SWEETWATER- The Snyder Tiger defense had been much maligned to start the season, but on Saturday night they stepped up to challenge as Snyder improved to 2-1 with a 28-12 win over the Marlin Bulldogs (1-2) in the fourth and final game of the TSTC Sammy Baugh Classic at the Mustang Bowl. Will Clay led the Snyder offense as he ran for 158 yards and 2 touchdowns on 28 carries.
Snyder on their opening drive moved the ball quickly down field as Marlin was never even able to put the Tigers in a third down position, Will Clay would cap the drive with a 17 yard touchdown run to put SHS up 7-0 with Lance Day’s PAT. Disaster would strike Marlin as on their first play Antonio Moore mishandled a handoff which was recovered by Snyder’s Zeke Muniz at the Marlin 38. The threat would get snuffed out as Marlin DB Vance Richardson would intercept a Day pass at the MHS 9. After the two teams would exchange punts, Snyder DB Kenneth Turner would pick off a Charles Hitchens pass to stop a potential Marlin drive. The remainder of the first half would be a defensive struggle, Snyder however was able to move the ball into the red zone twice but a lack of a kicking game forced the Tigers to go for it twice on fourth down. Both possessions ended on downs as the Bulldogs defense stepped up and made the plays to stop the Tigers. Marlin finally was able to get a drive going but the Bulldogs ran out of time at the Snyder five and the two teams went into their respective locker rooms with Snyder holding a slim 7-0 edge.
Marlin took the ball to open the second half, however the Bulldogs went three and out as their offense continued to sputter. However the Bulldogs after forcing Snyder out on downs again moved down the field quickly as they play was a 47 yard run by Travis Miller. Antonio Moore capped the drive with a 13 yard touchdown run, the PAT was blocked however and it was 7-6 Snyder with 6:11 left in the third. Snyder would quickly respond as Will Clay would do most of the leg work on a 65 yard drive and it was capped by Clay’s 14 yard run to put the Tigers up 14-6 with 3:24 left in the third. Snyder would then benefit from a short field as on the ensuing kickoff Marlin would take a bad block in the back penalty which pinned them inside their own 10. Marlin had to punt and Snyder took over at the Marlin 33. Snyder would capitalize as Lance Day would score on an 11 yard run and with his PAT Snyder led 21-6 with 11:20 left in the game. Snyder would tack on a defensive touchdown as Joe Rivera would pick up a Vance Richardson fumble and return it 45 yards for a score to make it 28-6 Snyder. After the score Snyder’s Kenneth Turner would get his second INT of the game as he picked off Hitchens with a little less than ten minutes left in the game. After a Snyder punt, Marlin was able to post a score with 4:35 left as Charles Hitchens would score from four yards out to make it 28-12 as the two point try failed. Marlin would be unable to recover the onside kick and the Snyder offense ran out the remaining time.
Score by Quarter
1 2 3 4 T
MHS 0 0 6 6 12
SHS 7 0 7 14 28
Individual Stats
Marlin
.Passing
Charles Hitchens 6 Comp 15 Att 85 yards 0 TD 2 INT
Rushing
Antonio Moore 17 Rush 106 Yards 1 TD
Travis Miller 7 Rush 61 Yards 0 TD
Charles Hitchens 11 Rush 27 Yards 1 TD
William Linton 1 Rush 9 Yards 0 TD
Vance Richardson 1 Rush -7 Yards 0 TD
Receiving
Ali Alexander 1 Rec 17 Yards 0 TD
Travis Miller 2 Rec 42 Yards 0 TD
Olagjuan Hopkins 1 Rec 14 Yards 0 TD
William Linton 2 Rec 11 Yards
Snyder
Passing
Lance Day 1 Comp 7 Att 19 yards 0 TD 1 INT
Rushing
Will Clay 28 Rush 158 Yards 2 TD
Brent Bollinger 1 Rush 0 Yards 0 TD
Chase Arrendale 10 Rush 74 Yards 0 TD
Lance Day 15 Rush 41 Yards 1 TD
Clint McFatridge 2 Rush 2 Yards 0 TD
Receiving
Chase Arrendale 1 Rec 19 Yards 0 TD