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Sports

Marquette Looks Forward to Building off of Season's Success

Coach, teachers, parents and administrators give nod to fan support.

The Marquette Mustangs, the Suburban West Conference champions, completed a strong season last Saturday with a in a Class 6 sectional playoff encounter.

But if you look past the immediate disappointment, it was clearly a successful year for the Mustangs. They just could not handle the very imposing, uphill battle against the defending Class 6 champion Hawks.

With an 8-3 record and its first-ever conference championship under its belt, Marquette made great strides this year, primarily on the figurative shoulders of senior running back Dante McKinney and senior quarterback Matt Seevers. The two combined to make the Mustangs the top scoring offense in the league this year with an average of over 38 points per game.

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"Our seniors made up the core of a great group of players and I have had many teachers, administrators and parents tell me over the last few weeks that they've never seen such attachment to a sports team at our school," said coach Ryan Thornhill, head coach at Marquette, the Chesterfield school that draws students from Ellisville.

With opening back-to-back victories over Sumner and league opponent Oakville, Marquette hit a roadblock in the form of a 24-8 loss at Eureka on Sept. 10. A rain-drenched field enabled Eureka to force some key early turnovers that eventually proved more than Marquette could overcome.

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The Mustangs bounced back against Northwest in Jefferson County and cruised to a 49-12 victory. This set the stage for a critical conference encounter with sixth-ranked Lindbergh the following week in a contest that would go a long way toward defining the season for Marquette.

The Lindbergh game became a showcase for Seevers and McKinney, who combined for four touchdowns in a 35-12 victory over the Flyers.

Marquette went on to post convincing wins over Mehlville and Fox before a mid-October match-up with CBC. An early blocked punt by CBC led to a touchdown for the Cadets, but a missed extra point attempt hinted at a topsy-turvy game to come. Indeed, the teams traded touchdowns and extra points throughout the contest setting up a dramatic finish with Marquette trailing by three points with two minutes remaining.

After driving to the Cadets' 1-yard line, Mustang coaches attempted to call a time-out, but saw precious seconds tick away before the referees granted the request. With a last chance to score, Marquette was unable to penetrate the CBC defense and ended up absorbing a difficult 41-38 loss.

Marquette's football team has established a natural rivalry with the nearby Lafayette Lancers, and there was a surprise in store during the Oct. 22 matchup in Marquette senior running back Ryan Schaefer.

After going down 17-0 early the Mustangs came to life late in the second half with McKinney running for two touchdowns to cut the lead to 17-14 going in to halftime.

After the intermission, Marquette assembled a touchdown and field goal to take a 24-17 lead, only to see Lafayette put together an eight-play scoring drive to tie the game. Colin Hoy's second field goal of the game put the Mustangs ahead and then Schaefer, who had 16 carries in the game for 152 yards, busted through the Lafayette defense for a 57-yard touchdown run.

Schaefer's run knocked the breath out of the Lancers and pushed the Mustangs to a convincing 35-24 victory.

McKinney took over during Marquette's next contest, a Class 6, District 3 contest versus Parkway South. The win wrapped up Marquette's league title and it earned a second playoff appearance for Thornhill.

Although Hazelwood Central proved too much for Marquette in the playoffs, coach Thornhill expressed enormous appreciation for his team and in particular the 25 senior players in action for the Mustangs this season.

"They're (Hazelwood Central) very explosive and we didn't have our best day," Thornhill said. "They definitely were the better team. This was a fantastic season and we had a lot of fun and enjoyed an enormous amount of school spirit. I am very proud of our team."

With the 2010 season's success to build on, Marquette looks eagerly toward next year and an opportunity to advance the football program further. Though the departure of McKinney will prove challenging, Thornhill has encountered adversity before as he posted losing records in his first three seasons.

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