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Football: Cedar Hill pulls away from Marcus late
BY JUSTIN THOMAS, JThomas@acnpapers.com
ARLINGTON — Marcus’ football team knew if they wanted to beat Cedar Hill, the No. 1 ranked team in the state, they had to play the perfect game.
Unfortunately the Marauders, who hadn’t lost a fumble all season, put the ball on the turf three times Saturday in a 41-17 loss in an area round playoff game at Cowboys Stadium.
The second of which came in the third quarter as Marcus was driving in Cedar Hill territory with the team trailing, 17-10.
The drive had been set up with a momentum swinging fake punt in which Boyd scampered for 24 yards.
The Marauders could never recover, as Cedar Hill’s ground game wore down Marcus during the final quarter and a half.
“We loved where we were at halftime,” said Bryan Erwin, Marcus coach. “We loved where we were in the third quarter. Second-and-one from the 30 and we turned it over. It unraveled from there. We were in great shape and position to win the football game and it just got away from us.”
Erwin said they were trying to catch Cedar Hill sleeping on what is normally a running down, especially for Marcus.
“We hadn’t fumbled the ball all year but did it three times today,” he said. “We had the second one in the third quarter from the 30-yard line going in to score and tie it up.”
The loss put an end to Marcus’ season, after the Marauders won consecutive games to reach the playoffs followed by a win against Grapevine in the bi-district round.
“I’m very proud of this team,” Erwin said. “We accomplished a lot and came together as a team in so many ways. The closeness and the team chemistry we had was unbelievable.”
Cedar Hill (12-0), meanwhile, advances to the regional semifinals where they will meet the winner of El Paso Coronado and Abilene.
The Marauders, who have relied on their ground game all season, faced tough sledding against the Longhorns, who have limited opponent’s rushing attacks throughout the year.
Saturday was no different, as Marcus gained 169 yards rushing but needed 49 carries to reach that mark. On the other side, Cedar Hill’s top ranked rushing attack totaled 284 yards on 36 carries and was led by Rufus Hayes, who gained 125 yards on 12 carries with two scores in addition to a 55-yard receiving score.
“I thought the defense played well and we played the option well,” Erwin said. “But we missed some tackles. Cedar Hill has great athletes and you can’t miss tackles against athletes like that.”
Marcus’ Stephen Hopkins, the school’s all-time leading rusher, was held 50 yards on 20 carries and didn’t gain more than five yards on any carry.
Boyd and the passing game picked up the slack, as the senior completed 14-of-20 passes for 160 yards. But nine of those completions came in the second half with Marcus trailing.
Boyd’s top targets were Chris Martin (five catches for 36 yards) and Rhett Butler (four catches for 57 yards).
Marcus fell behind, 10-0, after the first quarter but cut the deficit to 10-7 with a 23-yard touchdown dash by Dagan Newsome out of the wildcat formation.
But the Longhorns answered midway through the second quarter with a 7-yard touchdown run by Hayes on their way to a 17-10 halftime advantage.
Later, with Marcus trailing, 31-10, receiver Chris Cahill made a one-handed catch on a fade near the pylon for a score to bring Marcus within 31-17, but the onside kick attempt failed and Cedar Hill put the game away three plays later with Mason’s third touchdown.
“This was the purest form of team that I’ve ever coached. They were together. They loved each other and cared about each other. I couldn’t ask for any more. We have no regrets.”
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