Three turnovers and the inability to slow down the Marshall Academy offense proved to be the difference as the Kirk Academy Raiders lost a 54-20 decision to the Patriots last Friday in Holly Springs.
With the win, Marshall Academy improves to 5-3 overall in 1-1 inside Class AAAA, District 1. Kirk drops to 1-8 overall and 1-3 inside the district.
“It’s been a tough season,” defensive coordinator Stephen Crenshaw said. “With Homecoming, the tragedy and fall break – it wasn’t a chance to see it, but you saw it clear Friday. We weren’t ready to play. There were too many turnovers in the first half – we couldn’t get off blocks upfront defensively, our linebackers were backing up and the secondary didn’t come downhill. These things are correctable things, but there is no way to simulate it in practice with our numbers.”
After being unable to move the football on its first possession, Kirk gave Marshall the football at the Patriots 45 to start their first drive of the contest. A 30-yard run from Hayes Henry set up a 20-yard touchdown pass from Brody Whitaker to Henry for the touchdown. Jack Whaley Smith added the two-point conversion to make it 8-0 in the first quarter.
The Raiders answered back, taking just two plays to score. Quarterback Lane Goss connected with Noah Jackson on a 56-yard touchdown pass. The extra point from Gunner Vance cut the lead to 8-7 with 8:03 left in the first quarter.
Marshall came right back with a six-play, 62-yard drive with Smith scoring on a 38-yard run. The two-point conversion failed leaving the Patriots with a 14-7 lead.
On the ensuing kickoff, the Raiders fumbled giving the Patriots the football at the KA 26. On the first play, Whitaker found Eli Basham open for a touchdown. The conversion failed leaving the Patriots with a 20-7 lead.
Marshall continued the offensive onslaught after holding KA on its next possession. Whitaker had a 53-yard run and ended the drive with a 16-yard scoring pass to Walker Sanders. The two-point conversion failed leaving the score at 26-7.
The Patriots intercepted Goss on Kirk’s next possession to set up another Marshall touchdown. Josh Bowman scored on an eight-yard run and Henry added a two-point conversion to put the Patriots ahead 34-7 at the end of the first quarter.
A second interception of a Goss pass early in the second quarter set up the Patriots once again in Kirk territory. Smith scored on a six-yard run with 9:52 left in the first half. The two-point conversion failed leaving the score at 40-7.
Marshall then made it 48-7 with a seven-yard run from Eli Gurley and a two-point conversion from Josh Bowman with 1:53 left in the first half.
The Raiders came right with a three-play, 46-yard drive to get the final points of the first half. Goss had a 21-yard pass to Gage Griffin. Goss found Griffin for a 10-yard scoring play. Vance kicked the extra point to make it 48-14 at halftime.
Second Half
The Raiders closed out their scoring on their first drive of the third quarter. Kirk took nine plays to drive 59 yards. Goss had completions of 12 yards to Riley Rea and 17 yards to Griffin. The senior quarterback capped the drive with a four-yard run. The extra point failed leaving the score at 48-20. Marshall added a late score to account for the final margin of 54-20.
Kirk closes the 2022 season this Friday night with a trip to Greenville St. Joseph. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
