The scoreboard says Roxbury 26, Mount Olive 15, but anyone who watched Friday night's Super Football Conference crossover at Roxbury saw a Marauders team that battled a 6-2 opponent snap for snap. Mount Olive fell to 4-3 with the loss, and the Marauders' offense ran through one of the most explosive running backs in the area, who very nearly changed the whole night by himself.
Senior Brayden Longo was the centerpiece of everything Mount Olive did. Longo churned out 155 yards and a touchdown on just 14 carries — better than 11 yards every time he touched the ball. His biggest moment came midway through the second quarter, when he burst through the line and raced 85 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown that tied the game at 7-7. An 85-yard scoring run is the kind of play that silences a home crowd and lifts an entire sideline, and Longo delivered it exactly when his team needed it most.
Roxbury, playing at home and riding its own momentum, eventually pulled away behind a pair of second-half touchdown passes. But Mount Olive's fight never faded: this is a 4-3 team whose losses and wins alike have come against strong competition, and a running game that can produce 155 yards from its lead back in a single night is a weapon every future opponent has to plan for. The Marauders made a good team earn all four quarters.
Performances like Longo's are why Mount Olive remains a team nobody wants to see on the schedule. A senior back averaging double-digit yards per carry, behind an offense that kept answering on the road, gives the Marauders a real identity heading into the final weeks. Expect this group to bounce back quickly — teams with a runner like this always have a chance.
Stars of the Game: Brayden Longo, the Lightning Strike, with 155 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries, including the 85-yard score that tied the game. And the Mount Olive Marauders, the Road Warriors, who pushed a 6-2 team into the second half on its own field.
Game details compiled from published box scores.