HS Football: Dunkirk Defeats Hamburg on Homecoming Night

Amid the pageantry of homecoming night, the Dunkirk Marauders set out to put on a good show on the gridiron Friday night against Hamburg, a Class A-1 team, at Karl Hoeppner Field. At the end of the night, the Marauders did not disappoint, as they maintained their undefeated record and defeated Hamburg by a score of 36-6 in a game broadcast on WDOE.

Both teams sought to establish their power running games in the first half.  Senior Quantavis Kleckley piled up most of the yards early on for Dunkirk (5-0), while the tandem of Nick Hafner and Spencer Dix carried the load for Hamburg (1-4). The only touchdown of the half came in the 2nd quarter, when junior Rocky Radcliffe found paydirt on a 5-yard run to end a seven-play, 55-yard drive. The Marauders had no trouble scoring in the second half, though. They opened the 3rd quarter with another 55-yard scoring march. The key play on the drive was a 28-yard completion from Earl Stewart to Koty Leeper on 4th and 6. Three plays later, Kleckley scored on a 5-yard run up the middle to make it a 12-0 Dunkirk lead. Starting quarterback Phil Messina, who had left the game with an injury late in the 2nd quarter, returned to action on Dunkirk's next scoring drive. Messina completed three passes on that drive, ending it with a 39-yard touchdown toss to Conrad Thomas on the final play of the quarter. Hamburg got on the board at the start of the 4th quarter, when Jack Migliore ran back the ensuing kickoff 78 yards for a touchdown to make it 18-6. But Dunkirk scored three more times to put the game away. Thomas recovered a Messina fumble in the end zone for his second touchdown of the night, Radcliffe ran for a 15-yard touchdown, and Angel Rios ran back an interception to set up a 3-yard touchdown run by Angel Reyes.

Quantavis Kleckley ran the ball 16 times for 115 yards and a touchdown to lead Dunkirk's offense, while Rocky Radcliffe ran for 54 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Phil Messina was 3-for-7 passing for 57 yards and a touchdown and added 30 rushing yards. Conrad Thomas led the Marauders in receiving with two catches for 44 yards and a touchdown. For Hamburg, Nick Hafner had 14 carries for 61 yards, while Spencer Dix ran the ball 10 times for 42 yards. Nate Capasso had three receptions for 53 yards.

Photos by Ron Szot