Hornets earn second victory in blowout over Marathon
By Nathaniel Underwood
Gavin Voss ran for 103 yards and scored two touchdowns, Colton Orth ran for another 61 yards and a touchdown and the Colby Hornets defense completely shut down the hosting Red Raiders in a 48-3 victory in Marathon last Friday evening.
Down to their third string quarterback, the hosting Red Raiders could not muster any sort of effective offense against a Colby defense that turned in a performance that was somehow even more impressive than the one they put together the week prior, when they held Loyal/Greenwood to under 50 yards of total offense and no points. Despite throwing the ball 19 times on Friday, Marathon managed just 49 yards through the air on six completions. The Red Raiders only ran the ball eight times and went backwards more often than not, ending the game with -24 yards rushing. All in all, the Colby defense held Marathon to just 25 yards of total offense and two first downs all evening.
There has been a marked improvement from the defense, especially against the pass, in their past two contests. After giving up an average of 151 yards per game through the air and surrendering seven passing touchdowns over the first three games, the Hornets have given up just 50 total passing yards and no touchdowns in their past two contests while also intercepting the opposing quarterback once in each game.
While the defense held the Red Raiders in a tight grip, the offense rolled for much of the evening, churning out 348 yards on the ground and scoring seven touchdowns. Two lost fumbles were the only thing that stopped the Hornets when they held the ball, the visitors smashing through the Marathon defense to the tune of 6.2 yards per carry.
A big run from Voss on the Hornets’ first play from scrimmage set Colby up inside the Red Raiders’ 10-yard line and the senior running back put his team up on the board by punching it in from a yard out a few plays
See COLBY VS MARATHON/ Page 13
EVASIVE IN THE BACKFIELD - Tayt Smith evades the sack and gets out of the pocket in the Hornets win over Marathon last Friday. The senior ran for 48 yards and then recorded eight tackles on defense.
STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD Colby vs Marathon
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The touchdown was just the start for Colby’s offense, which went right back to work on their second drive, sticking to the ground to move quickly down the field and score once again. This time, it was Orth toting the rock into the endzone, his five-yard touchdown run putting Colby up 12-0.
A fumble on the third Hornets’ possession led to Marathon’s only points in the game. While the Red Raiders were able to start with an extremely short field, recovering the loose ball at Colby’s 20-yard line, they only mustered five yards and were forced to turn to kicker Cody Radtke for a field goal attempt. The Marathon senior’s aim was true on the 32-yard field goal attempt and the home team was able to score the first points of the second quarter.
That would be the last time the Hornets would give up any points, however, and two more first half touchdowns, one on a five-yard run by Brody Viegut and the second on a two-yard carry from Chase Heeg as time expired in the half, would solidify the Hornets’ hold on the game.
Colby was held scoreless in the third quarter, their first drive cut short as a penalty backed up the Hornets on third down and their second pushing into the fourth quarter. It didn’t take long for Voss to find the endzone in the final frame as he found paydirt for the second time on the first play of the fourth quarter, running the ball in from one-yard out.
Later in the quarter, Brennan Geiger came up with a fumble recovery after a snap got away from Marathon’s quarterback Blake Kraft. Tayt Smith found the endzone one play later with his 12-yard touchdown run, and following a successful two-point conversion, the Hornets led 40-3. While Marathon was able to move into Hornets’ territory thanks to a big kick return, Luke Hannula ended the threat with an interception.
A 34-yard touchdown run from Heeg capped off the scoring and Colby walked away victorious, 48-3.
On top of Voss and Orth’s impressive performances, Viegut added another 59 yards on the ground and had two catches for 27 yards. Smith finished the game with 48 yards rushing and 27 passing, Heeg had 46 yards on three touches and Dany Nunez put up 19 yards on six carries. Hannula also had 12 yards rushing.
Smith led the defense with eight total tackles and Jacob Hoppe recorded three more. The Hornets needed only 25 tackles in the entire game after forcing 13 incompletions and cutting Marathon’s drives short.
While Colby has dominated their last two CWC-Large opponents, they will face a much tougher opponent this week, as they invite the undefeated Stratford Tigers into town on Friday, Sept. 27. The reigning 2023 Division 6 state champions are averaging 38.2 points per game this season, racking up five straight victories to open the 2024 season. The Tigers have four players that have over 250 yards rushing this season, all of them averaging more than 6.3 yards per carry, and starting quarterback Jack Tubbs has completed over 75 percent of his passes, throwing for 635 yards and eight touchdowns to just three interceptions. In their most recent contest, Weyauwega-Fremont put up over 400 yards of total offense and hung 33 points on Stratford, but the Tigers still walked away with a double-digit victory, putting together over 500 yards of offense and scoring eight rushing touchdowns for 53 points.
The homecoming game between the Hornets and Tigers is set to kick off at 7 p.m.
COMING THROUGH! - Colton Orth prepares for contact as he charges forward through the the Red Raiders line. He had 61 yards rushing and a touchdown in the Hornets’ victory over their conference foe.
STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD
