Marist ekes out win over Sequoyah

Marist hasn’t lost a home playoff game since 1994, but it got a little nervous on Friday.

The War Eagles needed a pair of late touchdowns to get some breathing room in the 28-12 victory over Sequoyah.

The visiting Chiefs (10-2) put up a good fight, trailing by only two entering the fourth quarter, before Marist (11-1) staged one of its classic rallies in the final minutes.

“It was a great high school football game,” Marist coach Alan Chadwick said. “Sequoyah did a great job, they were well-prepared. We feel really fortunate to win.”

Sequoyah had a rough game on special teams. The Chiefs missed the extra point on their first touchdown, which later altered the strategy of the game. Sequoyah also had one of its punts blocked, and Marist’s Sam McNearny returned it 25 yards for a touchdown in the first half.

Yet late in the third quarter, Sequoyah had a chance to tie, and later lead. Both times, however, the Chiefs failed to take advantage.

“I thought our boys played hard,” Sequoyah coach Sid Maxwell said. “We were in the football game late, and we had our chances, [but] you’ve got to get the lead when you have those chances.”

Sequoyah missed a chance to tie the game when the referees ruled that A.J. Howard was out of bounds when catching a two-point conversion pass.

“[Sequoyah quarterback Ben Rogers] was on fire the whole night. We thought we had him wrapped up for [the sack], but he got away and threw it just a little wide,” Chadwick said. “That would’ve been huge momentum for them.”

Several minutes later, Sequoyah’s Brett Snyder missed a 42-yard field goal attempt that would have given Sequoyah the lead. You could sense the tide turning blue and white for Marist after that.

Marist’s Matt Connors scored his second touchdown of the game on a 1-yard run, set up by a 45-yard pass by Kyle Farmer to Kevin Allman. Linebacker Cole Becker set up Marist’s final score when he blitzed and caused Rogers to fumble.

“I’m proud of the team for hanging in there and finding a way to win,” Chadwick said. “We get to play another week.”