Backup QB Baker Steps Up, but Marquette Falls 38-14 to Tuscola
Source: The Shaw Local News Sports. Casualplayhub News adds summary, context, and editorial framing while linking back to the original report.
On a sweltering Friday night, Marquette Academy found itself in a sudden crisis when starting quarterback Luke McCullough had to exit the game with an apparent heat illness just a few minutes into the first quarter. The Crusaders were already trailing 8-0 after Tuscola's Tytus Hornaday rumbled 62 yards on the Warriors' first offensive snap, followed by a two-point conversion run by Myles McKinnie. But the real test for Marquette was yet to come.
With McCullough sidelined, the Crusaders turned to Connor Baker, a player who had not taken a snap at quarterback in a long time, as head coach Drake Davis admitted after the game. “Not in a long time,” Davis said, reflecting on the last time Baker played the position. Yet Baker handled the pressure with poise. He finished the night with 14 carries, 13 of them from the quarterback spot, gaining 80 yards. Through the air, he completed two passes for 69 yards, including a spectacular 63-yard bomb to Ben Walker. “For being launched in there and not having a whole lot of play underneath his belt, he played well,” Davis said. “He came in clutch for us.”
Marquette’s offense showed early promise even before the quarterback change. On the Crusaders' first play from scrimmage, McCullough ran for 40 yards to the Warriors' 16. After a first down, the drive stalled on a couple of sacks. Then, after a turnover on downs by Tuscola, Marquette picked up two first downs before McCullough had to leave. The Crusaders did not falter. Baker, stepping in, ran for 15 yards on a fourth-and-4, then gained 10 yards on a third-and-9, and finally punched in a touchdown from the 2-yard line on a third-and-1. The two-point conversion pass failed, but the Crusaders cut the deficit to 8-6.
Tuscola coach Andy Romine credited the momentum shift to the Warriors’ punting game and field position. After Marquette’s score, Tuscola went three-and-out but pinned the Crusaders at their own 6-yard line. A quick three-and-out forced a punt, and the Warriors regained possession at the Marquette 25. Two plays later, Hornaday scored from three yards out, and a two-point conversion pass to Kyler Alholwani made it 16-6. “On that punt exchange, we gained about 20 yards,” Romine said. “Then we were on a short field and that allowed us to win the last 4 minutes of the half.”
A fumble on Marquette’s next drive gave Tuscola another short field. The Warriors scored in three plays, with quarterback Jon Pettry racing in from 28 yards. McKinnie added another two-point conversion run, and the halftime score stood at 24-6. “We felt like we really had to win coming out of halftime, and we got a stop and a score there and that helped us break open the game,” Romine noted. “We talk about how those middle eight minutes before and after halftime are important.”
Pettry continued to shine in the third quarter, connecting with Evan Vearil for touchdown passes of 10 and 28 yards. Marquette, however, refused to fold. Kenny Carlson broke free for a 75-yard touchdown run, and Baker followed with a two-point conversion run. The Crusaders also had a long kickoff return for a touchdown nullified by a holding penalty. “To lose a quarterback is kind of a big deal, especially in a small school,” Davis said. “We installed some stuff during halftime to give ourselves a fighting chance. The coaching staff did what we could to try to make it an even fight, but for us and our kids, they just gave everything they got.”
Romine acknowledged the challenge of facing a backup quarterback like Baker. “It changes them more than it changes us,” he said. “We didn’t do a great job early in the game with their quarterback power run game. We weren’t very disciplined at the defensive edge and he hit us with a couple of big ones. Baker put some pressure on our safety to run fit, because he’s so fast. I mean, he outran our fastest kid and our fastest kid is fast. So it took us awhile to adjust to his speed. We knew he was a good player, we didn’t know he played quarterback.”
Carlson finished as the Crusaders’ leading rusher with 91 yards on seven carries and a touchdown. For Tuscola, Pettry completed 11 of 15 passes for 139 yards with two touchdowns and added 65 rushing yards on 10 carries. Hornaday led the Warriors on the ground with 79 yards on seven carries and two touchdowns. Vearil caught three passes for 45 yards, two of them for scores. Despite the loss, Davis saw encouragement in his team’s character. “I like that our kids never quit,” Davis said. “It’s not something we pride ourselves on, being a power team. We’ve got athletes, we like to get them outside and we like to utilize them. And we had to become a power team tonight because of the circumstances of losing some kids. So I like that we didn’t do too bad at it. I like that the kids gave everything they got, because we had kids on the sideline that were just exhausted.”
Article commentary
Friday night’s matchup between Marquette Academy and Tuscola was a textbook example of how quickly fortunes can shift in small-school football. The game’s narrative was defined not by a single dominant performance, but by the sudden absence of a key player and the desperate, often heroic, response from a backup. Marquette’s starting quarterback, Luke McCullough, left the game early due to heat illness, a reminder of the physical toll that early-season conditions can take on athletes. In his place, Connor Baker—a player who had not seen significant time at quarterback—was thrust into the spotlight. His performance was a testament to the depth of character and preparation that often goes unnoticed in programs where every player must be ready to fill multiple roles. Baker’s stat line—14 rushes for 80 yards and two completions for 69 yards, including a 63-yard touchdown—does not fully capture the emotional weight of his effort. He was not just a fill-in; he was a catalyst. When Marquette faced a fourth-and-4, Baker converted with a 15-yard run. When they needed a third-and-9 conversion, he delivered 10 yards. And from the 2-yard line, he punched it in. These are the moments that define a program’s resilience. Coach Drake Davis’s praise—“He came in clutch for us”—was not just coach-speak; it was an honest appraisal of a player who stepped into a role he hadn’t practiced and performed beyond expectations. Yet the game also highlighted the structural advantages that a well-coached team like Tuscola possesses. The Warriors, now 3-0, demonstrated a disciplined approach to field position and momentum. Coach Andy Romine’s emphasis on the “middle eight minutes” before and after halftime proved prescient. After Marquette pulled within two points, Tuscola’s punting game flipped the field, pinning the Crusaders at their own 6-yard line. That sequence—a three-and-out forced by Tuscola’s defense, followed by a short field—shifted the game’s trajectory. The Warriors scored twice in quick succession, and the 24-6 halftime lead was effectively insurmountable. From a tactical standpoint, the game was a study in adjustments. Tuscola struggled early with Baker’s speed and the quarterback power run game, as Romine admitted. The Warriors’ defensive edge was not disciplined, allowing Baker to break contain. But Tuscola adapted, using safety run fits to slow him down. Meanwhile, Marquette’s coaching staff installed new schemes at halftime to give the Crusaders a fighting chance. The fact that they still managed to score a 75-yard touchdown run and nearly had a kickoff return for a score shows that the team’s athletes are capable, but the loss of their starting quarterback created a ceiling that could not be overcome. This game also underscores the unique challenges of small-school football. Depth is a luxury, not a given. When one starter goes down, the entire offensive and defensive philosophy can shift dramatically. Davis noted that Marquette had to transform into a power team—a role not natural for a squad that prides itself on spreading the field and utilizing athletes in space. The fact that the Crusaders adapted as well as they did speaks to the coaching staff’s ability to diagnose and adjust on the fly. However, the outcome also serves as a reminder that even the best adjustments cannot fully compensate for the absence of a key player. Looking ahead, Marquette (1-2) will need to find consistency from its quarterback position regardless of McCullough’s health. Baker’s emergence provides a valuable insurance policy, but the team cannot rely on emergency situations to define its identity. Meanwhile, Tuscola’s balanced offense—Pettry’s efficient passing, Hornaday’s power running, and Vearil’s red-zone reliability—positions them as a formidable contender in their conference. For the neutral observer, this game was a compelling narrative of adversity, adjustment, and the relentless will to compete. It’s the kind of story that makes high school football—especially at the small-school level—so rich and unpredictable.