Marcus football drops Keller Central in opening round of playoffs

Garrett Nussmeier threw for 242 yards and three touchdowns, and Ty’son Edwards added 117 yards on the ground as Flower Mound Marcus downed Keller Central in a Class 6A Division II matchup at Marcus Marauders Stadium.

Marcus got off to a quick start on the game’s opening series, moving 65 yards in seven plays. Jaden Robinson took a swing pass from Nussmeier six yards for a touchdown to finish the series. A missed extra point left Marcus with a 6-0 lead.

The Marauders (10-1) advanced to the Central 38 on their second series before Keller Central’s Miles Skinner picked off a deflected pass on a deep throw to the end zone to end the threat. Marcus got back on the board with Edwards’ 3-yard TD run with 39 seconds to play in the first quarter.

Nussmeier connected with a wide-open Robinson for a 48-yard touchdown pass to give Marcus a 20-0 with 3:27 left. Central recovered an attempted onside kick on its own 48 and took advantage of the good field position. Chargers running back Andrew Paul finished off a 12-play scoring drive with a 1-yard run to cut Central’s deficit to 20-7 with 22 seconds remaining before halftime.

Central advanced to the Marcus 18-yard line to start the second half, before a 7-yard sack pushed the Chargers (7-4) back. A missed 42-yard field goal attempt ended the drive.

The Marauders took control of the game with an 11-play scoring march following the missed field goal. Nussmeier found Collin Sutherland open in the corner of the end zone for a 7-yard touchdown pass out of a full house backfield formation. The score put Marcus up 27-7 with 3:25 to play in the third quarter.

Edwards finished the scoring with a 17-yard touchdown three minutes into the fourth quarter.

Marcus advances to face Richardson Lake Highlands. The game will played at The Star in Frisco on Saturday, Nov. 23. The start time has yet to be determined.

This story was originally published November 15, 2019 at 10:39 PM.