Grim Stadium is the perfect name for a venue where the visiting teams are likely to be unhappy about the outcome of the game.
It was almost Happy Valley for the Marshall Mavericks Friday night, but a failed 2 point conversion in the final seconds saw a fierce come-back bid fall short in a 43-42 thriller against the #4 Texas High Tigers.
Texarkana drew first blood on their opening drive to make it a quick 7-0 Tiger lead.
Mav Quarterback Alton Henderson then took a sneak around the corner 73 yards to tie the game 7-7 with 11:44 before halftime.
The Tigers had a quick answer of their own as they reclaimed the lead on their ensuing drive 14-7 with 9:58 left in the half.
It looked like the game was about to get out of hand early when THS took a 21-7 lead with 5:15 left in the second, but Mav running back Semaj Gatson had other ideas.
Gatson took the ball 39 yards to pay-dirt to cut the Texarkana lead back down to 21-14 with 2:10 remaining.
Marshall got a huge interception just before the half with the chance to tie the game. But the Tigers snatched an interception of their own before running it back to the Mav 16. They made it count as they cashed in the TD with 28 seconds remaining before the break.
The PAT was blocked, but Texarkana took a 27-14 lead into the locker room at intermission.
The Mavs drove the length of the field to open the third quarter to cut the Tiger lead to 27-21 with 9:24 left.
The Marshall defense was able to hold THS to a field goal make the score 30-21 with 4:31 showing in the third.
Not to be outdone, the Mavs then went down the field to score and pull within 30-28 late in the third.
Texas High found the endzone again to open the fourth quarter, but missed their second PAT of the game as they clung to a 36-28 lead with 11:22 left in the game.
With time running out on the Mavs, Marshall took the ball the length of the field for the touchdown with just over 6 mins remaining to pull within 36-34. They went for 2 and got it on a quick pass to the corner to tie the game 36-36.
Tiger RB Tradarian Ball then took it 80 yards for the score and another THS lead 43-36 with just over 5 mins left in the contest.
The Mavs drove to the THS 6 yard line and converted on a wild fourth down play for the touchdown with 36 seconds left in the game making it 43-42.
Marshall elected to go for the two point conversion and the win, but QB Alton Henderson was stopped short of the endzone to preserve the 43-42 Tiger win.
The Mavs finished the night with 509 total yards with 316 on the ground and 193 passing.
Semaj Gatson had 143 yards on 19 carries.
Isaiah Bush finished with 113 yards on on 16 carries.
Raijon Sims had 122 yards on 5 catches.
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