By Sean McNamara
RACHEL – The No. 1 North Marion Huskies defeated the No. 16 Lincoln Cougars on Friday, 35-14, punching their ticket to the second round of the playoffs next week.
With the win, North Marion advances to the second round of the playoffs for the third consecutive year. In the quarterfinals next week, NMHS will face the winner of today’s contest between East Fairmont and Herbert Hoover at East-West Stadium.
The first matchup of 2023 between the Cougars and Huskies saw North Marion pick up a 35-17 win, but it did so with a hobbled Casey Minor, who did not play defense and wasn’t able to rush the ball offensively.
Fully healthy this time around, Minor and the Huskies came out and set the tone early, scoring the game’s first touchdown on a 1-yard Aaron Hoffman touchdown run that was set up by 61 rushing yards from Minor on the drive.
“He’s a good quarterback now, but he’s not a pocket passer,” NM coach Daran Hays said. “That’s what he was last time. It’s a different animal when he’s got legs. As you get into this kind of game you have to rely on a little bit more short passing and a little bit more of that sort of thing.”
Lincoln’s opening possession saw a 34-yard screen pass from AJ Bart to David Burdette put the ball into Husky territory, but a few plays later a Bart pass was intercepted by Landon Frey, giving North Marion the ball back.
Hoffman and the Huskies again found the end zone, this time as the senior scored his second rushing touchdown of the night, this time from 34 yards away to make the score 14-0 after Brady Anderson knocked through his second PAT.
The North Marion defense tightened up throughout the rest of the first half, only allowing two Lincoln first downs and 53 total yards through the first two quarters.
As the Huskies kept the Cougars off the board, the North Marion offense was rolling, collecting 354 total yards of offense through the first half, adding second-quarter touchdowns on a 2-yard run by Trevor Mullett and a 31-yard scoring strike from Minor to Brock Martin.
At the half, the scoreboard read 28-0, Huskies.
“I thought we did a good job playing hard, but we just couldn’t make a play defensively where we forced them into a punt or anything else,” Lincoln coach Rob Hawkins said. “Every time they needed yardage they got it.”
In the third quarter, Lincoln forced a North Marion punt for the first time in the game and quickly made the most of the opportunity as Bart connected with Noah Sears on an 87-yard touchdown pass.
Minor and the Huskies answered as the Husky signal caller scored on a 3-yard run, making the score 35-7 after three quarters.
Lincoln scored another touchdown in the fourth on a Sears 4-yard reception from Bart, but it was too little, too late, as the final score settled at 35-14, North Marion.
Key in the win for North Marion was the defensive pressure it got against Bart in the passing game, sacking him four times for a total of 48 lost yards.
Getting that pressure on Bart was the up front combination of Austin McKee, Kaleb Spencer, and Jeffery Cowger, along with blitz pressure from Minor and Mullett.
“All those guys were really good,” Hays said. “That was a challenge all week. After we played that game (against Lincoln) last time, everyone was talking about how our rush defense was soft. They rushed for over 100 on us last time, and we challenged them on that this week.”
Despite the pressure, Bart was able to get the Lincoln offense moving in the second half, totaling 16 completions on 34 attempts for 285 passing yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, both of which were grabbed by Frey.
Bart’s top receiver was Sears who caught six passes for 125 yards and two scores.
Minor led the way for North Marion, completing 15-of-26 passes for 230 yards and a touchdown to go along with 140 rushing yards and a score on 19 carries.
“We knew we didn’t get to see Casey Minor at his best last time,” Hawkins said. “We know he’s one of the best players in AA in West Virginia, there’s no doubt in my mind. As good as he is offensively, he’s still probably better defensively.”
Frey caught four passes for 103 yards while Martin hauled in eight passes for 94 yards. Hoffman pitched in 91 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the win.
Now, North Marion will get the chance to scout next week’s opponent at East-West Stadium today.
“It’s going to be a really quality opponent,” Hays said. “Hoover’s been our best game throughout the course of the year, and East we played way early, so it’s really hard to gauge that. Whatever the case may be, we just have to lock in on being the best version of us.”
North Marion 35 Lincoln 14
NM LIN
First downs;28;7
Rushing Yards;232;(-22)
Passing Yards;230;285
Total Yards;462;263
Passing;15-26-0;16-34-2
Fumbles;1;2
Fumbles Lost;0;0
Penalties;9-85;7-35
Individual Stats
Rushing: NM: Casey Minor 19-140 1 TD, Aaron Hoffman 13-91 2 TD, Trevor Mullett 5-3 1 TD, TEAM 2-(-2). Totals: 39-232. LIN: David Burdette 8-23, Aidan Rice 1-1, TEAM 1-2, AJ Bart 5-(-48). Totals: 15-(-22).
Passing: NM: Casey Minor 15-26-0 230 1 TD. LIN: AJ Bart 16-34-2 285 2 TD.
Receiving: NM: Landon Frey 4-103, Brock Martin 8-94, Jeffery Cowger 2-24, Dylan Higgins 1-9. LIN: Noah Sears 6-125 2 TD, David Burdette 2-43, Aidan Rice 3-51, Brayden Edgell 3-39, Maddox Perine 2-27.
NM:14;14;7;0;35;;0
LIN;;0;0;7;7;14
Scoring Plays
First Quarter
NM – Aaron Hoffman 1-yard run (Brady Anderson kick)
NM – Hoffman 34-yard run (Anderson kick)
Second Quarter
NM – Trevor Mullett 2-yard run (Anderson kick)
NM – Brock Martin 31-yard pass from Casey Minor (Anderson kick)
Third Quarter
LIN – Noah Sears 87-yard pass from AJ Bart (Liam Gallagher kick)
NM – Minor 3-yard run (Anderson kick)
Fourth Quarter
LIN – Sears 4-yard pass from Bart (Gallagher kick)
