SHERBURNE – It was Utica Notre Dame last year, and Friday night, it was General Brown.

Sherburne-Earlville upended its second established Section III program in as many years Friday night thoroughly beating the Lions, 40-21, before a robust home crowd.

The Marauders staked their claim as a team to watch amongst Class C teams scoring on offense, defense, and special teams. By the middle of the fourth quarter, head coach Mike Jasper had his second defense on the field to wrap up the contest. “I didn’t expect to have my bench players see time in this game,” Jasper said.

Why would he think that opportunity would avail itself?

General Brown returns as the defending Section III Class champion with six section titles over the past 11 years. In that same time frame, the Marauders have made the playoffs just twice, and have never won a playoff game.

“We still have a lot games to play against playoff teams (from last year), but it was nice to get a quality win against a quality opponent that is well thought of,” Jasper said.

Trailing early to the Lions, Sherburne-Earlville regrouped in the second period – in a big way.

The Marauders erased a seven-point deficit after one with two scoring drives to lead 16-7. After S-E’s second score, General Brown reclaimed the ball at its 35 with 49.9 seconds left in the half. On the first play of the drive, Lions quarterback Evan Will threw a deep ball down the right sideline.

Ben Khoury, the Marauders senior defensive back, leapt to intercept the underthrown ball, then returned the pick-off 65 yards the other way.

S-E received the kickoff to start the second half, and sophomore Matt Hull returned that to the house, 84 yards, to turn a one-possession lead to three. All without the S-E offense stepping on the field.

“I think those plays were shockers, especially Ben’s pickoff,” Jasper said. “We were worried about (General Brown) driving down at the end of the half and scoring. Not only did Ben make a big play to intercept the ball, but he ran it all the way back. We have guys capable of doing that.”

Yes, the Marauders have their fair share of playmakers this season. Along with Khoury and Hull, the team is led by all-state pick Cody Marango (who had a TD run and a TD pass), junior running back Brodie Roebuck (two TD runs), and a host of other big contributors, who complete their work behind an underrated, but highly effective collection of blockers such as captain Jonah Piatti, returning center Damian McGregor, and upstarts Hunter “Panda” Hatton, along with Billy Rogers, Connor Walsh, and Daren Knapp.

The young linemen up front allowed S-E to play its brand of football, one that is much more balanced than the Marauders of old. S-E had 173 yards rushing, and Marango was 7-for-9 for 119 yards and a TD toss to Hull.

“We said all week we could not be one-dimensional because General Brown is a physical team that will load up the box,” Jasper said. “But we felt we played a similar style of physical football to (the Lions), and it was a good matchup for us. They’re a team that comes out strong, and we just needed to weather the storm.”

On its second possession, General Brown drove 55 yards for the opening touchdown as Will covered the final three yards on a do-it-your-selfer.

After back-to-back three-and-outs, Sherburne-Earlville’s offense started to roll beginning with Hull’s first-down run. Early in the second period - and facing a third-and-long – Marango went deep to Khoury, who outjumped Lions defender Ryan Cumberbatch for a 33-yard gain.

Roebuck rumbled off tackle for a 25-yard gainer to the 7, and three plays later, Marango’s two-yard keeper had S-E on the board.

S-E held General Brown on downs after the Lions drove to the S-E 36. That was a precursor to a 12-play, 5-minute, 42-second excursion that ended with Hull’s 12-yard TD catch from Marango to make it 16-7.

From there, spectacular plays on defense and special teams gave S-E much-needed breathing room. Roebuck scored on TD runs of two and 21 yards in the third and fourth quarters respectively with the last one creating a 40-15 lead.

Hull was a jack-of-all-trades catching four passes for 67 yards rushing for 35, and returning the aforementioned kickoff for a TD. This from a kid who barely saw the field a year ago. “Matt was amazing today, and he’s on the field a lot for us,” Jasper said. “Our biggest problem is trying to get him some rest.”

The Marauders (2-0) host Sauquoit Valley Friday.

Score by quarters

GB 7 0 7 7–21

S-E 0 22 12 6–40

Scoring summary

First quarter