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Football: Erwin injured as Marcus falls to Ryan
By Chris Roark, croark@starlocalnews.com
DENTON - The mood on Marcus' side of the field following Friday's 18-6 loss to Denton Ryan resembled the feeling that often accompanies a season-ending defeat.
Disappointment. Sadness. And even tears.
But while the season is far from over for Marcus, the Marauders may have to finish the year with a new leader.
Marcus head coach Bryan Erwin said Cade suffered a knee injury and had an MRI on Saturday to determine the extent of the injury. The injury is the second in the Erwin family this season as his brother, Cole, was injured in a scrimmage. He had been the team's starting quarterback.
Meanwhile, the Marauders struggled to get any offense going as the loss drops the team to 1-5 and 0-1 in District 5-5A play. Ryan moves to 3-2 and 1-0 in district.
"That took away our offensive threat," Bryan said. "We played our hearts out, but this was a tough blow because now we have our third quarterback in there."
Senior Ryan Vaughn took over at quarterback and finished 8-for-20 with 108 yards.
In the first half, Marcus was forced to punt on four of its first five possessions, and late in the second quarter, it turned the ball over on a fumble near midfield.
Ryan responded on its first play of the ensuing drive when junior quarterback Mitchell Bridges connected with junior receiver Trent Willis on a 46-yard touchdown pass to make it 9-0. Junior kicker Marc Orozco put Ryan on the board seconds into the second quarter with a 31-yard field goal.
Though Marcus took advantage of its time of possession in the first half - it took 31 snaps before halftime - it had 92 total yards in the first two quarters.
Junior running back Mark Demery led the way with 71 yards on 19 carries in the first half, but Ryan didn't allow him to get more than eight yards on a carry.
"Their defense is outstanding," Bryan said. "They have great players and a great program."
With six seconds remaining in the half, Bridges threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Xavier Gray, a junior receiver, to make it 15-0.
Marcus gave up 205 yards in the first half, though Ryan only scored two touchdowns in the second quarter.
"Our defense played really well," Bryan said. "We gave up that one big play before the half, and that hurt."
Marcus failed to score in two possessions of the third quarter, and it wasn't until Vaughn caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from senior receiver Logan Sepanek on a reverse-pass that the Marauders got on the board to make it 18-6. The team failed to convert on fourth down on its next two possessions.
However, the Marauders did get a chance to see what Vaughn can do.
Vaughn, who is listed on the roster as a linebacker, hasn't played quarterback since his sophomore year - sans a few snaps in non-district action - and didn't play football at all last year.
He connected with Sepanek on 6-of-8 completions but showed off his arm with a couple of deep completions as well. His longest completion to Sepanek was for 31 yards.
"He has a strong arm," Bryan added.
Bryan said Vaughn is probably the team's quarterback going forward if Cade is out for a while, though he said the team will watch film before making a final decision.
Sepanek finished with 88 receiving yards.
Demery ended the game with 92 rushing yards on 26 carries.
Before his exit, Cade completed 2-of-3 passes for 22 yards.
Bridges led Ryan with a 12-for-22 performance with 166 yards. He also rushed for 68 yards. Junior running back Tyrone Williams chipped in 38 rushing yards for the Raiders.
Marcus will host Lewisville (1-5, 0-1) Friday while Ryan hosts Hebron (3-3, 0-1).
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