The Marshall Statesmen won their third straight game over two seasons by opening the 2023 campaign with a 27-21 comeback road victory over the Annandale Atoms in non-district high-school football action Aug. 25.
The win came in the return debut game for Marshall head coach George Masten, who formerly led the team a few seasons ago from 2014 to 2017.
Marshall defeated Annandale behind 390 total yards, including 336 rushing.
Leading Marshall, was Carter Oketunji. He ran for two touchdowns of 42 and 22 yards and led a Statesmen running attack that gained 336 yards on 39 carries. Marshall quarterback Ian Olson completed 3 of 6 passes for 54 yards, including a 7-yard scoring pass to wideout Benjamin Burnett.
Marshall led 13-0 at halftime, but the Atoms took a 14-13 lead early in the fourth quarter on a 97-yard TD drive, aided by a roughing-the-punter call in the Annandale end zone.
The Statesmen responded with a 62-yard touchdown run by Sam Morales, and Oketunji’s second TD gave Marshall a 27-14 lead.
For Marshall, Sam Morales had 125 yards rushing on 10 carries and a touchdown, Oketunji ran for 95 yards, Brandon Kitchel for 47, Olson for 33 and Ethan Lebkisher for 32. Derek Lenert had two catches for 47 yards and Burnett one for seven.