Bulldogs fall to Crockett in season opener

The Marlin Bulldogs football team started the regular season with a loss on the road against the Crockett Bulldogs 48-31 on Friday night. 

Marlin started off the scoring with a 5-yard touchdown pass from Desmond Woodson to Trajon Butler for a 7-0 lead. Crockett came back with a 1-yard touchdown run, but Marlin kept the lead 7-6 after Crockett missed the extra point. 

Marlin extended their lead with an 11-yard touchdown run by Woodson to 13-6 after the missed extra point. Crockett responded with a 3-yard touchdown run to make the score 13-12 after another missed extra point. Woodson increased the Marlin lead with another rushing touchdown, this one for 8 yards, to 19-12 following another missed extra point. 

Crockett then took their first lead of the night 20-19 on a 26-yard touchdown pass and a successful two-point conversion. That didn’t last long as Marlin retook the lead before halftime on a 44 yard touchdown pass from Woodson to Butler to make it a score of 25-20 after another missed extra point.

Crockett started the scoring in the second half with an 11-yard touchdown run for a 26-25 lead after another missed extra point. Soon, Marlin responded with a 55-yard punt return for a touchdown by Zha’Mauryon Lofton for a 31-26 lead after a failed two-point conversion. The fourth quarter was all Crockett as they scored on three rushing touchdowns, one for 11 yards, the other for 22 yards, and the other for nine yards. They tried for a two-point conversion after all three touchdowns and converted two of them to take the game 48-31.

Desmond Woodson still had an incredible game, throwing for 258 yards and two touchdowns, along with rushing for 29 yards and two touchdowns. Trajon Butler also had a great game with 196 receiving yards and two touchdowns on 11 catches. The defense still had a very good game with four sacks and three forced fumbles, recovering two of them. 

Marlin will play their home opener against the Mart Panthers on Friday, Sept. 2, at 7:30 p.m.