Marengo Academy steamrolls Patrician, 41-13

LINDEN – Marengo Academy’s pattern of success – oft-repeated over the past two seasons – worked again Thursday night as the Longhorns took care of business early and breezed to a 41-13 win over Patrician Academy’s Saints.

“I thought we played pretty well in the first half, although I thought we were a little sluggish,” said MA head coach Robby James. “We didn’t look as quick as we’ve been, but it was still a good win. Patrician is a class program and this has always been a close rivalry.”

Andrew Martin’s return of the opening kickoff to midfield set the tone Thursday, and on the second play from scrimmage a Josh Holifield burst up the middle set the Longhorns up inside the Patrician 15.

Two plays later, Hayden Huckabee took a pitch and scored from 10 yards out, and Kyle Friday’s PAT staked Marengo to an early 7-0 lead.

The Longhorns made it 14-0 on their next possession, with the score coming on a 13-yard pass from Huckabee to Shade Pritchett.

Patrician’s lone highlight of the evening came on the next series, when Devin Black bolted 74 yards for a touchdown and Duarte Pereira kicked the extra point.

Not to be outdone, following a touchback on the kickoff, Huckabee took the ball 80 yards on first down to re-stake MA to a 14-point advantage, 21-7.

The ‘Horns added one more score in the first period, a 12-yard screen pass from Huckabee-to-Holifield that was set up by a Shade Pritchett interception at the Saint 46.

In the second period, Marengo Academy extended the lead on runs of 20 and 27 yards by Holifield.

With Marengo subbing heavily after the half, Patrician ate up virtually all of the third stanza with a sustained drive, and cashed in on the final play of the quarter when Tristan Weatherly scored from the 2 to cap the night’s scoring.

“I think we’re where we need to be (at this point in the season),” said James, who saw his squad improve to 3-1. “We’ve made a lot of improvements and with Hayden at quarterback we can do a lot of things back there. We’ve got some good football players. We’ve just got to stay focused.”

Marengo rolled up 437 yards of total offense against Patrician, led by Huckabee’s 108 yards on five carries. Weldon Aydelott added 86 yards on 11 attempts, while Holifield ground out 84 yards on five rushes.

Through the air, Huckabee was 5-of-9 for 96 yards and two TDs.

Marengo will host Pickens Academy next Friday. “It’s homecoming, and there will be a lot of distractions,” James said. “We’ve got to be ready to play.”