Photo by Sam Thiel Marshall’s Cayden Werner (84) celebrates with teammate Eddie Garcia (74) after scoring a touchdown during their game against New Ulm. Marshall defeated New Ulm 45-8.

MARSHALL — After dropping its first two games of the season, the Marshall football team looked to hit the reset button when it came back home to face New Ulm, who also was in search of its first win of the season. Thanks to strong play in all three phases, Marshall gained control early and never looked back, earning a 45-8 victory on Friday at Mattke Field.

Marshall jumped out to a quick start, as Tyler Maeyaert connected with Keaton Maertens on a pass all the way down to the New Ulm 36-yard line. After a run by Tate Condezo, MHS got on the board when Chidi Nwakama scored on a short run to make it 6-0 with 9:17 left in the opening quarter after the extra point attempt was blocked. MHS wasn’t done there, and after a three-and-out by New Ulm on its first possession, was able to march down into the Eagles red zone before Maeyaert found Cayden Werner for a short touchdown pass. But a penalty on Marshall, followed by another penalty by the offense, nullified the score and backed MHS up to the New Ulm 36. The Eagles would get Marshall into a fourth-and-3 situation, but Maeyaert would connect with Werner again for a touchdown before a two-point conversion made it 14-0 with 4:06 left in the quarter.

The Marshall defense would then show its strength on the ensuing possession, forcing a New Ulm fumble, which led to a short field goal by Ethan Hess to give MHS a 17-0 lead with two minutes left in the frame. The Eagles quickly marched down the field, as a long run by Dylen Carreon put New Ulm at the Marshall 22-yard line. New Ulm would get down to the Marshall two-yard line but a goal-line stand by the MHS defense forced a turnover on downs and gave them the ball back on their own one-yard line.

Marshall wasn’t able to get much traction on the next possession and were forced into a three-and-out, but it didn’t take long for MHS to get back on the board. On fourth and 10 for the Eagles on the Marshall 35-yard line, Nwakama jumped in front of a pass and took it 65 yards the opposite way for a pick 6 to make it 24-0 with 3:13 left in the first half. Marshall’s defense wasn’t done there, as they forced and recovered another fumble on the ensuing possession. A few plays later, Maertens found his way into the end zone and pushed Marshall’s advantage to 31-0, which held going into halftime.

Marshall then extended its lead to 38-0 early in the third quarter when Nwakama scored on an 11-yard run before Malachi Klemm joined the scoring action in the early part of the fourth with a 20-yard run to make it 45-0. A short touchdown run by Carreon for New Ulm midway through the quarter would bring it to the 45-8 final.

Nwakama led Marshall with 58 rushing yards on eight carries and two touchdowns while Klemm added 39 yards on the ground on four carries and a score, Condezo had 33 yards rushing, Jonathon Dirckx had 31 yards and Maertens had 12 yards and a score. Maeyaert completed three of his seven pass attempts for 80 yards and a touchdown while Maertens led in receiving with 76 yards on two catches and Werner had a four-yard reception for a score.

Defensively, Andrew Wallen led Marshall with 7.5 total tackles while Maertens and Bryant Paulsen each added five total tackles, with Maertens also recording an interception.

Up next

Marshall (1-2) will hit the road next week, taking on Worthington at 7 p.m. next Friday.

Marshall 45, New Ulm 8

New Ulm 0 0 0 8 – 8

Marshall 17 14 7 7 – 45

SCORING SUMMARY

First Quarter

Marshall: Nwakama 5 yd run (Kick no good).

Marshall: Werner 4 yd pass from Maeyaert (Nwakama run).

Marshall: Hess 25 yd field goal.

Second Quarter

Marshall: Nwakama 65 yd interception return (Hess kick).

Marshall: Maertens 11 yd run (Hess kick).

Third Quarter

Marshall: Nwakama 11 yd run (Hess kick).

Fourth Quarter

Marshall: Klemm 20 yd run (Hess kick).

New Ulm: Carreon 1 yd run (2-point conversion good).

Individual statistics

Passing (Comp-Att-Yds-TD): Marshall (Maeyaert 3-7-80-1).

Rushing (Att-Yds-TD): Marshall (Nwakama 8-58-2; Klemm 4-39-1; Condezo 4-33; Dirckx 2-31; Louwagie 3-16; Maertens 3-12-1).

Receiving (Rec-Yds-TD): Marshall (Maertens 2-76; Werner 1-4-1).

Defense (Total tackles): Marshall (Wallen 7.5; Maertens, Paulsen 5).