Marquette Football Takes a Beating from Eureka Under the Dome

Marquette High School came up short against Eureka, 48-0, in the Great American Rivalry Series matchup Saturday under The Edwards Jones Dome.

The solid play of Eureka quarterback Seth Pratt put the Wildcats over the Mustangs in the Suburban West Conference play.

Marquette's defeat marked back-to-back losses for the Mustangs (1-2) as they try to get back on track this coming Friday at 7 p.m. against Northwest.

Marquette Head Coach Ryan Thornhill talked about Saturday's play.

("Eureka) came out and threw all over us and we couldn't get anything going on offense. If we don't get things cleaned up, and don't take care of ourselves, I don't know what's going to happen. We've got to get this all cleaned up," Thornhill said.

Eureka's Pratt completed 14 of 20 passes for 273 yards passing and three touchdowns.

"We knew that we couldn't keep a team like Marquette in the game (but) we really didn't know that we could jump on them like we did," Eureka head coach Farrell Shelton said.

"They're such a well-coached team and things just got snowballing. I don't want to have to play against them again. I can tell you that much," Shelton said.

The Wildcats jumped out to a 7-0 lead when Pratt connected with Aaron Schnurbusch on a 41-yard touchdown pass with 11:27 to play in the first quarter.

Schnurbusch would finish the afternoon with five receptions for 123 yards receiving and two touchdowns. Schnurbusch praised the team's defense after the game.

"Our defense had something to prove, and we're a mad defense right now," Schnurbusch said. "Our offense is moving and our defense is starting to get a little bit of momentum and we're starting to play really well."

Eureka would increase its lead to 14-0 on a 53-yard drive that saw Pratt connect with Matt Hentges on a 33-yard touchdown pass with 8:32 to play in the first quarter.

The second quarter was Eureka's most productive of the game as Cooper Bausch hammered in touchdown runs of one yard and 12 yards to give the Wildcats a 28-0 lead with 4:23 to play in the first half.

Eureka would finish out the first half with a 37-yard touchdown drive that ended with Pratt hitting Schnurbusch for a 22-yard touchdown pass with 1:33 to play in the half, which gave the Wildcats a 35-0 lead.

In the third quarter of play, the Wildcats would score on a three play, 65-yard drive in which Tyler Sloyer threw a 37-yard touchdown pass to Nate Echard, which gave Eureka a 42-0 advantage.

The Wildcats final touchdown of the game came with 3:29 to play in the fourth quarter as Matt Yancey scorched the Marquette defense on a 5-yard touchdown run to give the Wildcats a 48-0 lead.