Marmion 24, St. Edward 14

Marmion entered St. Edward's Greg True Field clinging to postseason life.

St. Edward played like it was.

The Green Wave played a near flawless first half and took a 6-0 lead at halftime. A rejuvenated Marmion came alive in the second half and held off the Green Wave 24-14 to improve its playoff hopes. Marmion (5-4, 3-2 Suburban Catholic Conference) coach Dan Thorpe figured his team with 38 playoff points, which should be enough to qualify, although last year the Cadets were forced to watch the playoffs with a 5-4 mark.

"We had a lot to play for," said Marmion receiver/defensive back Manny Juarez. "(But) We were feeling like this last year too."

If it wasn't for the second half, St. Edward (1-7, 1-6) could have forced the Cadets to watch the playoffs this season as well.

Marmion scored 24 points in the second half, including 10 unanswered points in the fourth quarter. The Cadets also pickoff Green Wave quarterback Ryan Gilbert 3 times in the second half.

"I was happy with how they stepped it up," Thorpe said of his team's second half efforts. "We've been a Jeckylland Hyde team and we did a Jeckel and Hyde in a game."

Mr. Hyde was capped off with kicker Alex Picini's 27-yard field goal with just 2:39 remaining to put the Cadets up by 10.

Bobby Winkel scored his second touchdown of the game to put the Cadets ahead for good on a 3-yard run with 7:16 left to play.

Moises Quiroga (23 rushes, 83 yards) scored on a 1-yard run on the Green Wave's previous possession. Gilbert found Nevin Bens on the 2-point conversion to tie the game at 14 with 11:30 remaining. The Green Wave's next two drives ended with interceptions.

"The kids were pretty fired up," St. Edward coach Mike Rolando said. "We had the momentum for a good portion of the game. We had wide-open opportunities. We could have scored about 5 touchdowns."

Marmion took a 14-6 lead after a pair of third-quarter touchdowns. Winkel scored on a 4-yard run with 9:36 left in the third quarter. Quarterback Ricky Bird found Juarez on a 42-yard bomb with 2:18 left in the third to put the Cadets up 14-6. The drive was set up by Colin Hirsch's interception.

The Green Wave took an early lead after Gilbert found receiver Cory Diaz (3 catches, 51 yards) of a 20-yard scoring pass. A failed extra point allowed the Cadets to take 7-6 lead on their first scoring drive.

St. Edward ran 23 more offensive plays than Marmion in the first half and out gained the Cadets 130-39. Senior Matt Ardiente finished his career with 84 yards on 10 carries.

"We were close tonight, but we had some things go wrong" Gilbert said. "We had a good first half."