Lassiter trailed 7-0 less than a minute into the game Friday but turned three Marietta turnovers into second-quarter touchdowns and cruised to a 37-14 victory over the previously unbeaten Blue Devils at Frank Fillmann Stadium.
Quarterback Bradley Riopelle passed for 152 yards, ran for 34 and scored two touchdowns to help Lassiter reach 4-0 for the second consecutive season. Running back Myles Williams ran for 35 yards and also scored two touchdowns for the Trojans.
Lassiter took its first lead when Williams scored on a 5-yard run to make it 13-7 with 10 minutes remaining in the second quarter.
That’s when the game got away from the Blue Devils. Marietta fumbled the ensuing kickoff, giving Lassiter the ball at the 9-yard line. Lassiter needed seven plays to score from there, getting a break when Marietta roughed the center on a missed 25-yard field-goal attempt, setting up a first-and-goal from the 4. Riopelle scored on a quarterback sneak for a 20-7 lead.
An interception by Colin Wegman on Marietta’s next possession set up Williams’ second 5-yard scoring run to make it 27-7 with 1:31 to play in the half, Jayden Smith’s fumble recovery in the end zone with 23 seconds remaining in the half gave Lassiter a 34-7 lead.
“Offensively it took us a while to get going,” Lassiter coach Jep Irwin said. “We really took control of the game in the second quarter on offense. I think we scored three or four straight times. The defense had a score too, and I think [Marietta] got really tired on defense.”
Marietta (3-1) sophomore quarterback Rashun Bass, making his first start for injured sophomore star Harrison Bailey, couldn’t have asked for a better start to the game. The Blue Devils began their first possession at the Lassiter 23-yard line when they recovered the Trojans’ fumble on the opening kickoff. Marietta needed just two plays, runs of 8 and 15 yards by Austin Cryer, to take a 7-0 lead with 11:06 to play in the first quarter.
That short drive was the highlight of the night for the Marietta offense, which didn’t get a chance to do much after taking the early lead. Lassiter ran twice as many plays (40-20) as the Blue Devils in the first half. The dominance was even more evident in the second half, when Lassiter ran 24 plays to Marietta’s eight while outscoring the Blue Devils 28-0. Lassiter outgained Marietta 206-71 in the first half.
Bass, who was sacked six times and harassed for much of the night, finished the game 9-for-16 passing for 103 yards, including 53 on a pass to Ramel Keyton in the fourth quarter that set up Bass’s 3-yard run for the Blue Devils' final touchdown. Cryer ran for 68 yards on 12 carries.
“The quarterback did the best he could,” Irwin said of Bass. “I mean, it was a bad situation for him. He only got two practices in this week. He’s a talented kid. They’re going to be a really good team at some point.”
Bailey had passed for 963 yards in the Blue Devils’ first three games, including a school-record 464 yards in a 24-20 victory over Pebblebrook last week despite suffering a collarbone injury. He is expected to be out for several weeks.
Marietta - 7-0-0-7 - 14
Lassiter - 6-28-3-0 - 37
First quarter
M - Austin Cryer 23 run (Cooper Kipp kick)
L - Bradley Riopelle 6 run (kick failed)
Second quarter
L - Myles Williams 5 run (Ethan Laudato kick)
L - Riopelle 1 run (Laudato kick)
L - Williams 5 run (Laudato kick)
L- Jayden Smith recovers fumble in end zone (Laudato kick)
Third quarter
L -Laudato 31 field goal
Fourth quarter
M - Rashun Bass 3 run (Kipp kick)
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