Alliance, OH- On paper, this week 9 tilt between the Marlington Dukes and visiting Salem Quakers looked like it would be a back and forth affair. Both teams entered the night 2-6 on the season, hoping to avenge some early season defeats heading into their penultimate games with their heated rivals.
Marlington, fresh off their win over Minerva was looking to make it 2 in a row, while the Quakers came off a heart-wrenching overtime loss to 6-2 Carrolton.
The Quakers got started fast, scoring on their first drive on a 3 yard run by Junior QB Cletis Monroy. Following a Dukes fumble on an ill-timed snap that bounced off the motion mans leg, it was Quaker kicker Troy Gibson splitting the uprights from 36 yards out to extend the lead to 10 with 5:18 left in the opening frame.
The Quakers weren't done yet, adding another Monroy touchdown run, this one from 28 yards out, in the waning moments, making it 17-0 prior to the end of the quarter following Gibson's successful PAT.
The Dukes offense continued to struggle as the scoreboard flips to quarter 2. Forced to punt, the Dukes attempted to flip the field, unfortunately for Marlington, Monroy was one of the deep return men for the Quakers. Monroy took the punt on a bounce near their own 48 yard line and turned on the jets, weaving through the Duke coverage corps for a 52 yard punt return for a touchdown.
On their following possession, the Quakers again ended the drive in the end zone. This time, it was Monroy using his legs again in a more traditional way, galloping 11 yards to extend the Salem advantage. Two minutes later, it was Monroy using his arm this time, finding Derek Oesch for a 13 yard touchdown pass.
Before halftime, Monroy added another rushing score, this one his longest of the night from 34 yards out. It would extend the Quaker lead to 45-0, which would be all the scoring for this game. Salem moves to 3-6 on the year as they face off with the 9-0 West Branch Warriors who secured their third straight EBC crown with a 33-6 victory over Carrolton this evening. Marlington falls to 2-7 and heads down the road to take on the Alliance Aviators in The Backyard Brawl.
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