Chicago Heights, IL-(ENEWSPF)- The Marian Catholic defense set the tone against Bloom Township on Friday night, and Randall Nauden and the Spartan offense were more than happy to reap the benefits.
With Marian limiting visiting Bloom Township to 2 yards off offense in the first half, Nauden scored four touchdowns to lead the Spartans to a 33-0 command and eventual 33-6 nonconference conquest of their crosstown rivals.
On his way to a 16-carry, 126-yard effort, Nauden scored on runs of 6, 9, 37, and 3 yards in leading the Spartans (2-1) to their 12th victory over the Blazing Trojans (1-2) in the 14-game series. Marian added its final score on fourth-and-goal, as quarterback Kyle Thomas hit Dylan Ross over the middle for a 5-yard touchdown.
Ricky Gallegos booted his third conversion kick to give the host team a 33-0 command with 14 seconds to play in the third period and signal the start of mop-up time.
The Spartan offense managed just 84 yards of offense in building a 13-0 halftime margin, so the defense was clearly the dominant force early and when the outcome was still in doubt.
Led by a defensive front that included Correll Young, Joseph Garcia, Leo Mendez, Tyler Belton, and Etin Oronsaye, the Spartans forced six turnovers and held Bloom to negative yardage on nine of 44 snaps. Isaiah Johnson pulled in an interception for Marian, while the Spartans also got fumble recoveries from Austin Alexander, Ross, Young, and Dominic Mascolino.
The Blazing Trojans didn’t manage a first down until the final two minutes of the opening half, as Marian capitalized on turnovers to take a two-touchdown advantage.
A muffed punt return turnover set up the Spartans at midfield and Nauden polished off a 51-yard drive with a 6-yard touchdown run. His second score, a 9-yard touchdown burst, was set up when Marian recovered a fumble on the Bloom 20-yard line.
With the defensive keeping matters in check, Marian exploded for 20 third-quarter points to leave little doubt. Nauden’s third scoring run followed a Bloom fumble and the fourth touchdown run culminated a 90-yard scoring drive that began after Johnson’s interception. Ross’ touchdown catch came after another Blazing Trojan fumble, as every Marian point for the night followed a turnover.
In the end, Marian pounded behind an offensive line of Derek Marin-Martinez, Caiden O’Neil, Craig Morrison, Michael Biesboer and Demarcus Jackson for 227 rushing yards on 43 totes. Along with 62 passing yards, Thomas rushed 14 times for 52 yards.
Zion Horn led the Spartans with 25 receiving yards while adding a 22-yard first-down run on his lone carry of the night. Jeremiah Smith also grabbed a pair of passes for 19 yards.
The CCL-ESCC portion of Marian’s schedule finally gets underway next Friday, when the Spartans celebrate Homecoming with a 7:30 p.m. Purple Division contest against Saint Patrick. Although it’s the first-ever test in the Purple Division, Marian owns a 5-0 all-time record in CCL-ESCC divisional contests.
Sophomores: The young Spartans improved to 2-0 with a 42-6 decision over the Blazing Trojans.
Photo Gallery: Game and Marian Catholic Band
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Friday’s Game Stats
| CATEGORY | Bloom Township | Marian Catholic |
| First downs | 12 | 14 |
| Rush attempts / yards | 35-141 | 43-227 |
| Passing yards | 18 | 62 |
| Pass completions | 7 | 5 |
| Pass attempts | 9 | 14 |
| Had intercepted | 1 | 0 |
| Fumbles / lost | 5 / 4 | 1 / 1 |
| Penalty Yards | 6-60 | 6-50 |
| Next | at Thornridge | SAINT PATRICK |
SCORING
MC- Randall Nauden 6-yard run (Ricky Gallegos kick), 4:52 first.
MC- Nauden 9-yard run (kick failed), 7:11 second.
MC- Nauden 37-yard run (Gallegos kick), 6:42 third.
MC- Nauden 3-yard run (kick failed), 3:45 third.
MC- Dylan Ross 5-yard pass from Kyle Thomas (Gallegos kick), 0:14 third.
BT- Diego Garcia 19-yard run (kick failed), 7:52 fourth.
Rushing: BT- Jose Servin 14-69, Garcia 20-66 (TD), Tayshawn Harper 1-7. MC- Nauden 16-126 (4 TD), Thomas 14-52, Zion Horn 1-22, Jerry Thurman 7-21, Kaleb Isom 3-12, Ernest Tetter 2-(minus 6).
Passing: BT- Garcia 7 of 9, 18 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT. MC- Thomas 5 of 14, 62 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT.
Receiving: BT- Devion Love 2-8, Ramon Villareal 1-7, Servin 4-3. MC- Horn 1-25, Jeremiah Smith 2-19, Austin Alexander 1-13, Ross 1-5 (TD).
Interceptions: Isaiah Johnson (MC).
2021 Fall Varsity Football Spartans
| No | Name | Ht | Wt | Yr | Pos |
| 1 | Isaiah Johnson | 6-0 | 160 | Sr | WR / DB |
| 2 | Kyle Thomas | 6-3 | 160 | Jr | QB |
| 4 | Wande Oluwibe | 6-0 | 205 | Sr | LB / DB |
| 5 | Dylan Ross | 6-1 | 220 | Sr | LB |
| 6 | Kendall Winters | 5-10 | 154 | Sr | DB |
| 7 | Aaron Hudson | 5-11 | 167 | Sr | DB |
| 8 | Ernest Tetter | 5-8 | 195 | Sr | RB |
| 9 | Jeremiah Smith | 6-2 | 183 | Jr | WR |
| 10 | Jerry Thurman III | 5-5 | 151 | Jr | RB |
| 11 | Christian Gaw | 5-11 | 161 | Jr | DB |
| 12 | Aaron King | 5-11 | 163 | So | WR / DB |
| 17 | Kelby King | 5-11 | 150 | So | WR / DB |
| 18 | Zion Horn | 6-1 | 165 | Sr | WR |
| 21 | Kaleb Isom | 5-11 | 189 | So | RB / WR |
| 23 | Kaiden Jensen | 6-0 | 186 | So | LB |
| 24 | Randall Nauden | 5-10 | 180 | So | RB |
| 25 | Caleb Hines | 6-0 | 170 | Sr | LB |
| 27 | Jaylen Holland | 5-8 | 139 | Jr | DB |
| 29 | Giovanni Cyril | 5-9 | 180 | Jr | RB |
| 30 | Austin Alexander | 5-11 | 144 | So | WR / DB |
| 31 | Eric Sebastian | 5-8 | 140 | Jr | K / P |
| 32 | Isaiah Beamon | 5-10 | 170 | Sr | LB |
| 42 | Jeremiah Barker | 5-10 | 186 | Jr | DL |
| 50 | Correll Young | 5-10 | 240 | Sr | LB |
| 51 | Francisco Maciel | 5-8 | 198 | Jr | OL |
| 52 | Demarcus Jackson | 6-4 | 227 | Sr | OL / DL |
| 54 | Colin McDonough | 6-4 | 230 | Jr | OL |
| 58 | Derek Marin-Martinez | 6-0 | 215 | Sr | OL |
| 67 | Michael Biesboer | 6-3 | 281 | So | OL |
| 69 | Craig Morrison | 6-0 | 320 | Jr | OL |
| 70 | Cameron Orange | 6-2 | 235 | So | DL |
| 71 | Caiden O’Neil | 6-5 | 215 | So | OL |
| 72 | Joseph Garcia | 6-0 | 212 | So | OL / DL |
| 73 | Kenneth Smith | 6-1 | 215 | Jr | DL |
| 75 | Leo Mendez | 6-2 | 224 | Sr | DL |
| 88 | Tyler Belton | 5-7 | 231 | Sr | DL |
| 92 | Dominic Mascolino | 5-9 | 228 | Jr | DL |
| 93 | Etin Oronsaye | 6-0 | 290 | Jr | DL |
Kevin Kelly is the Athletic Director at Marian Catholic High School. A former journalist with The Star Newspaper, Mr. Kelly writes game summaries and posts extensive statistics on the school’s website for all athletic events.
