Justin Marshall walked to the middle of the field after Merrillville’s season opener Friday night.
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“I’m tired,” he said. “I’m tired.”
He added, “I don’t know why I was cramping. I drank a whole lot of water.”
The Colorado State recruit lined up primarily at running back in Merrillville’s 27-7 nonconference win against Andrean after playing mostly wide receiver last season.
Marshall had 178 yards and three touchdowns on 27 carries as the Pirates, ranked No. 1 in Class 5A in both the coaches poll and the poll by The Associated Press, pulled away from the defending Class 2A state champion 59ers in the second half. He added two catches for 15 yards.
“We had to get back together,” he said. “Some people were out of it. We had to get back to it. I was talking to them, trying to make sure they were motivated and stepped up in the second half.”
Merrillville has won five straight games in the series.
“There’s a lot of respect on both ends with the success they’ve had, and we’ve had solid success as of late,” Merrillville coach Brad Seiss said. “Getting off to a 1-0 start against a team that just won the state championship and has a high ranking, it’s big for our kids.
“A lot of people have been talking to them about you’re this, you’re that. They saw this as a big game. They were a little bit nervous. To get this kind of over with is great.”
Early in the game, it appeared Merrillville was going to be in control against Andrean, which is ranked No. 1 in 2A in both polls. Marshall scored a 9-yard TD just 38 seconds into the game. The Pirates led 13-0 on his 14-yard score with 2:04 left in the first quarter.
The 59ers got on the scoreboard on a 47-yard interception return for a TD by Charlie Sollars with 3:43 left in the first half.
Scott Ballentine, Andrean’s standout quarterback, suffered an unspecified injury late in the first quarter and did not return. Billy Henry entered the game in the second quarter.
“I don’t know the extent of the injury yet, but obviously that was it for the game,” Andrean coach Chris Skinner said. “We’ll find out more later. … It knocked him out for the game, and it’s never ideal.”
Merrillville turned to its running game and offensive line in the second half, gaining chunks of yards.
Marshall’s 6-yard TD with 10:46 left made it 20-7. The Pirates completed the scoring on Jaylen Thomas’ 10-yard TD pass to Javeoin Gills with 7:16 left.
Trey Stephens, a transfer from Andrean, added 36 yards on 11 carries.
“Justin Marshall and Trey Stephens are both really good backs,” Seiss said. “We used them both, and the offensive line played better. We brought some extra linemen in and kind of wore them down a little bit.”
Henry completed 14 of 23 passes for 90 yards and an interception for the 59ers.
“We have to be better all around — better as coaches, better in our preparation during the week,” Skinner said. “We have to focus on the little details. With that being said, our defense played great. They were awesome and kept us in the game. Really offensively is where we have to watch film, potentially make some changes and figure out how to move the ball and get some points on the board.
“We definitely wore down. They started lining up in heavier sets and running the ball. … But our defense was great. You can’t ask a defense to be on the field for that many plays and hold up for four quarters against a team that talented and that size. It’s impossible.”
In his first start, Thomas completed 8 of 21 passes for 137 yards with the touchdown and two interceptions for the Pirates.
“The first game of the year is always a little bit chaotic — guys not understanding how much energy it takes and how much focus it takes to be in the game and know the situation,” Seiss said. “We had some personnel issues and some other random things. But we regathered at halftime, kind of like last year, and figured things out and had a nice second half.”
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