CAPE GIRARDEAU — Saxony Lutheran rang up 506 yards of offense on the Road Friday, but it wasn’t quite enough to prevent a 48-34 loss to Marquette Catholic at Houck Stadium.
Despite the loss, coach O.J. Turner was very pleased with his team’s performance, especially considering the differences in size and experience between his team and Marquette.
“They were the most physical team that we’ve played so far,” Turner said. “Their offensive line was very physical compared to us. They probably average about maybe 230 to 240 — good sized bodies — but they’re very physical and our defensive line did not handle it. That doesn’t mean they didn’t work hard and all those different things, but you could definitely tell. The physical part, [Marquette] did very well with it. Because of that, it made it very tough to contain them offensively wise. We would do pretty good with first and second downs. Third and sometimes fourth is where we kind of got in trouble with and just kind of let them slip out.”
Saxony got on the board early, as sophomore quarterback Kai McDowell scored on a 15-yard run in the first, then found Zach Roth for a passing touchdown before running it in again to give the Crusaders a 20-7 lead before Marquette found its stride, scoring three touchdowns to go up 28-20 at the half.
“They’re a heavy senior team,” Turner said. “We’re a heavy freshman, sophomore team, but this was definitely a winnable game for us offensively wise. We did fine. Missed some there at the end, but you know we were able to really score. I think a big learning lesson for our kids as far as when they got down, they didn’t give up. We were fighting there at the end. We got an onside kick and an opportunity to get it within a touchdown. And then guys were still thinking they would win the game at the end of it, so there’s a lot to be said for that.”
After the break, Saxony Lutheran came out strong, with a rushing touchdown from Alex Buerck to get the Crusaders within one, but the Explorers still had more in the tank, scoring three more times to build a 48-26 lead before McDowell found Alan Rudd for another scoring strike that left the score 48-34. Despite recovering the onside kick, the Crusaders didn’t see the endzone again.
McDowell finished with 322 yards passing on 29 of 53 attempts with 2 touchdowns split between seven different receivers. Ozzie Turner had 4 catches for 77 yards, Buerck was 8-58, Jaron Anderson was 3-58, Roth was 3-47 and a touchdown, Bryce Gaebler was 6-44, and Rudd had 3 catches for 13 yards and a touchdown.
Buerck led all rushers with 92 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries, while McDowell finished with 82 yards and 2 touchdowns on 14 carries.
Saxony Lutheran will host Charleston at Houck Stadium on Friday. The Blue Jays (3-2) are coming off a 27-18 loss to Portageville. Kickoff for Friday’s game is set for 7 p.m.
