Leonard throws four TDs as Sentinels roll past Gaylord

MARQUETTE, Mich. — Gaylord beat Marquette twice last season. Both games came down to the last play, and the second one ended the Sentinels’ season in the playoffs.

Before Friday’s rematch, Marquette coach Eric Mason said he wanted his players to get past it.

“When that happens, sometimes with high school kids and people and athletes in general, it gets in your head,” he said.

It didn’t. Marquette scored on its first drive, led 28-7 at halftime and won 49-13 on senior night at William R. Hart Stadium, its fifth straight win. The Sentinels are 5-2 overall and 5-0 in the Big North Conference and have clinched at least a share of the conference title.

Winston Leonard threw four touchdown passes. Brody Clements caught three of them, from 34, 10 and 45 yards. Landen Faccio ran 22 times for 131 yards and a touchdown, and Dylan Pond ran eight times for 53 yards and two scores. Marquette did not turn the ball over.

Thirty-three yards on the first snap

Marquette won the toss and took the ball. Clements returned the opening kickoff from inside the 5 to about the 25, and on the first play Faccio went up the middle, through the second level, spun through a tackle and kept going into Blue Devils territory. The 33-yard run put the ball at the Gaylord 42.

Faccio gained 1, and then Leonard found Clements wide open down the sideline. The ball went off Clements’ hands. On third-and-9, Leonard went back to him down the other sideline, and this time Clements made a harder catch in tight coverage for 26 yards to the 15.

Faccio ran for 6. Leonard kept on an option against a Gaylord blitz for 7 and a first down at the 2, and Faccio went up the middle for the touchdown. Leonard’s kick made it 7-0 with 9:24 left in the first quarter.

A missed chance

Marquette’s defense forced a punt on Gaylord’s first possession after a holding penalty pushed the Blue Devils back to third-and-17.

The Sentinels’ second drive went to the Gaylord 19. On third-and-8 from his own 39, Leonard threw deep for Blackburn, who wrestled the ball away from a Gaylord safety for a 39-yard gain. But a quarterback keeper lost 2 yards, a short pass went off Blackburn’s hands, a third-down catch came up short, and on fourth-and-7 Gaylord broke up Leonard’s throw to Evan Brown in the corner of the end zone.

The Marquette defense got the ball back. Connor D’Ambrosio, with help from Dylan Pond, sacked the Gaylord quarterback for a big loss back to the Blue Devils’ 12, and after a false start and a Marquette pass-interference penalty, Gaylord punted again.

Offensive lineman Ayden Plantenga went down with an injury on the next drive. He was back on the field to start the second quarter.

Clements, twice

Marquette was at the Gaylord 43 when the quarter ended. Faccio ran for 9 to open the second, and on second-and-1 Leonard faked a handoff and threw down the sideline to Clements, who caught it for a 34-yard touchdown. Leonard’s kick made it 14-0.

Gaylord went three-and-out, with Jack Keough dropping a receiver behind the line on a screen, and its punt went out of bounds at the Blue Devils’ 34.

Faccio took a delayed handoff up the middle and made defenders miss to the 15, where he lost the ball. A Marquette player fell on it, and the Sentinels had a first down. Three runs later they faced fourth-and-5 at the 10. Leonard threw a quick slant to Clements, who got a step on his defender, caught it and fell backward into the end zone. It was 21-0 with 7:00 left in the half.

Gaylord’s answer

Pierce Barraw returned the kickoff to the Marquette 48, and Gaylord gave the ball to Calvin Cosby five straight times. He ran for 6, 2 and 10 yards, then took a direct snap and ran to the 8. On first-and-goal he took a toss to the outside and leaped over a Marquette defender into the end zone. The kick made it 21-7 with 4:21 left in the half.

Cosby, a junior who has played quarterback for Gaylord this season, lined up in the backfield most of the night.

Eight seconds left

Marquette started its answer at its own 30. Clements converted one third down with a catch, but Leonard then lost 3 on an option, and the Sentinels faced third-and-11.

Leonard dropped back and threw deep down the middle to Evan Brown, who caught it in stride. Ethan Moylan ran him down inside the 5 to save a touchdown.

Gaylord held for two more plays. Faccio was ruled down just short of the goal line, then was stopped again, and Marquette called timeout with 12 seconds left facing third-and-1. Leonard faked a handoff and threw to Blackburn in the back of the end zone. Leonard’s kick made it 28-7 with 8 seconds left, and Gaylord knelt on the ball.

The running clock

Gaylord went three-and-out to start the third quarter. Nashua Hoffman dropped the quarterback for a loss on the first play, and a false start pushed the Blue Devils back further.

Marquette took over at its 42. Leonard hit Clements over the middle for 28 yards to the Gaylord 30, and Faccio ran 20 more to the 10. Two plays later it was third-and-goal from the 3, and Leonard ran the option and pitched to Pond, who made a man miss and scored. Leonard’s kick made it 35-7 with 7:48 left in the third.

After another Gaylord punt, Faccio ran twice for a first down at the Gaylord 45. Marquette lost a yard on the next two plays and faced third-and-11. Leonard faked a handoff and threw down the sideline to Clements, who caught it for a 45-yard touchdown, his third of the night and Leonard’s fourth. The kick made it 42-7, and the 35-point margin started the running clock.

The fourth

Gaylord’s next drive had a reprieve. Keough intercepted a pass at the 20 and returned it toward midfield, but flags for pass interference and a personal foul, both on Marquette, wiped out the play and moved the Blue Devils to the Marquette 27.

They scored from there early in the fourth quarter. Cosby converted a third-and-6 with a 6-yard run to the 3 and then took a toss around the left edge for the touchdown with 9:09 left, which stopped the running clock. A Gaylord penalty pushed the extra point back, and Owen Maskart blocked the re-kick. It was 42-13.

With some of Marquette’s regulars resting, Pond carried the next drive. He ran for 9 and 4 yards, Leonard scrambled into Gaylord territory, and Pond broke a 29-yard run to the 1. He scored on the next play. The kick made it 49-13 with 6:05 left, and the running clock resumed.

Gaylord had the ball for the rest of the game, with Jaren Keck taking over at quarterback in the final minutes. Its last play, on fourth down, lost 2 yards.

What it means

Marquette has won five straight since an 0-2 start, and with one conference game left it cannot finish worse than tied for the Big North title.

Mason said the difference Friday was that his team played a full game.

“We played four quarters,” he said. “That was the biggest thing that we honestly haven’t done yet this year. I challenged them prior to the game. … You challenge these kids and they come through for you.”

“We started fast, and when we start fast, we’re tough,” he said. “Our kids get confidence and they just keep building on it.”

He also credited his assistants. “Our coaching staff this week prepared for this, and they had just about everything covered,” he said.

The Sentinels came in short-handed, and Mason said he thought they got out of the game with few new problems. “We came into the game a little bit banged up,” he said. “Thankfully, I think we got through this one with limited issues.”

Most of all he talked about the group, which has been working since the summer. “We started our summer workout program in June,” he said. “This is 18 weeks for these kids.”

“I think the biggest thing with this group is their attitudes. Their attitudes have remained steady,” he said. “… They’re just a fun group of kids, great group of kids.”

Marquette plays at Petoskey on Friday at 7 p.m. in its final conference game, then closes the regular season at Kingsford.

Statistics compiled from the game broadcast and are unofficial.