The Marlboro football team had battled the Port Jervis Red Raiders to a scoreless halftime, but it started to go wrong in the third quarter.

The top-seeded Red Raiders intercepted Marlboro quarterback Miles Brooks twice in the third quarter, leading to 20 points as the Raiders eliminated the fourth-seeded Iron Dukes, 27-0, on Friday night at Glennette Field in Port Jervis.

“It’s sad to see the seniors go out after they’ve been here at least with me for the last two years,” Marlboro coach Ryan Brooks said. “I’ve known a lot of them since they were on modified, so it’s tough to see them go out, especially on a note like this.”

It was the second time the Iron Dukes were shutout by the Red Raiders this season. The two teams met on Sept. 23 in Marlboro, a game the Red Raiders won 21-0.

Port Jervis quarterback Logan Morris opened the scoring with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Howard, and after a Marlboro punt, the Raiders got a second touchdown to take a 13-0 lead.

After a second interception, Morris hit Anthony Theodore for the Red Raiders’ third touchdown of the game. Andre Griffith ran back an interception in the fourth quarter for the Red Raiders’ fourth touchdown.

“There just things that were a little bit off,” Brooks said. “It’s something that – with the young guys coming back – we can work on in the offseason to shore up and get better.”

However, on Friday night, things started off so well for the Iron Dukes when Marlboro’s Christopher DeNatale returned the opening kickoff to the Port Jervis 47-yard line.

However, the offense wasn’t able to do anything with it, forcing the first of many three-and-outs for both teams. The Iron Dukes pinned the Red Raiders back in their end zone on their first drive, and even though they gained some yardage on their second, penalties and broken plays put them in a fourth-and-30 position as the first quarter came to an end.

“Coach (Curt) Pross puts together a great scheme all the time,” Brooks said. “Defense is definitely our cornerstone, but offensively we have to be able to sustain drives and keep the defense off the field. They can’t do the brunt of the work all the time. Credit Port Jervis. Their defense came up and made stops and made it difficult for us.”

The Raiders nearly got on the board in the first half when Port Jervis’ Tyler Howard intercepted Colin Robertson, who was filling in for Brooks, who had been nursing an injury.

However, his pick-six was called back on a holding penalty.

The Iron Dukes finished with a 4-6 overall record and will lose 12 seniors off this year’s team. After having lost 17 seniors from last year’s team, the Iron Dukes gained valuable experience this year.

“A lot of guys did a lot of good things,” Brooks said. “It’s just a matter of us being more consistent and they realize that. There’s a lot of work to be done, but they’re definitely a group that’s willing to do it and will step up to it.”