ALLIANCE -- With nothing left to play for but pride and bragging rights, the Alliance Aviators and Marlington Dukes met at Kehres Stadium in their annual rivalry game Friday night.
The 2024 season had been a struggle for both teams, Alliance young and in a rebuilding year and Marlington being decimated by injuries.
The Aviators (4-6, 3-2) broke open a close game in the second quarter and cruised to a 47-10 win over the Dukes.The game was close throughout the first quarter and a half with Marlington holding leads of 3-0 and 10-3 before the Aviators turned the game over to junior running back Ravhan Hawkins and junior quarterback JR Jackson.
Hawkins finished with 174-yards and three touchdowns, while Jackson added 105 yards with a score.
"We thought coming in that we might have some success running the ball," said Aviator head coach Tim Goodman.
At one point in the game, Hawkins carried the ball on eight straight plays.
"Once it started clicking, we just kept riding that horse between Ravhan and JR," Goodman noted.
After a rough start to the season the Aviators finished strong.
"I told the guys that we have had a lot of ups and downs this year," Goodman said. "We had a lot of trials and tribulations coming into the season. We were a young team coming into the season, so we expected some of it. I just told them that I am so proud of them because they never stopped. In this day and age, you can't escape all the chatter on social media with people telling you to give up and quit.
"But our guys never stopped believing in the process. They bought into it every single day. This week we had the best practices since I have been here. When you keep swinging and chopping wood, good things will happen."
Marlington (2-8, 1-4) looked good early as they took the opening kickoff and drove downfield, which resulted in a 27-yard field goal by senior kicker Jayce Zagray.
However, the Aviators responded with a six-play drive that resulted in Hawkins scoring from 7 yards out.Marlington took the lead back with 8:30 left in the second quarter on a 4-yard run by senior Cavill Nicholson.
The score was set up by sophomore Cameron Evanich, who blocked an Aviator punt and returned it for an apparent score. But it was called back by a block in the back penalty on the return.
In only took the Aviators 1:18 to regain the lead on four running plays by Hawkins, who took it in for his second score. They would not trail again.
Alliance led 28-10 at the half. They scored on their first two possessions in the third quarter to force a running clock.Even with all the injuries throughout the season, Marlington head coach Joe Cardinal was proud of his team."
"You never want injuries like what we had this year, but that is football," Cardinal said. "But our kids stayed together, played hard and competed. They never gave up on each other."
Cardinal gave credit where credit was due.
"This game is important to both sides," Cardinal said. "This is a game where you are going to come out here and compete. Alliance just made more plays than we did tonight."