Marquette Redmen Cruise To Victory Over the Gladstone Braves, 21-14

Marquette, MI – October 12, 2018 – The Marquette Redmen battle it out in their penultimate game of the regular season at home against the Gladstone Braves. The Redmen need to win their next two games in order to solidify a play-off bid this year.

The Redmen began the first quarter with possession and worked their way down the field. A penalty set them back, and Gladstone knocked away the next pass to take over early.

Gladstone couldn’t hang on to the ball for too long, however, after number 23 Dylan Goodwin intercepted a Braves pass to put Marquette back in control. No score resulted and the Braves took over once again.

The Braves could not put anything up on the board either, and a huge turnover to the Redmen shifted control to Marquette yet again to close out a no-score first quarter.

Energy crackled in the air in the second quarter as the Redmen sought to put the first points of the game up on the board. Marquette narrowed in on the eight yard line and a Brendan Kaski pass to Ethan Martysz resulted in the first touchdown of the game. The score settled at 6-0 after Gladstone running backs Cole Hansen and Dan Martin blocked the kick.

Redmen defense thwarted any attempt by Gladstone to shift the momentum. Alex Cannoot took down Gladstone’s Jared Crow to send a message. The Braves were eventually forced to punt the ball away, and Marquette took over with less than five minutes on the clock. The first half wound down with no change to the scoreboard.

The Marquette defense took the wind out of Gladstone’s sails when Bryce Brazeau intercepted a Braves pass at the top of the second half. Brazeau then put a beautiful pass right into the hands of Robert Apple for a touchdown. A successful two-point conversion from Cannoot brought the score to 14-0.

Gladstone didn’t waste any time when Braves’ wide receiver Vince Hughes caught a Jared Crow pass to bring the score to 14-7 with the kick.

On their next drive, Marquette’s Adam Jenshak nabbed a huge catch in the end zone but a questionable call claimed the touchdown was no good. The field goal kick from 43 yards out was blocked and Gladstone took over possession in a one-score game.

Gladstone could not put any points up on the board and Marquette took over once again with a chance to put more ground between the Redmen and the Braves. Gladstone defense would not stand for it, however, and the Braves took over with seconds left in the third quarter.

It looked like Gladstone had all the momentum at the top of the fourth quarter, but Adam Jenshak, with a huge interception on Crow, quickly put possession back into Marquette’s hands.

Not to be outdone, Gladstone’s Caden Alworden picked off a Redmen pass to regain control. Braves’ running back Brody Sanville tied up the game with a 24-yard run into the end zone on the next play. The score settled at 14-14 with the kick.

The next Redmen drive was well on its way but an unfortunate fumble gave possession to Gladstone at a crucial moment in the game.

Marquette’s Beau Zorza came in with the interception to quickly put the Redmen back on course. Brady Wright scored from six yards out in short order to put Marquette back out into the lead at 21-14.

Redmen defense kept Gladstone at bay and the Braves gave up possession with just over one minute on the clock. Marquette had no problem protecting their lead and cruised to victory. This win means the Redmen clinched a share of the GNC Title. A win next week means Marquette may go home with the GNC Title outright for the first time in decades.

The Marquette Redmen will take on the Maroons at Menominee on Friday, October 19. Tune in to Fox Sports Marquette 105.1-99.9 and 103 FXD for all the action. Pre-game is at 7:25pm and kickoff is at 8pm.

Listen to a recording of the live broadcast here.