Backup QB Cale Marley helps keep Rejoice Christian afloat with 55-28 win against Vinita
By Christian Potts
OWASSO - The moment wasn't too big for Cale Marley.
His Rejoice Christian team was flying high, off to a two-touchdown lead while holding visiting Vinita to 13 yards in its first 13 offensive plays. The Eagles had driven to midfield late in the first quarter after a nice scramble by star quarterback Chance Wilson, who already had hooked up with Cooper Auschwitz on two touchdown scores and were on the move for more.
Things were looking bright.
Then they weren't.
Wilson was slow getting up after the tackle in front of the Rejoice bench. He eventually did get to his feet with help, but limped over to the nearby sideline.
He'd stay there for the rest of the night with an as-yet undetermined lower body injury.
Marley's father Brent, the Eagles' head coach, called his son's number to take over for the Montana State commit, considered to be one of the state's best signal-callers.
"It's just a dream, as a kid, everyone looks at going in; starting quarterback goes down, you just have to go in and do what you have to do," said Cale Marley, normally one of the Eagles' speedy receivers. "All these thoughts were running through my head, but I knew I had to go in and give it all I've got.
"I had to fight for my team, we weren't going to give up."
And the sophomore did show that fight, rushing for five touchdowns behind a physical, efficient offensive line, and the Eagles triumphed, 55-28, in a battle of unbeaten squads.
"We had so many ebbs and flows," Brent Marley said. "You lose what we feel is the best player in the state early on, and you can't replace a Chance Wilson. Our guys, you felt a little wind out of our sails on the sideline.
"We just made plays when we needed to make plays, and the defense played well enough to hold them out. The whole game just went totally different than what we planned."
But the end result was the same as the first six weeks of the season, another victory that gives the Eagles control in District 2A-8, as they improve to 7-0 overall, 4-0 in the district. The Hornets tasted defeat for the first time to fall to 6-1, 3-1.
With Wilson out of the game, Rejoice leaned more on its running game, with Marley carrying 17 times for 119 yards and the five scores, while Jace Jenkins added another 93 yards and a score on 14 carries.
Auschwitz did most of his work early, catching five passes for 127 yards and the two scores, while also making several big stops defensively.
The common element was the play of the Eagles' offensive line, which gave both runners - and Wilson, before he went out - plenty of room to operate.
"Our offensive line played the best game they've played this year," Coach Marley said. "They opened great holes for Cale and for Jace Jenkins. And I'm proud of the way those guys ran the ball."
The Hornets had sailed to their six victories by an average margin of victory of 37 points per game. In a big step up in competition on Thursday, they showed they have plenty of firepower of their own.
Running back Ransom Williams gashed the Eagles for 177 yards on 19 carries and a touchdown and also caught three passes from quarterback Paul Glasscock for 60 yards and a score. Glasscock added 98 rushing yards and two scores on the ground.
But while Vinita piled up 457 total yards on the night - actually besting the 428 compiled by Rejoice - the Eagles were opportunistic defensively. They forced three turnovers, with Solomon Morton intercepting Glasscock on the game's first play to help get Rejoice started fast.
In the third quarter, Josh Hendricks intercepted Glasscock immediately after a 28-yard touchdown run by Cale Marley had made it 41-21.
Two plays later, Marley was back in the end zone on a 3-yard score, pushing the Eagles' lead to 48-21 in less than 30 seconds of game time.
"I felt like the key to the game defensively was Josh Hendricks' interception over here in the second half, a huge play," Brent Marley said. "We were scrambling defensively, too. We were trying to replace people and figure out what we were going to do.
"And then when Cale's playing free safety, now he's playing quarterback, now we have to put a backup at safety who didn't get to play much before."
Rejoice had taken a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter when Cale Marley finished off the drive Wilson went out on with a 4-yard touchdown run. The teams traded scores later in the quarter on a 1-yard plunge by Glasscock and a 10-yard TD run by Marley.
Vinita fumbled on the ensuing drive, and Marley made the Hornets pay with his third score to make it 34-7.
Williams gave his squad a surge of momentum on the last play of the first half, racing 75 yards for a score to make it 34-14.
Rejoice struggled to move the ball in the third quarter, but was able to stop two Vinita drives on downs before Hendricks' interception helped trigger the decisive sequence late in the third quarter. The Hornets never again got closer than 20 points after that pick.
Brent Marley praised his team's toughness despite the loss of not just Wilson, but also Morton, a receiver/defensive back who also went out in the first quarter, shortly after his early interception, as well as receiver Jay Miller.
Miller was on crutches after an injury two weeks ago in a win against Claremore Sequoyah.
Wilson remained in uniform the entire game, moving from the training table on the sideline to pacing the sideline, but walking gingerly.
He was in good spirits afterward, accepting well-wishes from fans and players from both sides. The team figures to know more on his status in the coming days.
