NACOGDOCHES – The Marshall Mavericks continued their dominance as they shut out the Nacogdoches Dragons 40-0, their second straight shutout on Friday night.
Not only are the Mavericks 5-0 against District 9-5A Division II opponents, but they’ve also won 16 straight district games, dating back to 2016. They are 6-2 overall while the Dragons are now 3-5 overall and 2-3 in district.
De'Kendrick Bender led both the passing and rushing games by throwing for 150 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for 97 yards and two touchdowns. JJ Green threw for 76 yards and one touchdown. Tahj Washington had four carries for 27 yards and one touchdown.
Nacogdoches had 168 yards of total offense as they threw for 143 yards and rushed for 25. Quarterback Jake Smith was 7-of-15 for 140 yards. Jatavious Deckard caught three balls for 66 yards.
Marshall started the scoring when Washington snagged a 38-yard pass from Bender to give the Mavericks an early lead. The PAT failed and Marshall led 6-0 with 6:30 left in the first quarter.
Marshall got the ball back after the Dragons came up empty on a field goal attempt. That led to Bender pounding it from the one-yard line. The PAT was once again unsuccessful as Marshall led 12-0 with 1:24 left on the clock for the first quarter.
Bender returned to the end zone on a three-yard run after a 40-yard run from Lewis. This time, Marshall kicker Angel Salinas successfully completed the PAT to go up 19-0 with 8:51 remaining until halftime.
The final touchdown of the first half came on a13-yard run from Washington with just 21 seconds to make the score 26-0 at the break.
Green entered the game in the second half and accounted for his first touchdown but was on the receiving end of a 26-yard throw from Bender to spread Marshall’s lead to 33-0 as 9:39 showed on the game clock.
Green and Bender connected for another touchdown, only it was Green who threw to Bender for a 22-yard TD toss for the game’s final points of the night. The PAT made the score 40-0 with 11:47 remaining.
Marshall’s next game will be at home against Whitehouse on Friday. Nacogdoches will take on the Hallsville Bobcats in Hallsville.

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