Marengo High snaps 17-game losing streak

One week after Marengo High (1-1) snapped a 17-game losing streak with a 54-18 win over McIntosh, the Panthers will host John Essex (0-2) Friday night.

Last Friday night, Marengo took a 16-0 lead in the first quarter on a 44-yard touchdown run by Jatevin Horn and a one-yard scoring plunge by Shamerian Lewis. Shamerian Lewis and Michael Lewis added the two-point conversion runs.

McIntosh’s Demarcus Barnes clawed his team back into the game with a 34-yard scoring run in the second quarter and a 25-yard touchdown sprint in the third that cut the Demon deficit to 16-12.

Shamerian Lewis added to Marengo’s advantage with 7:13 to play in the third when he scored on an eight-yard run and added his own two-point conversion to put the Panthers up 24-12.

Marengo put the game squarely out of reach in the fourth quarter with 30 points. Horn scored on a three-yard run as Michael Lewis added the two-point play.

Jamarcus Pritchett then scored on a 39-yard pass from Michael Lewis to stretch the lead to 38-12.

McIntosh attempted to get back into the game with 7:38 to go when Barnes found Marquis Thomas for a 25-yard touchdown pass to cut the Panther lead to 38-18.

With 5:20 to play, Shamerian Lewis added his third touchdown run of the night on a nine-yard sprint. He then added the two-point conversion run again for the 46-18 Marengo advantage. Demetrius Bowser scored the final touchdown of the night when he caught a 34-yard pass from Cordarius Pritchett. Travarious Harris capped the scoring with a two-point conversion run.

Marengo amassed 572 yards of total offense in the contest behind an offensive line that consisted primarily of Phillip Treadwell, Dequinta Dixon, Justin Dunning, Adrienne Hopson and Kenyatta Raines.

Horn led the defensive effort with 15 total tackles, bringing his total for the season to 33 stops over two games. Bowser finished with 12 tackles while David Autry had 10.

The win came nearly two years to the day after Panthers’ last previous win which came Friday, Sept. 16, 2011 against St. Luke’s.