MARYSVILLE, CA (MPG) - The Marysville Indians controlled the second half in their 27-13 win over the Gridley Bulldogs on Sept. 8, to improve to 3-1 on the season.

Marysville (3-1) got on the board first in the first quarter after senior running back Joe Endicott scored on a 3-yard rushing touchdown, the first of his two touchdowns on the night.

Endicott ended the game with 63 yards on the ground from 12 rushing attempts.

Gridley (1-1) tied the game up at 6 late in the second half after a long 90-yard offensive drive that took a good chunk of the time in the second quarter.

Bulldogs sophomore quarterback Gus Stogsdill led the long drive until senior running back Luis Corona capped it off with a 4-yard touchdown rush.

“Coach mixed in a lot of good plays,” Stogsdill said. “The blocking was well executed, and everyone ran hard.”

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Gridley didn’t have the same momentum to start the second half as they had two consecutive three-and-out possessions and gave the ball back to Marysville.

Bulldogs head coach, Matt Kemmis, said he thought his team had the momentum after the long drive to end the first half and it would carry over to the second half.

“There were some fundamental things that didn’t happen for us,” Kemmis said.

The Indians capitalized on their first two possessions of the second half when senior running back Danny Lanini powered his way into the end zone from six yards out to end the first.

Endicott bursted open on the second drive with a 30-yard touchdown rush that gave Marysville a 20 - 6 lead with three minutes left in the third quarter.

The Indians backfield are electric and feed off one another’s energy.

“It’s nice to have a brother that can run the ball as good, if not better,” Endicott said.

After the ensuing kickoff, two of the stadium lights went out which caused a 25-30 minute delay.

During the delay, Marysville head coach Will Claggett said the main focus was to keep his teams’ legs fresh and drink plenty of water.

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After the delay was over, Gridley was able to put a long drive down the field before they turned the ball over on downs deep in the Indians 10-yard line.

Marysville didn’t look back as Lanini scored on an 89-yard rushing touchdown that gave the Indians a 27-6 lead with a little more than seven minutes left in the game.

“It was an outside play, but coach told me to adjust to it, hit the open hole and go for it,” Lanini said.

He added that he and Endicott have been running the ball together since playing Pop Warner together and that was only excluded in their freshmen year together when they had to play other positions.

The Indians will open league play at the Sutter Huskies tonight.

This is the first meeting between the two teams since the 2017 season and the first season for the Huskies in the Pioneer Valley League.

Claggett said one of his main goals throughout the game was to remain healthy for their league debut tonight and he succeeded that.

The Bulldogs scored a late touchdown in the fourth quarter when senior running back Aiden Gomez ran into the end zone for a 1-yard rushing touchdown.

Gridley will be on the road tonight as they travel to play the Live Oak Lions for the yearly coveted Harvest Bowl.

The Bulldogs have held onto the Harvest Bowl trophy from their cross-town rivals since the 2013 season where they have won the yearly match-up besides 2020, where there was no game scheduled.

“It’s always competitive when it’s a rivalry game,” Kemmis said. “You never know what’s going to happen.”