Evanich fuels Marlington past Warrensville Heights in opener

Marlington scored 19 unanswered points against Warrensville Heights and hung on to win 19-8, giving the Dukes their third consecutive win over the Tigers to kick off their season.

After Marlington turned the ball over on downs near midfield at the start of the second quarter, Warrensville Heights coughed up the ball and the Dukes came away with a fumble recovery at their own 33.

A few moments later, Cam Evanich broke free and no one was going to catch the speedster as he galloped to a 46-yard score and a 7-0 Marlington lead.

Evanich was just getting started. In the third quarter, the Dukes received the kickoff and Evanich hauled in a 20-yard scoring strike from QB Tyler Walder. The PAT was no good and Marlington led 13-0.

The duo hooked up again about four minutes into the fourth period on a 16-yard pass play, giving the Dukes (1-0) their 19-0 lead. Scoring with less than a minute remaining in the game, the Tigers (0-1) avoided the shutout.

Evanich ended the game with 48 yards rushing on two touches and 67 yards receiving, scoring all of Marlington’s touchdowns. Walder was a perfect 7-of-7 for 65 yards and one TD. On the ground, Bryce Jones was a workhorse, picking up 148 yards on 18 carries.

Cross Country

The Dukes kicked off their season with an appearance at the HOKA Kickoff Classic XC Showcase, hosted by Painesville Riverside High School on August 23. And in making an appearance, Irelyn Johnson made quite an impression.

The junior finished first in the high school girls gold division with a time 18:24.58, more than seven seconds ahead of the runner-up. Johnson fueled the Lady Dukes to sixth-place in a field of 40 teams. Sophomore Jordan Martz placed 27th in 20:26.14, while sophomore Kari Smith finished in 51st place (21:29.03).

Running in the boys gold division, the Dukes placed 20th out of 23 teams, and were led by sophomore Gabe Minor’s 27th place showing (17:17.44). Freshman Brady Griggs was 57th, clocking in with a time of 18:04.23.

Volleyball

On August 19, the Lady Dukes got their season underway in grand style, sweeping Woodridge 25-22, 25-10, 25-20 on the road last night in their season opener.

Danica Sarchione (10), Giana Bogunovich (9), and Marisa Casto (7) combined for 26 kills

Cali Young played lights out, registering 24 assists and 16 points on serve, while Amiiah Sickles gathered 9 digs.

Two days later, Marlington hosted Twinsburg and were swept. However, that’s a bit misleading because only six points separated the teams, as the Tigers eked out the victory 26-24, 26-24, 25-23.

On August 23, the Lady Dukes (1-2) took the first set 25-21 against visiting Olmsted Falls, but the wheels came off as the Bulldogs won the next three sets 25-7, 25-12, 25-15.

Boys Golf

The Dukes had a busy week that started well, took a turn for the worse, but ended nicely Ben Warner carded a 73 and placed third in a field of 120 golfers as the Dukes posted a team score of 365 at the Green Bulldog Invitational held at Prestwick Country Club on August 18.

Now for the not so good. On August 19, Marlington fell to visiting Eastern Buckeye Conference rival Minerva 174-180. Ben Warner paced the Dukes with a 37 in the losing effort. The next day, Marlington lost by one stroke to Alliance in EBC match play. Warner led the team with a 40, while Issac McIntyre posted a 46.

Finally, the good news arrives as the Dukes rebounded on August 22, defeating West Branch 181 -188. Warner carded a 40 to again lead Marlington, followed by Trey Miller’s 46.

Girls Soccer

In a pitched battled (pun intended), the Lady Dukes earned a 2-2 tie at home against Waterloo as Shelby Odey scored both goals. The Lady Dukes (0-1-1) then visited Orrville on August 19, dropping a 5-1 decision to the Red Riders (2-1).