Marlette Falls to Pirates

By: Wm. Michael Dixon
Tribune Recorder Leader

The Marlette Red Raiders traveled to Harbor Beach to take on the Pirates for a defensive showdown. Harbor Beach was trying to bounce back from their tough loss to Ubly while Marlette was coming off of a victory week after besting the Wolves in Sandusky.
The first half was scoreless with Ryan Ramirez and Logan Malloy leading the defensive effort for the Red Raiders. The pair combined for 14 solo tackles on the night.
The second half came, and Marlette made the gutsy decision to go for the onside kick. The gamble paid off and the Red Raiders recovered the ball and started marching down the field before a holding call stole the Red Raider momentum.
Harbor Beach finally broke the ice with a two-yard touchdown run from Caden Bucholz to take a 6-0 lead with under two minutes to go in the third. “At the end of the third quarter, we had Harbor Beach at 3rd and 8. They threw it up to Harper and there was a pass interference call that we did not agree with that kept that drive going. It was disappointing.” Stated Coach Denny Lester of the third quarter drive.
The next two scores came from Pirate runners Shea Woodke and Dustin Emerick to bring the total to 22-0 with roughly a minute remaining in the contest. “We just didn’t respond like we are capable of.” Head Coach Denny Lester Marlette handed the ball off to Logan Malloy who powered his way down field for a 42-yard touchdown run to shrink the deficit to 16. The Red Raider rushing game was led by Malloy, who rushed for 64 yards on seven attempts and a touchdown.
Tyler Izydorek had 9 rushes for 45 yards. Westley Chapin had 25 yards on four carries. Quintin Sartin completed four of seven passes for 77 yards and gave up an interception. Sartin also rushed for 23 yards on 10 attempts. Westley Chapin was the lead receiver on the night, catching one pass and running it downfield 60 yards before being stopped short of the end zone.
Dominic Crossno had one catch for 15 yards and Logan Malloy had one for three yards. The loss was a tough one for the Red Raiders, but Denny Lester was happy with his boys’ effort. “I am really proud of our defense. They battled all night long even with our offense putting us In tough situations. We lost Aaron Bower (starting TE and DE) in the first quarter with an ankle injury and that really hurt us offensively.”
The Red Raiders slide to 3-2 overall (1-2 GTCE) with the loss to Harbor Beach and will hope to rest and recover this week as they take on the 1-4 Memphis Yellowjackets at home for Marlette’s Homecoming celebration. “We need to heal up. We are beat up after the past three weeks. We need to have a great week of practice.”