RACHEL — The Preston football team traveled to Marion County last night hoping to continued their winning road warrior ways against AA North Marion. But you can’t win football games if you get dominated up front, which is exactly what the Huskies did to the Knights in a convincing 34-22 victory.
The Huskies started the game with an onside kick attempt that at first appeared successful, but was penalized for an illegal touch. The Knights dodged that bullet and drove deep into NM territory before stalling on downs at the 30-yard line.
The Huskies drove deep as well, thanks to a long jet sweep 39-yard run from wide receiver Tariq Miller, but the Knights forced a turnover on downs as well, but dynamic NM wide receiver Jahkari Mesidor would grab a 77-yard TD pass as the first quarter ended with NM up, 6-0.
After a PHS punt and seven play, 42-yard gain NM doubled their lead. Preston couldn’t get their passing game moving at all in the first half, but Jesse Gribble bucked over from the 5-yard line to halve the lead with just 1:07 left in the half.
But Gunner Murphy engineered a perfect 2-minute drill drive, featuring a terrific back shoulder catch from Mesidor to set the Huskies up on the Preston-6 with nine ticks left. With the horn sounding, Rick Newbrough scored his second 5-yard rushing TD of the half, and the two-point try gave North Marion a Knight-breaking 20-6 lead at the break.
If the Knights had thoughts of a second half comeback, a quick 51-yard scoring drive capped by Newbrough’s 16-yard scoring run that took just 1:35 and extended the Huskies’ lead to 28-6 dashed them.
Pressed into action after starting quarterback Trevor Thomas got banged up — he was chased, harassed, hit and sacked all night — PHS’s playmaker Rosenberger tossed a 52-yard TD pass to Jaxson Lewis with 2:36 left, then scrambled in for the 2-point conversion. On the ensuing NM drive, a fumble at the NM 35 was scooped up by Richard Layton and taken to the house.
When Rosenberger found Lewis for another two-point conversion, the 13 second, 16-point burst had drawn the Knights to within a dozen. But the Huskies sent their first team offense back into the game, and that was it.
“The game was probably won at the end of the first half,” Knights coach Jonathan Tennant lamented.
Preston faces John Marshall next Friday at 7 p.m. in its home opener.
