Down by 10 points at halftime, Marshall County cut the Warren Central lead down to three points late in the third quarter but second half turnovers were converted into points by the Dragons and they handed the Marshals their sixth loss of the season by a final score of 36-21 on Senior Night.
Warren Central came into this season on a 61-game losing streak, dating back to October 2015 and the streak ended with a 13-0 win over Bullitt Central in their season opener. They were 3-5 coming into Friday’s game along with the Marshals at 3-5, looking to snap a four-game losing streak. After not playing for 15 years, last season the Marshals beat the Dragons 27-26.
The Marshals scored the first touchdown of the game on a 22-yard run by Aiden Dunigan to lead 7-0 but it was erased on Warren Central’s first possession when they scored on a 56-yard pass from quarterback AJ Aime to Amari Glover. The two-point conversion pass to Glover was good for an 8-7 lead.
Late in the first quarter with Warren Central back to punt, a roughing the kicker penalty on the Marshals gave the Dragons a first down and with the start of the second quarter, they scored from the one on a keeper by Aime and added the two-point conversion to lead 16-7.
Conner Nix was intercepted on the Marshals next drive by Deanglo Patterson who ran it back 85 yards for the Dragons third touchdown and two-point conversion pass to Glover once again good for a 24-7 lead.
The Marshals scored on a seven-yard touchdown run by Landon Utley on their next drive to cut the lead to 24-14 at halftime. Utley, the workhorse for the Marshals on both sides of the ball, rushed for over 80 yards in the first half.
An interception by Utley in the third quarter led to the Marshals third touchdown of the game on an eight-yard run by Dunigan. With Logan Parker’s point after, the Marshals closed the Dragons lead to three points at 24-21 with just over two minutes remaining in the quarter.
Another Marshall County turnover to open the fourth quarter led to points for Warren Central on a keeper by Aime. They went for the two-point conversion again but this time the pass was incomplete and their lead was 30-21 with 10:55 to go in the game.
The Marshals took over on downs late in the fourth quarter, but with little time left to make up the 11-point deficit, Nix was intercepted by Patterson who ran it back the 40 yards for the Dragons final touchdown and 36-21 win.
Unofficially, the Marshals had more yards of offense than the Dragons, 312 to 300. They rushed for 213 yards led by Utley with 102 on 21 carries and Dunigan with 81 yards on 12 carries. The Dragons picked up most of their yards in the air with 189, Aime was 12-of-22.
Marshall County will play their final regular season game next week at Graves County (5-4).
Warren Central 8 16 0 12 – 36
Marshall County 7 7 0 7 – 21
Marshall County vs Warren Central
