Marlin ISD

Run Away "TANK" does Big Damage in Mart!

It was "deja vue this past Friday night as the Marlin Bulldogs beat another Panther team for the first time. This game was a little bit easier after that thriller last week at Midway.

Behind the running of sophomore "Tank" Smith on offense and a superb effort from the defensive unit the bulldogs rolled to a convincing 37-0 shutout of the Mart Panthers. Tank ran up 141 yards on 15 carries and accounted for three of the Bulldog five touchdowns. In the first quarter alone, Smith rushed for 113 yards and two touchdowns! And you can never say enough about the Marlin D - they were all over the Panthers who could not get anything going. Final stats on the night showed a minus 51 yards total offense, 10 punts and only 4 first downs (three of those came in the fourth quarter).

On Mart's first possession of the game, the Bulldogs caused a fumble and quickly capitalized on the turnover. It was Smith taking a handoff from quarterback, Thaddeus Freeman and 25 yards later it was pay dirt and touchdown number one for the TANK! Daniel Ronquillo added the point after to put the Bulldogs up 7-0.

On their second possession the Bulldogs went 55-yards for a score. On this drive, Freeman completed his only pass of the night, a 14-yard grab by James Giddings. It was Smith for most of the yards going the last five for his second touchdown. The point after by Ronquillo was good to make it 14-0 Bulldogs.

The Dogs weren't done yet. This time facing a fourth and one from near midfield the handoff went to Smith. Shaking tacklers like his older brother Mo, the Tank kept on truckin! 53 yards later he was knocked out of bounds at the two. After a penalty pushed the Dogs back 5 yards it would be Freeman calling his own number around the left side, seven yards for a touchdown. The point after by Ronquillo was good and the dogs were cruisin 21 zip. (Freeman left the game after this touchdown to nurse a shoulder injury).

Again came the dogs. This time the "Redman" as in Matterial Richardson would set up their score. Red took a Panther punt at the Bulldog 35 yard line and you just felt it was time for a return. Red didn't disappoint the Bulldog faithful and he brought the ball back 50 yards to the Panther 15-yard line. Three plays later it was Tank from three yards out for his third touchdown of the night. Ronquillo again added the point after to make it 28-0 as the teams headed to halftime.

Not much scoring in the second half. The dogs tacked on a safety for two points and backup quarterback, Jamarcus Hartsfield added a two- yard touchdown run to make the final 37-0.

But let's not forget the Marlin D in this game folks. They were absolutely superb. Look at the facts - FACT 1 - The Panthers were held to one first down through three quarters. FACT 2 - The Panthers were forced to punt 10 times and FACT 3 - The Panthers were held to a minus 51 yards total! Leading this defensive unit was John Sadler with 16 tackles. The other members of this unit are:

This Friday night the Bulldogs have their home opener. This one should be a real good one as the Burnet Bulldogs, rated in the top five in 3 A, bring their game to town. The only certainty about this one is - the Bulldogs will win! Game time is 7:30 PM

Marlin ISD
Created August 26, 1997 -- last revision September 2002
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