Rashawn Marshall and a few of his classmates played big roles for Weequahic on this gorgeous Thanksgiving Day, while also being sure to submit their advance orders for more of the same in Soul Bowls to come.
Marshall is a sophomore who has played with surprising maturity all season, and who performed with particular polish and spark against archrival Shabazz Thursday morning. He carried 13 times for 131 yards and a career-best three touchdowns, and fellow sophomores Emmanuel Asante and Zakai Armstrong and freshman Ibrahim Cisse handled the rest of the scoring to steer Weequahic to a 29-0 victory over the Bulldogs in the renewal of the Soul Bowl at Untermann Field in Newark.
And as the youngsters had their fun romping around in the end zone, senior statesmen such as Jordan Augustin, Joshua Sanyaolu, Trinade Hay and Tygiuan Daniels directed Weequahic’s defense to its fourth shutout this season.
“We’ve got a lot of good young guys on this team and I always tell them, ‘If you get the opportunity, take it, let it go; leave it all out there on the field,’ " said the 6-3, 275-yard Augustin, who has followed that process on a regular basis for the past three seasons.
The under-recruited Augustin anchored a fierce defensive front along with Sanyaolu by recording five tackles for losses and a sack, and Augustin and Sanyaolu also provided the push for Marshall and Asante and protection for senior QB Zakir Martin, along with fellow offensive linemen Macnosa Omosalami, Uriel Saldana and Jaylin Freeman.
“It feels real good, but I know I couldn’t have done it without my line, though. If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be here right now,” Marshall said.
Marshall either duped or dragged a few too many Shabazz defenders to believe that he would have come up empty without the bone-jarring Augustin on his side, but we understand and respect his point. Offensive headache as he has been for the opposition, Marshall is still only a sophomore with plenty of leadership opportunities ahead.
“Those are my hearts back there,” two-way lineman Sanyaolu said of Marshall and Asante. “I just told them, ‘Man, I’ve got your backs. I’ll open the hole and you’ve just got to hit it.”
Sanyaolu, like Augustin, did a pretty nice job of clogging holes, as well. He rang up a team-high three sacks and had two other tackles for losses. Sanyaolu (6-0, 240) is a handful all on his own for rival lineman, but especially lethal when Augustin is double-teamed, and that happens rather regularly.
As for those other point-scoring underclassmen, Asante scored on a 5-yard run late in the second quarter for a 14-0 lead, Armstrong tackled a runner in the end zone for a fourth-quarter safety, and Cisse kicked four PAT to send Weequahic (7-5) to its second straight Soul Bowl victory and 10th since it was restored as a holiday favorite in 2009. Shabazz leads this overall series with its South Ward neighbor, 37-31-6.
The Soul Bowl was interrupted last year about a week before the game due to rising COVID-19 cases in the Brick City. Missing that opportunity to play before an always-large gathering was all the more fuel for Augustin, Sanyaolu and the rest of Weequahic’s stifling defense, which yielded just 153 offensive yards.
“This is amazing, especially since we couldn’t play last year. It’s like going out with a bang. Last game, I knew I just had to let it all out on the table,” Augustin said. He was named MVP for the Indians.
“This was so great after last year not having it; sitting at home last year drove me insane,” Sanyaolu said. “This year sure feels good.”
What made it all the sweeter for the defense was its ability to preserve the shutout against a determined Shabazz club in the closing minutes.
The Bulldogs (3-7) marched 78 yards in eight plays to the Weequahic one-yard line with just under 2:50 left in the game, but were unable to cross.
A holding penalty on second-and-goal marched the Bulldogs back to the 16, but then a Weequahic penalty eventually moved the Bulldogs back up to the eight. Shabazz threw two straight incomplete passes against both a heavy rush and strong coverage, and then QB Miles McEachin was stopped after two yards by Asante at the Weequahic six with 1:16 remaining.
“We’re fast and physical,” Sanyaolu said. “As your coach says, you can’t win the game walking. you’ve got to be fast and physical.
McEachin completed 7 of 16 passes for 89 yards while Martin hit on 8 of 14 for 102 yards for Weequahic. No Shabazz ballcarrier was able to generate more than 38 yards against that Weequahic defense, which also got assistance from Ihsim Smith-Marsette, Andre Jenkinson, Tyheed Simmons, Quentin Reid, Elijah Motley and Hay. The Bulldog defense was led by Jahsir Tradwell, Elijah Cohen, Samar White, Judah Pruitt and Dupre Cromer.
After punting away its first two possessions and throwing an interception on the third, Weequahic finally struck after a fumble recovery by Jenkinson at the Shabazz 26. Smith-Marsette ran for eight yards, and then Marshall found big blocks off right tackle for an 18-yard TD run eight seconds into the second quarter.
Weequahic expanded that lead on its following possession, going 43 yards on seven plays following a punt for a 14-0 lead with 6:13 left in the half. Martin hit Marshall with a 10-yard pass to the five, and then Asante bulled up the middle and into the end zone.
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Mike Kinney can be reached at mkinney@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MikeKinneyHS.
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