Dunkirk’s defense stood tall as it has all season.

“Two weeks, two shutouts in a row. They’re coming along great,” said Dunkirk coach Mike Sarratori.

The Marauders blanked the Flyers in the first half, as Maryvale only got deep into Marauder territory on their opening possession, but the Marauders didn’t break. Facing a 3rd-and-7 at the Marauder 18, Mark Milliman continued his menacing start to the season, as he was able to chase down Maryvale quarterback Carson Harper — filling in for Connor Desiderio, who was out with an ankle injury. Following the sack by Milliman, Maryvale was unable to convert on fourth down.

The Marauders relied on the home run plays to jump start their offense.

Dunkirk running back Christian Ortiz (30) breaks a tackle from a Maryvale defender during Friday’s Class B2 football game at Dunkirk High School. OBSERVER Photo by Ron Szot.

Following a deep pass to Peyton Ahlstrom from Phil Messina that fell incomplete, Dunkirk running back Christian Ortiz broke off a 72 yard run to the house to give the Marauders an 6-0 lead.

The Marauder defense continued to hold strong, as Maryvale struggled to pick up a first down for the remainder of the half, featuring another big third down sack by Milliman.

The mistakes plaguing the team that concerned Sarratori heading into the game reared their ugly head in the both quarters, as the first quarter featured several missed tackles from the defense, although those didn’t come back to bite them.

A plethora of flags led to several drive stalls for the Marauder offense in the second quarter, preventing the score from growing any more than it was. The Marauders were finally able to break through once more, as Messina snuck through a pile up of bodies on a quarterback keeper and ended up scathe free in the end zone on a 13 yard run that gave Dunkirk the 14-0 lead, after a two-point conversion from Ortiz.

“Our passing game was wide open and we have to catch it or get the ball on target. And we need to fix our mental mistakes, between penalties and other lapses. But we’re gritty and I love working with these guys,” Sarratori said.

The second half continued in favor of the Marauders, as their 69 yard drive at the start of the third quarter ate up half the clock in the quarter, when Chris Ortiz punched home his second touchdown of the game from five yards out, followed by a Messina run for a two point conversion, which pushed the score to 22-0. For a team looking for an offensive identity, Ortiz gave them that and more.

“He gave us an attitude tonight. That’s great, it’s what we needed. We haven’t had an attitude all year yet,” Sarratori said.

On the ensuing Maryvale drive, which started deep in their own territory, the Marauders forced a fumble that was picked up by Dunkirk defensive tackle Adrien Washington, who found himself in the end zone as the defense got on the scoreboard, pushing the score to 30-0 after Messina found Ahlstrom for the two-point conversion.

The Marauders would tack on their last touchdown in the fourth quarter as Mateo Janzcylik ran one in from a yard out to push the score to 36-0. For as banged up as the Marauders are, the younger kids stepping in are filling their roles quite nicely.

“It just shows we have great assistant coaches that get them ready and we have good kids,” Sarratori said. “Janzcylik is our fourth back we’re using this year. He did a really nice job in the second half, he definitely got more comfortable. We’re definitely grooming him and we’re definitely going to need him.”

With all of the injuries the Marauders have faced this season, it hasn’t impacted their ability to play. With their offense putting up 30 of their 36 points, the defense contributing a touchdown and three sacks, and the special teams blocking two punts, the Marauders were able to put it all together for their impressive home victory.

“Definitely our most complete game of the season. This team is gutty. We are missing so many kids. They just impress me every week. We lose a guy here and there and they’re still coming back and playing hard,” Sarratori said.

The Marauders are next in action against Iroquois next Friday in a big game, as it’s a win and in for a playoff spot game, as both teams are tied for second in the Class B-2 division. Sarratori knows, despite the dominating win, his team still has errors to fix.

“I know what the problem is. We’re so young that we have mental lapses and it’s killing us. Next week is for a playoff spot and we can’t be doing that there,” Sarratori said.

Dunkirk (4-1, 2-1) will take on Iroquois next Friday night for a 7 p.m. start time.