field position.

After a holding call nullified a good run by quarterback Matt Maser, he threw deep. Pratt, running near the sideline, found some traction and began to outrun his defender. The ball settled into his arms for a 76-yard touchdown.

The ensuing two-point try was no good as the Tiger pass was incomplete, but with 1:56 left in the first quarter, Westville was only down one.

The deficit grew to eight just 30 seconds later as Andre Strohm of the Lions broke free for a 66-yard touchdown run. In the process, four Westville tacklers tried to bring him down, but all slipped and got at most an arm on him.

Penalties were the story of the second quarter with both teams being called for offensive pass interference when their receiver started to fall and grabbed the defender to stop an easy interception.

Marshall added a touchdown and a field goal before the half to lead 24-6 at intermission.

Neither team could make much progress in the third quarter as each found it hard to hold on to the ball. While the person dropping the ball recovered most of the fumbles, the loss of a yard or two and a down helped kill the drives.

The Lions got one more score — a 32-yard field goal at the start of the fourth quarter. Westville had one last good drive, but it stalled thanks to a couple of penalties and some dropped passes to make the final score 27-6.

Westville head coach Guy Goodlove gave credit to Marshall for playing a good game.

“They are a good football team,” Goodlove said. “They won in the trenches — they controlled the line of scrimmage.”

He noted that, given the field conditions, his team could not use their speed advantage very often and that his team had to change their play calling accordingly.

He spoke of his seniors, saying they were part of the team that went to state two years ago.

“They mean a lot to this program,” Goodlove said. “Many of them contributed when we went to state and they have been a big part of our success.”