Leo Football Commentary by Dan McGrath, Second of the Current Series, 3 of 4 – Leo vs. Marmion

From: Dan McGrath 

Subject: Marmion 42, Leo 14

Perhaps it was overconfidence born of a 2-0 start to the season. 

More likely it was a superior football team, a tough, quick, skilled Marmion Academy football team that probably didn’t need much assistance from visiting Leo. 

But four gift-wrapped touchdowns helped the Cadets (2-1) pile up 42 points and celebrate the grand opening of Fichtel Field at Ragoli Stadium with a 42-14 thumping of the Lions (2-1) in a Catholic League crossover game at Marmion on Friday, Sept. 8. 

The 28-point loss wasn’t the worst of it for Leo. Quarterback Marshawn Durr left the field on a stretcher after taking a big hit while being dropped for a 14-yard loss in the third quarter. He was taken to Mercy Hospital in Aurora and released after being diagnosed with a concussion. Durr’s playing status for the rest of the season is uncertain. 

Ragoli Stadium is a first-rate facility with a field-turf playing surface, an all-weather track, brand new grandstands and a spacious press box. And the Cadets looked like a first-rate tenant without having to work too hard as Leo lost a fumble, had two punts blocked and let a snap sail into the end zone, each miscue leaving Marmion with a ridiculously short field. 

All four were converted into touchdowns. 

The Cadets’ longest drive was the evening’s first—they covered 45 yards in six plays before clever quarterback Jake Sullivan scored the first of his two running touchdowns from a yard out. 

Leo matched that score when Durr found tight end Joshua Burke for a 55-yard TD. 

Then the mistakes came, in agonizing succession, and it was 42-6 before Leo’s Javon Logan erased some frustration and demonstrated admirable grit by breaking an 80-yard touchdown run in the final period. 

Sullivan had his way with the Lion defense, completing seven of eight passes for 91 yards and touchdowns of nine yards to Bryan Scales and eight to Jack Lesher. 

Lesher also scored on an eight-yard run. Sullivan’s TD runs covered one and 12 yards; the Lions appeared to have him cornered on the latter, but he slipped several tackle attempts and scooted into the end zone. 

Durr, running for his life all night, was 4-for-11 for 67 yards, with a touchdown and an interception. Logan’s 110 yards came on 11 carries. 

The Lions have a week to regroup before facing DePaul Prep (1-2) on the road next Friday … almost assuredly without Durr.