Marquette, Michigan – August 26th, 2015 – John Thompson, Pete Kolbus, and Ryan Ranguette were in Marquette for Marquette Redmen Friday Night for Marquette’s game against the Traverse City St. Francis Gladiators on Fox Sports Marquette 105.1 & 99.9FM and Simulcast for the Big Game of the Week on 103-FXD. It was the first game of the season, and the Redmen looked to get things started with a bang. John and Pete brought you their stats and predictions during the Honor Credit Union pregame show!
The Marquette Redmen lost the opening coin toss, but the Traverse City St. Francis Gladiators elected to differ receiving the ball until the second quarter. Marquette had a good return on the kick off, however, the Gladiators’ defense held strong and forced a 3-and-out, forcing a punt. On St. Francis’ first possession, a 40 yard pass play gave the Gladiators the first points of the game. However, the extra point missed when the ball hit the crossbar, and that made the score 6-0 in favor of St. Francis. On their very next drive, Marquette got onto the scoreboard on a huge pitch play through multiple defenders, making it 7-6. The ball was traded back to Marquette after the kick off thanks to a fumble, but the Redmen were unable to put any more points onto the board before the end of the quarter.
The game was turning into a dog fight between the Marquette Redmen and the Traverse City St. Francis Gladiators as the second quarter started with a score of 7-6 in favor of Marquette. The Redmen defense came up big on several St. Francis drives, stopping them multiple times in their own territory. With just over 3 minutes remaining in the half, Marquette was forced into a 4th and 9 attempt, but they turned the ball over on downs. On the second play of St. Francis’ next drive, Marquette came up HUGE with a forced fumble, giving possession to the Redmen deep in the Gladiators’ territory. Traverse City stopped Marquette’s drive however, and thanks to a 35-yard run, the Gladiators retook the lead after a two-point conversion with a score of 14-7 in favor of St. Francis.
Halftime Score:
Marquette Redmen: 7
Traverse City St. Francis: 14
As the second half of the game started, the Marquette Redmen kicked off to the Traverse City St. Francis Gladiators. On the Gladiators’ first drive of the half, they hammered their way into the end zone, but they again missed the extra point kick which made the score 20-7 just minutes into the third quarter. Marquette got the ball back, but St. Francis again fought hard on defense and managed to get the ball back halfway through the quarter. They reached the end zone after several long runs, and after the extra point attempt, the score was Marquette 7 and Traverse City 27. On a BIG 45 yard play, Marquette got onto the board for the first time in the second quarter, and with a good extra point, the score was 14-27 with the Gladiators leading. St. Francis scored one more touchdown before the end of the third quarter, but were stuffed on the extra point attempt, which made the score 33-14 in favor of Traverse City St. Francis.
Traverse City held the lead going into the final quarter of the game, but the Marquette Redmen were doing everything they could to hold back the Gladiators’ offense. Marquette’s defense again continued doe their best to stop Traverse City, but the Redmen were unable to put a plug in the leak. St. Francis held Marquette to -3 yards for the first half of the last quarter, and they continued to play strong on defense, despite the best efforts from Marquette. By the end of the game, the Gladiators had added another 7 points to their total, and the Traverse City St. Francis Gladiators defeated the Marquette Redmen.
Make sure you join John, Pete, and Ryan next Friday, September 2nd as the Redmen battle Traverse City Central in Traverse City. John and Pete will have the Honor Credit Union pregame show at 6:15pm on Fox Sports Marquette 105.1 & 99.9FM .
