Vanguard defeats North Marion 48-7

Vanguard’s Sergarion Gunsby (6) celebrates his touchdown on North Marion with Gemarkus Starks (2) during a football game at North Marion High School in Citra, Fla. on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025. Vanguard won the game 48-7. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2025.

Vanguard junior quarterback Terrance Lewis passed for one touchdown and ran for 136 yards and two scores to lead the Knights to a resounding 48-7 win over North Marion on Oct. 3.

The rivalry win was the sixth in a row for Vanguard, whose special teams forced two turnovers, and improved the Class 4A Knights to 6-1 on the season. The loss dropped Class 3A North Marion to 2-5 overall.

“We played well, and this was a good win in a rivalry game against North Marion,” said Vanguard coach Edwin Farmer. “Terrance is our leader and is a special kid and when he has the ball in his hands you never know what’s going to happen. Even with a bad snap, he can turn a bad play into a good one. We’ve been working really hard on special teams, and they played well tonight except for a couple of extra points. We’ve got plenty of things to work on and get better at.”

North Marion attempted an onside kick to begin the game, but Vanguard recovered the ball at the Colts’ 45-yard line. Junior running back Sergarion Gunsby picked up a first down and Lewis scored on a 19-yard quarterback draw. The point after was wide right to leave the Knights leading 6-0.

North Marion went three and out and was forced to punt. Vanguard drove 82 yards in just five plays as Lewis scrambled for a 29-yard gain and Gunsby found the end zone from 10 yards out. The extra point by senior Lazaro Abuin was good to make it 13-0.

North Marion answered with an eight-play, 80-yard drive that junior quarterback Matthew Dial capped off with a 34-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Damir Williams. Dial completed 12 of 21 passes for 121 yards and was under constant duress from an aggressive Vanguard pass rush. The extra point by junior Jorge Ranirez was true to pull the Colts within 13-7 late in the first quarter.

The teams traded punts until Vanguard marched 78 yards with senior running back James Pullings picking up a pair of first downs. Lewis broke off a 12-yard run and then glided his way through the North Marion defense for a 48-yard touchdown. The point after made it 20-7 midway through the second period.

That’s when things went from bad to worse for North Marion. The Colts went nowhere on offense and were forced to punt. Vanguard broke through the line and blocked the punt which Travis Smith picked up and returned 30 yards for a touchdown. On the ensuing kickoff, North Marion fumbled and the Knights recovered the ball at the Colts’ 19-yard line.

On first down, Lewis connected with James Bethea for a scoring strike to give the Knights a commanding 34-7 lead at the half. Lewis finished 4 of 8 passing for 42 yards.

After a scoreless third quarter, Vanguard put together a 94-yard drive that was finished off by Gunsby’s short scoring run to stretch the lead to 40-7 early in the fourth period. Gunsby rushed 11 times for 53 yards.

North Marion struggled to move the ball with any consistency against an aggressive and swarming Vanguard defense. The Knights put an exclamation point on the game when Smith rambled 29 yards for a score with six minutes left to play. The large deficit enacted a running clock for the rest of the contest.

Vanguard is back in action on Oct. 10 with a home game against Palm Beach Central, while North Marion will look to snap a three-game losing streak with a home game against Dunnellon.

Vanguard Defeats North Marion 48-7

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