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Raiders hold off Tigers for 35-32 win

By Jordan Holland 4 min read

McCONNELSVILLE -- Tanner Bankes rushed for 209 yards and three touchdowns and Wyatte Cooper secured an onside kick in the final seconds as Morgan held on for a 35-32 win over Marietta in Friday's season opener.

The Raiders hosted the game at the old Morgan Athletic Field and felt right at home, taking their opening possession 65 yards on 11 plays with Bankes capping it on a 29-yard touchdown run. Casen Foley ran in the two-point conversion.

Bankes, who scored a school record 21 rushing TDs last year, added TD runs of 3 yards and 1 yard in the first half.

The Tigers responded quickly as Braydon Frye took a direct snap on Marietta's first play of the year from scrimmage and ran it 63 yards to Morgan's 2-yard-line. Trenton McVey punched it in from there to make it 8-7.

Frye carried four times for 76 yards before exiting with an injury.

Morgan led 15-7 after one and stretched it to 22-7 at the 9:56 mark of the second when Mason Pauley scored on a 1-yard run.

However, Nick McGill returned the ensuing kickoff 87 yards to the house to make it a one-score game. Then, after forcing a Morgan fumble, the Tigers got a 13-yard touchdown run from Daymeon Gulley to cut it to 22-20 with 2:34 remaining before halftime.

That was enough time for the Raiders to get downfield and find the end zone again. Bankes' 41-yard set the tone on the drive, and Morgan's bruising back later punched it in from a yard out with 2.2 seconds on the clock. The Raiders led 29-20 at halftime.

Morgan quarterback Gage Roberts threw his first touchdown pass of the season at the 10:56 mark of the fourth quarter. Facing a fourth-and-12 scenario, Roberts connected with Casen Foley on a slant, and Foley broke a tackle and found the end zone from 26 yards out. Dylan Carpenter blocked the extra-point try, making it 35-20.

Marietta turned it over on downs on its next possession, but forced another fumble at the goal line to get the ball back. Ryker Gibeaut hauled in a screen pass from McVey and took it 38 yards for a touchdown. Marietta head coach Mike Kupfner elected to go for two to make it a seven-point game, but the pass failed to make iy 35-26.

The Tiger defense forced a three-and-out and got the ball back at midfield. Kaedyn Dyar's 18-yard catch set up McVey's 6-yard touchdown run with 1:07 left to get Marietta within three.

McMahon sent an onside kick into no-man's land to give the Tigers a shot, but Cooper beat Marietta's hands team to the ball and fell on it to secure the victory.

For Marietta, McVey finished 7 for 10 passing for 88 yards and also carried 22 times for 76 yards. Gibeaut caught three passes for 43 yards.

Roberts went 5 for 12 for Morgan for 54 yards. Foley had four receptions for 56 yards. Bankes' 200-plus-yard performance came on 25 carries. Pauley added 45 yards on 10 attempts.

Morgan out-gained Marietta 336-299.

Head coach Seth Brown's Raiders, who won the program's first ever playoff game a season ago, are off to a 1-0 start and will travel to Warren next week. Marietta will try to bounce back against John Marshall in its home opener.

Contact Jordan Holland at jholland@mariettatimes.com.

At Athletic Field

Morgan 35, Marietta 32

MA (0-1) 7 13 0 12 -- 32

MO (1-0) 15 14 0 6 -- 35

MO: Tanner Bankes 29 run, Casen Foley run, 6:50 1st

MA: Trenton McVey 2 run, Kingston McMahon kick, 6:19 1st

MO: Bankes 3 run, Capote Springer kick, 2:14 1st

MO: Mason Pauley 1 run, Springer kick, 9:56 2nd

MA: Nick McGill 87 kick return, McMahon kick, 9:43 2nd

MA: Daymeon Gulley 13 run, kick failed, 2:34 2nd

MO: Bankes 1 run, Springer kick, :02.2 2nd

MO: Foley 26 pass from Gage Roberts, kick blocked, 10:56 4th

MA: Ryker Gibeaut 38 pass from McVey, pass failed, 4:29 4th

MA: McVey 6 run, kick failed, 1:07 4th

Team stats

MA: First downs: 13; Rushes-yards: 41-211; Passing yards: 88; Total yards: 299; Passing: 7-10-0; Fumbles-lost: 2-1; Penalties-yards: 6-37; Punts-average: 1-26

MO: First downs: 16; Rushes-yards: 42-282; Passing yards: 54; Total yards: 336; Passing: 5-12-0; Fumbles-lost: 2-2; Penalties-yards: 3-29; Punts-average: 1-37

Individual stats

MA: Rushing: McVey 22-76, 2 TDs; Braydon Frye 4-76; Gulley 5-26, TD; Gibeaut 8-37; McGill 1-0; Passing: McVey 7-10-0, TD, 88 yards; Receiving: Gibeaut 3-43, TD; Gulley 3-27; Kaedyn Dyar 1-18

MO: Rushing: Bankes 25-209, 3 TDs; Pauley 10-45, TD; Eli Moore 1-16; Foley 1-14; Roberts 1-2; Landyn Everley 1-1; Team 3-(-5); Passing: Roberts 5-12-0, TD, 54 yards; Receiving: Foley 4-56, TD; Moore 1-(-2)

Next games: John Marshall at Marietta; Morgan at Warren

Starting at /week.