A year after facing one of the toughest teams in the area in the first round of playoffs, Marcus has drawn a much more familiar opponent.

    The Marauders (6-3 overall) will face Grapevine in the Class 5A Division III Bi-District round. The showdown is slated for 2 p.m. on Saturday at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington. Marcus is making its third-straight playoff appearance under head coach Bryan Erwin and is looking to advance past the first round of playoffs for the first time since 2007. Last year, they lost to Euless Trinity.

    This could be a much different story for the Marauders given they’ve beat Grapevine in their last three meetings – including a 62-28 win in the season opener. In that game, five different players scored for Marcus as the offense racked up 305 yards of total offense while the defense held Grapevine to just 14 points through the first three quarters.

    In fact, Marcus held a commanding 21-0 lead after the first quarter and 35-7 lead at halftime. Dagan Newsome was named special teams player of the week as he returned two kickoffs immediately after Grapevine scores. The first was a 95-yard return to give Marcus a 28-7 lead while the second – an 85-yard return – came immediately after Grapevine put together only its second score of the game.

    “You never expect to score that many points, but we did expect to win,” Erwin said. “Dagan is a special player and did a great job for us.”

    Standout running back Stephen Hopkins scored twice while rushing for 78 yards on 12 carries. Marcus also got a defensive score in the tail end of the game when Alex Vogel intercepted a pass and returned it 55 yards for a touchdown to cap the scoring.

    Marcus is coming off an impressive 35-28 win over Hebron last week that clinched a playoff berth. The Marauders ran 35 plays in the second half compared with Hebron’s 19, controlling the clock for 19 and one half minutes of the half.

    Stephen Hopkins carried the ball 28 times for 171 yards and two touchdowns. His last touchdown with 3:18 remaining in regulation, helped get past the Hawks, who were troublesome until the end.

    Grapevine comes into the playoff picture having built an impressive 6-4 record after starting the season with three-straight losses. They’ve only lost one game since then.    

    Marcus is the No. 10 ranked team in Class 5A at the end of the regular season.

    The Marcus/Grapevine rivalry has always been a heated contest. Saturday’s game will mark the seventh time in as many seasons the two have met – with the Marauders boasting a 5-1 record during that stretch. Two years ago, Marcus erased what was a 20-17 deficit with 5:22 remaining in regulation to beat Grapevine 28-20. Marcus – which had made the playoffs just once since 1997 coming in – used that win as a springboard to win its next four games en route to a 9-3 finish.