OBSERVER Staff Report

MEDINA — The Dunkirk Marauders offense did not play its best on Friday night on the road. The defense, on the other hand, didn’t need much help at all. The Dunkirk Marauders defense shut out the Medina Mustangs for an 8-0 victory in a Class B2 football game at Medina High School on Friday night.

Dunkirk (3-1, 1-1) held an 8-0 lead at halftime after a touchdown run by Chris Ortiz. After that, the Marauders struggled offensively due to “self-inflicted wounds,” according to Dunkirk coach Mike Sarratori.

“We kept shooting ourselves in the foot,” said Sarratori. “We made a lot of mistakes on offense. We are so young and tonight it showed on offense. The offense needs to step its game up.”

While the offense as a whole struggled, Ortiz was a bright spot for the Marauders in the backfield. Ortiz led Dunkirk with 141 yards rushing on 30 carried and the game’s only touchdown. Dunkirk quarterback Phil Messina threw for just 17 yards on 3-for-5 passing, but he did add 50 rushing yards on 11 carries.

With the way Dunkirk’s defense showed up on the road on Friday night, though, it didn’t come back to haunt the Marauders. In fact, should the Dunkirk offense improve, a performance like Friday’s from the defense could keep the Marauders in the game with just about anybody in Section VI.

“Our defense was top-notch,” said Sarratori on Friday night. “They played lights out. The defense definitely carried us tonight.”

Mark Milliman led the Dunkirk defense with six tackles for a loss, including a pair of sacks. Ortiz added a sack defensively, while Champ Texidor had an interception for Dunkirk.

Medina (1-3, 1-2) had just 80 yards of total offense on Friday on 42 plays.