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Lakota East junior Nate Mays scores a touchdown on a 27-yard pass from junior quarterback Eric Eichler to make the score 20-7 in the second quarter. Lakota East went on to defeat Middletown by the score of 34-20. Photo taken Sept. 21, 2012 by Barb Trimble of TrimPhotoAndVideo.com. For more photos of this game, visit http://proofs.trimphotoandvideo.com/g/092112mid_east.

After Middletown senior quarterback Jalin Marshall scored on an 81-yard touchdown run early in the first quarter, Lakota East scored 20 straight points en route to a 34-20 win at the Hawks Nest Friday night.

Marshall, who has committed to play football at Ohio State, rushed for 155 yards and two touchdowns, and completed 7-of-17 passes for 80 yards and another score.

It wasn’t enough, however, as the Thunderhawks rushed for 348 yards and four touchdowns on 48 carries as a team.

Leading the Lakota East rushing attack were seniors Will Mahone, who rushed for 113 yards and a score on 14 carries, and Chamada Palmore, who rushed for 135 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. Junior quarterback Eric Eichler added 83 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries. Eichler also threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to junior Nate Mays.

The win was Lakota East’s first against Middletown since 2005. Prior to the win, the Middies had beaten the Thunderhawks four straight times.

With the win, Lakota East improves to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in the Greater Miami Conference, while Middletown falls to 2-3 overall and 1-1 in the GMC.

The Thunderhawks will likely be moving up in The Cincinnati Enquirer Division coaches’ poll after this win. Heading into the game, Lakota East was ranked No. 10 and Middletown was No. 6.

Next Friday at 7:30 p.m., Lakota East will be at Hamilton (2-2 overall, 0-1 in GMC) and Middletown will host Oak Hills (3-2 overall, 1-1 in GMC).

M – Marshall 81-yard un (Henry kick)
LE – Palmore 38-yard run (kick failed)
LE – Mahone 3-yard run (Smith kick)
LE – Mays 27-yard pass from Eichler (Smith kick)
M – Hasan 12-yard pass from Marshall (Henry kick)
LE – Eichler 5-yard run (run failed)
LE – Eichler 8-yard run (Eichler run)
M – Marshall 2-yard run (kick failed)

Posted in: Fall sports, Sports |

Tags: Tags: Chamada Palmore, Eric Eichler, Eric Eichler Lakota East, Jalin Marshall, Jalin Marshall Ohio State, Lakota East, Lakota East football, Lakota East High School, Lakota East Sports, Middletown football, Nate Mays, Will Mahone, Will Mahone Lakota East

Winton Woods defeated Lakota East, 25-20, and Middletown, 50-13, this fall. Photo taken Aug. 31, 2012 by Barb Trimble of TrimPhotoAndVideo.com. For more photos of this game, Winton Woods at Lakota East visit http://proofs.trimphotoandvideo.com/g/083112ww_east

Lakota East (3-1 overall, 1-0 in GMC), which is No. 10 in The Cincinnati Enquirer Division I coaches’ poll, will host No. 6 Middletown (2-2 overall, 1-0 in GMC) Friday at 7:30 p.m. The Thunderhawks are coming off a 40-20 win at Oak Hills, while Middletown is fresh off a 41-26 win against Fairfield.

Middletown: Entering the season, considered to be one of the best teams in the region and possibly in the state, Middletown has had a disappointing start losing a heartbreaker to St. Xavier, 43-39, in its opener and suffering an uncharacteristic blowout loss at Winton Woods, 51-13, in Week 3. While the 2-2 record is surprising, the play of senior quarterback Jalin Marshall is not. The Ohio State commit currently leads the Middies with 551 yards on 66 carries and five touchdowns, and has completed 22 of his 48 pass attempts for 311 yards and six touchdowns with only one interception. Marshall and the Middies didn’t play Lakota East in 2011, but they did defeat the Thunderhawks, 49-35, in 2010. In that game, Marshall, as a sophomore, rushed for 308 and three touchdowns on 20 carries and threw for another score. Offensively this fall, sophomore running back Yvonte Glover has 281 yards on 63 carries and two touchdowns and senior running back William Peters has added 229 yards on 41 carries and three touchdowns. Peters is also Middletown’s leading receiver with six receptions for 102 yards and four touchdowns. Furthermore, Peters has returned five kickoffs for 189 yards (37.8 yards per return) and has a 92-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Defensively, senior Skyler Watkins has 2.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. As a team, Middletown is averaging around 360 yards of total offense and is giving up an average of around 295 yards per game on defense.

Lakota East: Last fall, the Thunderhawks were in a similar position – starting the year with a 3-1 overall record and winning their first conference game. After that point, Lakota East lost five of its last six games and finished the year with a losing record for the sixth straight season. Back to 2012, the Thunderhawks made the top ten in the coaches’ poll for the first time this fall and came in seventh in the Region 4 OHSAA computer rankings this week (top eight qualify for the postseason). Leading the Thunderhawks is senior running back Will Mahone, who has 394 yards and eight touchdowns on 71 carries this season. Also leading the offense is junior quarterback Eric Eichler, who has rushed for 228 yards and three touchdowns on 51 carries, and has 203 passing yards and three touchdown passes with only one interception. Emerging in the 40-20 win at Oak Hills last Friday was senior running back Chamada Palmore, who rushed for 128 yards on 13 carries. Junior running back Nate Mays also had a strong game – catching three passes for 82 yards and two touchdowns in the win. As a team, Lakota East is averaging around 321 yards of total offense and is giving up an average of about 263 yards per game on defense.

Bottom line: Middletown and Lakota East have a common opponent this year in Winton Woods. The Middies lost their matchup 51-13, while Lakota East lost its by the score of 25-20. Judging on that alone and adding the fact that Lakota East is at home, one would think that the Thunderhawks are the favorite in this game. However, things are not always that simple. Middletown has one of the best high school athletes in the nation (Rivals.com ranks Marshall No. 2 in Ohio and No. 53 in the nation in the class of 2013), who as a sophomore rushed for more than 300 yards and scored four touchdowns in a single game against East. That being said, Middletown will likely be considered the favorite in this game. If Lakota East could get the upset it would be a big boost to the program.

Posted in: Fall sports, Sports |

Tags: Tags: Chamada Palmore, Eric Eichler, Eric Eichler Lakota East, Jalin Marshall, Jalin Marshall Ohio State, Lakota East, Lakota East football, Lakota East High School, Lakota East Sports, Middletown football, Nate Mays, Skyler Watkins, Will Mahone, Will Mahone Lakota East, William Peters, Yvonte Glover

Middletown junior Jalin Marshall is one of the area’s most highly recruited athletes and he showed why in a 47-7 victory against Lakota West Friday.

Marshall, who has offers from Cincinnati, Illinois, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Pittsburgh, Tennessee and UCLA, rushed for four first-half touchdowns against the Firebirds, scoring on runs of 7, 45, 59 and 72 yards.

The Middies’ quarterback finished with 226 yards on 11 carries (20.5 yards per carry).

Marshall’s senior teammate, running back E.J. Junior (offer from Cincinnati), rushed for 90 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries in the win.

As a team, Lakota West managed only 120 yards of offense, 58 of which came on the ground from senior running back Marcus Jones. On defense, the Firebirds gave up 440 yards.

With the win, Middletown improves to 5-1 overall and 2-1 in the Greater Miami Conference. Meanwhile, Lakota West falls to 1-5 overall and 0-3 in the GMC.

Next Friday, Middletown will be at Hamilton (3-3 overall, 1-2 in GMC) at 7:30 p.m. and Lakota West will host Colerain (5-1 overall, 3-0 in GMC) at 7:30 p.m.

M–Marshall 45 run (Till kick) – 7:08 in 1^st quarter
M–Marshall 72 run (Till kick) – 0:30 in 1^st quarter
M–Marshall 59 run (Till kick) – 10:46 in 2^nd quarter
M–Wright 7 run (Till kick) – 8:36 in 2^nd quarter
M–Marshall 7 run (kick failed) – 3:47 in 2^nd quarter
M–Junior 1 run (Till kick) – 2:02 in 3^rd quarter
M–Burton 18 run (kick failed) – 1:42 in 4^th quarter
L–Williams 25 pass from Jones (Martin kick) – 0:13 in 4^th quarter



Posted in: Fall sports, Sports |

Tags: Tags: Cincinnati football recruiting, E.J. Junior, football, game preview, Jalin Marshall, Lakota West, Lakota West football, Lakota West sports, Marcus Davis, Middletown football, Ohio football recruiting, Ohio High School sports recruiting, Ohio preps recruiting, Ohio sports recruiting

The Lakota West Firebirds (1-4 overall, 0-2 in the Greater Miami Conference) will be underdogs when they visit Middletown (4-1 overall, 1-1 in the GMC) this Friday at 7:30 p.m. Lakota West’s only win this fall came at Anderson (20-14). The Firebirds have losses vs. Winton Woods (27-21), vs. Elder (35-10), at Princeton (27-21) and vs. Oak Hills (25-21). Meanwhile, the Middies only loss came last Thursday night against Colerain (21-13). Middletown also has wins against Wayne (32-31), at Troy (29-21), vs. Winton Woods (21-14) and at Oak Hills (46-13).

Lakota West: The Firebirds have suffered back-to-back losses to conference opponents after having fourth quarter leads in each game. Offensively, led by senior running back Marcus Davis, Lakota West has some firepower. Davis has already rushed for 654 yards (second most in the GMC) and two touchdowns on 128 carries this fall. The senior is averaging more than 130 rushing yards per game. Meanwhile, sophomore quarterback Tyler Jones has thrown for 686 yards (second most in the GMC) and eight touchdowns (second most in the GMC). The first-year starter also leads the conference in interceptions with six. Jones’ top targets are seniors Bubba Williams (11 rec. 159 yards and 1 TD) and Kayaune Ross (8 rec. 193 yards and 4 TDs). Defensively, Lakota West has 10 sacks, six forced fumbles (recovering four) and has two interceptions this fall. As a team, Lakota West is averaging 267 yards of offense per game and is allowing 350 yards per game on defense.

Middletown: The Middies feature many big names; including one on the sidelines in head coach Troy Everhart. Middletown’s new coach previously led Winton Woods for 11 years and led the Warriors to a Division II state championship in 2009. He also served as the coordinator of recruiting services at the University of Cincinnati. On the field, Middletown features one of the region’s most-recruited players in junior quarterback Jalin Marshall. According to Yahoo! Sports, Marshall has offers from Cincinnati, Illinois, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Pittsburgh, Tennessee and UCLA. This season, Marshall has rushed for 625 yards (third most in the GMC), thrown for 385 yards and has nine total touchdowns. Marshall’s senior teammates running back E.J. Junior (offer from Cincinnati), defensive back Cody Quinn (Illinois commit) and wide receiver Zach Edwards (offers from Akron, Bowling Green, Cincinnati and Miami) have also garnered attention from Division I college programs. Defensively, senior linebacker Jaylen Herring leads Middletown with four sacks. As a team, Middletown is averaging 359 yards per game on offense and is allowing 246 yards per game on defense.

Bottom line: While Lakota West has played much better than its 1-4 record indicates, it should have trouble keeping up with all the talent on Middletown. To make matters worse, Middletown is coming off its first loss of the season. Both teams have their similarities on offense, featuring mobile quarterbacks, a workhorse running back and a pair of playmakers at wide receiver. That being said, Lakota West has the ability to pull off an upset. However, when comparing the two teams’ only common opponent, the chances appear to be slim for Lakota West. The Firebirds lost to Oak Hills last Friday at home by the score of 25-21, while Middletown defeated Oak Hills on the road two weeks ago by the score of 46-13.

Posted in: Fall sports, Sports |

Tags: Tags: Bubba Williams, Cincinnati football recruiting, Cody Quinn, E.J. Junior, football, game preview, Jalin Marshall, Kayaune Ross, Lakota West, Lakota West football, Lakota West sports, Marcus Davis, Middletown football, Ohio football recruiting, Ohio High School sports recruiting, Ohio preps recruiting, Ohio sports recruiting, Tyler Jones, Zach Edwards