Marengo Academy falls to Patrician

Fri. September 14, 2012 at 1:00 a.m. | By Jeremy D. Smith

LINDEN | Marengo Academy struggled to overcome a punishing Patrician Academy ground game on the way to a 16-6 loss Thursday night.

"We played hard. Obviously we made a lot of mistakes, but we played awful hard," Marengo Academy head coach Robby James said of his team, which suffered its first loss of the season.

The visiting Saints took the lead with 7:28 to play in the first half when Parker Allen bowled through would-be tacklers on his way to a 13-yard touchdown run. Caleb Bonner added the two-point conversion run to put Patrician up 8-0.

After Marengo’s ensuing drive stalled just beyond midfield, Brant Lewis launched a 43-yard punt that penned Patrician at its own 7. Nine plays later, Marengo Academy’s Tyler Barkley intercepted an errant Saint pass in the backfield to stop the threat, which had reached as far as the MA 28.

The Saints then took the opening kickoff of the second half and marched 79 yards on 16 plays while draining 9:37 off the game clock. The drive ended at the 1 when Cason Cook recovered a Patrician fumble.

But five plays later, Gray Goodwin picked off a pass for Patrician, setting the Saints up 18 yards from an insurance score.

Gentry Allen finished the sequence with a 5-yard run before Goodwin added the conversion jaunt for a 16-0 Patrician lead.

The Longhorns got their lone score when Lewis scored on a 4-yard run.

Goodwin led all rushers with 101 yards on 10 carries. The Saints rushed for 301 yards and failed to complete a pass.

Hayden Huckabee led Marengo Academy with 80 yards on 13 carries. Kyle Adams paced the defense with 14 total tackles and sack.

Marengo Academy (3-1) travels to Wilcox Academy next week while Patrician (2-2) plays at Sumter Academy.