Tyler Legacy outscores Marshall in live quarter of scrimmage

Published 11:30 am Saturday, August 19, 2023

MARSHALL — Tyler Legacy gave up a 66-yard touchdown on the second play of the night in Friday’s scrimmage against Marshall at Maverick Stadium.

After that, the Legacy defense didn’t allow the Mavericks near the end zone the rest of the night, and the Marshall passing attack was basically non-existent. Marshall had success in the running game, but the Legacy defense was able to force four turnovers and keep the Mavericks off of the scoreboard after the second play.

“Defensively, hats off to the guys,” Tyler Legacy head football coach Beau Trahan said. “They did an outstanding job all night. They hit us with one big play early. We cleared it and then did a great job the rest of the night.

“That’s a great football team over there in Marshall. Coach (Jack) Alvarez does a great job. They’ve got a good ball club over there, so I was proud of the way our guys competed.”

Marshall got the lone touchdown in the controlled portion of the scrimmage, which lasted about 80 plays.

In the live, 12-minute quarter, Legacy found the end zone twice to outscore the Mavericks 14-0.

“I thought the guys competed, I really did, especially when we got into the scrimmage part of it, the simulated quarter, the true quarter, because we kind of to do what we do, move the ball and try to play with a little pace,” Trahan said. “I thought offensively we came out a lot of hesitant, guys not wanting to mess up. But at the end of the day, they rallied, they calmed down and we did some great things.”

Marshall got the ball first in the live quarter and ran to midfield before the Red Raiders forced their fourth turnover of the night with a fumble recovery by Matthew Ross.

The Red Raiders got into field-goal range on their first possession of the live quarter but missed on a 43-yard field goal attempt.

After forcing a Marshall punt, Legacy got the ball at its own 25 and an errant snap put the Red Raiders back at their own 14-yard-line. On the next play, Luke Wolf found Kalan Greenhouse down the sideline for an 86-yard touchdown pass to give the Red Raiders a 7-0 lead with 3:37 on the clock.

The Red Raiders stopped the Mavericks on fourth down and then converted their own fourth down. On fourth-and-3, Wolf connected with JP Rainer for a 12-yard completion and then connected with DJ Owens for a 19-yard touchdown with 44 seconds to play.

“I thought Luke was one of the guys that was hesitant at first,” Trahan said. “Once he settled in, he started making plays. The offensive line did a great job and gave him some protection. We’ve got some stuff to clean up. We definitely have some work to do, but I was really pleased with where we’re at.”

Makel Sears had an interception and made several plays in the secondary for the Red Raiders. Micah Igaya had multiple receptions. Running backs Micah Pierson, Kavion Hall and Sterlin Burleson all saw work carrying the ball out of the backfield.

“We were physical and we competed,” Trahan said. “That’s all I can ask for. And we’re out healthy. That’s the main thing.”

Legacy will open the season against Lufkin at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Abe Martin Stadium in Lufkin.