The Marquette Redmen Shoulder a Loss on the Road to Lakeland Union Thunderbirds

Marquette, MI – October 5, 2018 – The Marquette Redmen were on the road against the Lakeland Union Thunderbirds. The Redmen played in some cold, misty conditions and searched for a win to bolster their chances at a 2018 play-off bid.

First possession of the game went to the Thunderbirds but they gave it up to the Redmen without putting anything up on the scoreboard. Redmen quarterback Brendan Kaski found wide receiver Bryce Brazeau on an artful pass to get that first down. It didn’t take long for Kaski to find wide receiver Ethan Martysz for his 9th touchdown catch of the season. The Redmen took the lead at 7-0 after a successful Drew Wyble kick.

Wyble and the Marquette defense tried to stop the Thunderbirds from answering their early touchdown, but Thunderbird quarterback Michael Ouimette charged into the end zone for a touchdown at the last minute. With the successful kick, Lakeland Union tied it up going into the second quarter.

Marquette started out the second quarter with another early touchdown as Kaski found Martysz. With a successful kick, the score came to 14-7. Lakeland Union was not so lucky on their next possession. The Thunderbirds could not budge the scoreboard and handed it off to the Redmen with plenty of time left on the clock.

The Redmen ended up kicking it away after an incomplete pass, so the Thunderbirds had another chance to tie up the game. They did just that and Ouimette scored with a 38-yard run on a fake-out to tie it up at 14-14 with the kick.

A promising drive from Marquette and a beautiful pass right into the clutches of Collin Hicks put the ball at the 10 yard line. Redmen dreams were dashed for the time being though when the next snap was fumbled and the ball was intercepted by the Thunderbirds in spite of a valiant recovery attempt.

The score stayed all tied up, however, and Marquette went into the third quarter with possession in a game seven nail-biter. The Redmen had a few hiccups to start but got within 10 yards of the end zone where they took the field goal option.

Unfortunately, the kick attempt was no good and the momentum took a big swing in favor of the Thunderbirds. Lakeland Union charged down the field and a 38-yard pass from Ouimette to number 23 Jake Rexroade resulted in a touchdown to bring the score to 20-14 after an unsuccessful kick.

Marquette began the final quarter with possession in Lakeland territory. A couple of heartbreaking incomplete passes into the end zone resulted in a turnover to the Thunderbirds with no change to the scoreboard.

Luckily, the Thunderbirds could not find the end zone either and Marquette took over with a chance to get back into the game. Robert Apple had a huge run on the first down with a gain of 39 yards but a penalty pushed them back to the Thunderbird 30 yard line.

The Redmen kept it moving toward a wholly necessary drive to the end zone but the Thunderbirds stopped the Redmen offense to protect their lead.

After a huge fumble recovery, the Marquette Redmen took over at the Thunderbird 14 yard line. The ensuing drive was frantic if not promising, but the Redmen were stopped in their final attempt at clinching the victory. Ultimately, the Thunderbirds nabbed the win for their 2018 homecoming game.

The Marquette Redmen will be at home against Gladstone next week on Friday, October 12. Pregame is at 6:25 and kickoff is at 7:00 on Fox Sports Marquette 105.1-99.9 and 103 FXD.

Listen to a recording of the live broadcast here.