Ruckel Rams run over Destin Marlins

After suffering their second loss of the season, a 62-0 blowout by the Ruckel Rams, Destin Marlin Coach Demetris Stevens says "It's gut check time."

Stevens said other teams in the county will be looking and checking game film to see if Destin will be lining up the same team each week or if they were going to work hard to improve.

However he said, "Win, lose or draw, I'm not going to be upset as long as we're playing hard."

"But we've got to continue to work toward that first W," he added.

As for the loss to Ruckel, Stevens said, "It's one of those character building games," and hopefully the Marlins will learn from it and get better.

In Thursday's game, Destin got the ball first and failed to make a first down and was forced to punt.

Ruckel's Sam Stahl returned it for a 50-yard score. Connor Allen kicked in the point after for a 7-0 game.

On Destin's next possession, the Marlins lost ground on their first pass, and threw an interception resulting in a 32-yard return by Allen for the score. Rams led 14-0.

Ruckel went on to score once more in the first quarter on a 38-yard touchdown run by Sam Llewellyn. Allen kicked in the point after for a 21-0 game.

In the second quarter, the Rams scored on all three possessions. The first was a 31-yard dash to the goal, the second was a 4-yard run and the last a 33-yarder for a 41-0 lead at the half.

In the third, Ruckel's Stahl scored on a 77-yard run on. The Rams punched in two more touchdowns.

Destin, not quitting, had a 31-yard run by Nick Sherer in the final seconds of play.

Up next for Destin is a 6:30 p.m., Sept. 12 at Etheredge Stadium against the Pryor Pirates.