SEEING RED: Marquette Flattens Gladstone, 55-0

Click the thumbnails to see photos taken by Brad Landis, and to hear interviews with Gladstone's Aaron Hughes, Casey Alworden, and both team's head coaches.

MARQUETTE---The Marquette Sentinels football team rolled up 479 yards of total offense and dominated the Gladstone Braves, 55-0, in the season-opener Thursday night in Marquette.

"It's a great group," Marquette Coach Eric Mason said. "We've got good numbers. We're sitting at about 44 kids. We had a great summer. The kids worked out. They showed up. They were consistent. It was probably one of the better summers we've had around here. We just got after it in the weight room, and they're strong. That's all you can ask for."

Things were a bit sluggish for the Sentinels early on as quarterback Ford Richardson missfired on his first three passes, including one that was an interception by Owen Gereau.

The Braves stopped the Sentinels on the first two possessions, but Gladstone could not take advantage, getting just one first down and having to punt twice.

Finally, behind the bruising runs of Drew Bradley, Marquette went on a 70-yard, 14-play drive to score the first touchdown of the game early in the second quarter.

A Richardson-to-Jake McPhee seven-yard touchdown pass on third-and-goal put the Sentinels on top.

From Gladstone's point of view, things weren't too bad, trailing just 7-0 midway through the second quarter. And it looked like the Braves would get another defensive stop when Matt Haggebusch had Richardson lined up for a one-on-one sack in the backfield.

Richardson, however, wiggled away from Haggebusch, and then stumbled his way down field (literally) for an electrifying 66-yard touchdown that put Marquette ahead, 13-0.

Then disaster struck for the Braves when Evan Woelffer fumbled on the next offensive play, giving Marquette the ball at the 20 yard-line. It took just one play for Richardson to hookup with Jacob Norman for a 20-yard touchdown pass, and after two touchdowns in 14 seconds, the Braves were in a 20-0 hole. And it only got worse from there.

"It was a good first quarter and a half," Gladstone Coacg Craig Ness said, "But then you see how quickly it can turn. We lost our momentum and we lost our focus. They've got a great athlete at the quarterback spot. Next thing you know, there's three scores inside of five minutes. We were in position (to get tackles on defense) but we just didn't make the play. At this level, against a team that's this good, you can't make those mistakes."

Richardson hooked up with Kyler Sager for a 37-yard touchdown pass just before halftime to make it 27-0, and the second half started bad for the Braves when Trevor Thorbahn was pressured and threw a dying duck up for grabs that was intercepted by Zach Leonard. He took it to the house for a pick-six touchdown, and later added a second interception.

Leonard also had a fofced fumble, giving him three turnovers caused in the game, earning him Defensive Player of the Game honors.

Richardson threw another touchdown pass, a 25-yarder to Norman, after Leonard's second interception. And bench players Grant Simon and Brady Audette added tochdown runs in the fourth quarter to put the mercy rule running clock into effect.

Gladstone's offense managed only 60 yards of total offense all night long as Thorbahn was sacked four times. The Braves never made it past the Marquette 40 yard-line.

"We're gonna clean it up," Ness said. "You know, I got out-coached tonight, too. I should have got the ball out of Trevor's hand a little quicker, a little easier reads. We're going to get back to work. This team is a hard-working team. I can guarantee you that we're going to get better. This isn't my vision of what we are. The guys are already rallying around each other. We're going to get there."

Bradley was virtually unstoppable for Marquette on the ground, piling up 105 yards on 16 carries before sitting out most of the second half. Richardson, after missing his first three throws, completed six of his final eight passes for 121 yards. Four of those six complettions went for touchdowns. Marquette poured it on with 479 yards of total offense.

Gereau led the Braves with 49 yards on 12 carries.

Gladstone's rough early-season schedule continues next Friday night with a game in Negaunee against the revenge-minded Miners. As for Marquette, the boys travel down to Alpena.

"The schedule is tough," Mason said. "We've got no weak teams on the schedule. I'm not complaining, Once in a while, you'd like to get into a week where it's a little bit weaker, but for us, every week, it's a tough game. I'm an old-school GNC (Great Northern Conference) kind of guy, so I'd like it to be that, but it's just not feasible any more. The travel is difficult. We'll have to adjust to that travel. We'll make the best of it."