The Key West High School Conchs will be facing off against the Marathon Dolphins for the first time this Friday night since 2010. The last time the Conchs clashed with the Keys rival, Key West destroyed Marathon 37-0 at home. No matter the past, currently both teams are heading into Friday’s game winless. Key West (0-2) is coming off of a controversial 41-40 loss against University School, while Marathon (0-3) suffered a 30-7 loss against St. Andrew’s.
The high scoring bout was a good sign for the Conch’s offense. Senior Mekhi Sargent entered the game just 245 yards away from becoming the Conchs’ all-time leading rusher. With a total of 246 yards, Sargent passed Conch legend Tony Hardin and now stands alone at the top of leading rushers in Key West history. Along with over 200 yards of rushing, Sargent scored three touchdowns. Sargent looks to have the same result against Marathon.
Helping Mekhi Sargent in the backfield was sophomore Kolby Kelleher. Rushing for 116 yards and a touchdown of his own, Kelleher averaged 7.3 yards per rush. Another sophomore who had a huge night for the Key West triple option offense was Alvin Howard. Howard threw for 25 yards, rushed for 55 and had 18 receiving yards. Howard had a total of 98 yards on the night.
Quarterback Michael Cleaver, a junior, went 1-4 throwing for 18 yards under center. Cleaver also rushed for 32 yards. Between Cleaver and Alvin Howard’s trick play pass, the Conchs threw for 43 total yards.
The Conchs rushed for 457 yards against University, but was unable to score on the final play of the game. Down 41-40, Key West was attempting a game winning two point conversion. University’s defense was able to stop Key West, but due to a late call by the side referee, the play was actually redone. On the second opportunity, it seemed as if Key West had scored, but the referee’s determined that Cleaver was down before crossing the goal line.
Despite the tough loss, the Fighting Conchs had a total of 500 yards on offense. Just two games into the season, and Key West is ranked 22nd in the whole state of Florida in terms of total yards on offense with 892. Mekhi Sargent is ranked 25th in Florida in terms of individual rushing yards with 307 yards.
Key West looks to continue to run the ball under the lights on Friday night against Keys rival Marathon. The game starts at 7pm at Tommy Roberts Memorial Stadium as both teams search for their first win of the season.
