Friday’s Class B2 football game at Dunkirk High School showed how crucial momentum can be. The battle between the Dunkirk Marauders and the Maryvale Flyers evolved into a series of momentum swings, back and forth, all night long.

By the end of the night, however, Maryvale had everything in its favor. For Dunkirk, it was one mistake after another that snowballed in ever-so familiar fashion that led to yet another Marauders defeat.

The Flyers scored 26 unanswered points, including a 20-0 fourth quarter, to walk away from Dunkirk with a 48-26 victory.

“Until the wheels fell off there at the end, we showed that we could compete with the best of them, that’s for sure,” Dunkirk head coach Edwin Gomez said. “… We’ve got to figure out how to play four quarters of football. That’s been our downfall all season.”

OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen Dunkirk running back Anthony Piede (4) takes off upfield on a 54-yard touchdown reception near the end of the first half of Friday’s Class B2 football game against the Maryvale Flyers at Dunkirk High School.

Things started well for Dunkirk (1-6, 1-6) as Anthony Cosme scored the game’s first touchdown on a 3-yard carry with 40 seconds left in the opening quarter.

Then, in the second quarter, Maryvale (3-4, 2-4) owned the first nine minutes. Three touchdowns through the air and a 2-point conversion put the Flyers up 22-6.

With less than three minutes left in the half, the Marauders got the ball at their own 35-yard line, needing a jolt to get back in the game. Dunkirk got the spark it needed on a deep ball from Hayven Smith to Jordan Thomas Smith to set the Marauders up in Maryvale territory.

Moments later, Yeriel Gutierrez took a short pass from Smith down the Maryvale sideline for a 19-yard touchdown with 1:03 left in the first half.

Dunkirk’s initial spark would quickly turn into a full-on blaze.

On the ensuing drive, the Marauders recovered a fumble near midfield with only 20 seconds left in the half. Following the play, Gomez shouted on the sideline, “Nobody thought we’d be in this.”

On the next play, Anthony Piede took off down the Dunkirk sideline and outran the Maryvale defense on his way to the end zone for a 54-yard touchdown. With nine seconds left in the half, Dunkirk cut its 16-point deficit down to just three points, 22-19.

Dunkirk kept the momentum rolling by recovering an onside kick on the next play, but with only six seconds left, the Marauders tried to get a quick completion to move within range for a Hail Mary. Instead, the final second ticked off the clock as the receiver ran out of bounds to end the half.

Still, Dunkirk got the ball to begin the second half, and the momentum was on its side. It took less than two minutes of action in the second half for Dunkirk to claim the lead.

On the opening drive of the second half, Smith picked up a fumbled snap and ran for a first down, with a facemask penalty against Maryvale on the tackle added on to the end of the run. Aries Cheverez brought the Marauders into the red zone on a catch and run that took him down to the 6-yard line. A few moments later, from the 1-yard line, Smith took it himself on a quarterback sneak to give Dunkirk a 26-22 lead.

“It was foot on the gas. We didn’t want to let up at all,” Gomez said. “We had the momentum going and we wanted to ride that out.”

Dunkirk recovered an onside kick again, after the go-ahead touchdown, but once the Marauders entered the red zone, they were faced with a fourth-and-4 from the 14-yard line. A false start set Dunkirk back another 5 yards, and the next play resulted in an incompletion and a turnover on downs.

Maryvale capitalized on the next drive with a touchdown pass from running back Dominic Daly to Kevahni Moore. It was Daly’s second passing touchdown of the game, despite lining up as the running back on both plays. Maryvale led 28-26 with 2:26 left in the third quarter.

As Dunkirk attempted to reclaim the lead, Smith threw an interception over the middle of the field in the final minute of the third quarter. From there, things began to spiral for the Marauders.

As quickly as things turned in Dunkirk’s favor, they turned against the Marauders just as quickly. Maryvale capitalized on every Dunkirk mistake in the fourth quarter, from missed tackles and penalties, to high snaps, sacks, to a pick-6 to seal the game.

With 7:21 left, Maryvale’s Connor Finnegan took a read-option on third-and-9 off the left tackle down the Maryvale sideline for a 10-yard touchdown. That play gave Maryvale a 34-26 lead. The next Dunkirk possession ended in a sack forcing a turnover on downs, then Finnegan scored a touchdown on the exact same play call on the ensuing drive to extend the lead to 40-26, with a 2-point conversion to follow. Smith threw a pick-6 on the next Dunkirk drive to pour gasoline on the fire and put the once-competitive contest firmly out of reach.

“We were in this game,” Gomez said. “This game just goes to show that we’re in this division. Our record might not show it, but we are in every single game that we’re playing.”

Up next, Dunkirk’s regular season concludes with the biggest game of the year: the annual Dunkirk-Fredonia rivalry showdown. Kickoff is 7 p.m. at Dunkirk High School. Both teams enter the matchup with only one win apiece this season, and neither team has won a game in over a month.

Dunkirk broke a lengthy losing streak to Fredonia a year ago with a win at the Orange Bowl. Now, the Marauders host Fredonia on what will also be Dunkirk’s Homecoming game and its Senior Night.

“Next week is what it’s all about,” Gomez said. “Everybody is going to be off the walls for that game, that’s for sure. Everyone is looking forward to it, everyone is eager for it.”