A few bounces of the ball -- or gusts of the wind, given the weather -- and Marathon High School's football season could have extended beyond this Friday night.</p><p>The Dolphins lost Saturday afternoon, 28-7, to Westminster Christian in a game that was tied 7-7 until the last play of the third quarter. The loss eliminated the Dolphins from Class-1A state playoff contention.</p><p>"It's tough when you have a chance like that, and it's such a good game, to be in it and lose it," coach Lance Martin said. He added the Dolphins were without four starters, including standout running back Deonte Stemage, who tore an elbow ligament last week against Miami Country Day.</p><p>The Warriors' lone loss this year came at the hands of an undefeated Parkway Academy team that beat the Dolphins 30-0 on Oct. 9.</p><p>Martin said swirling winds in Miami Saturday helped keep scoring low in what he felt going in would be a shootout.</p><p>"I thought it would be two offenses scoring at will, but both defenses really stepped up," he said, adding the Dolphins defensive line played particularly well against a Warriors offensive line featuring three Division I prospects.</p><p>Westminster scored the lone points in the first half on its second possession to take an early 7-0 lead.</p><p>A 5-yard rushing touchdown by senior running back A.J. Freeman tied the game at 7-7 on the Dolphins' first possession of the second half. Quarterback Nyran Ross had a 26-yard run on the drive and completed a 13-yard pass to Kenyatta Scott on a fourth down and 5 play from the Westminster 19-yard line to keep the drive alive.</p><p>Martin said he normally would attempt a field goal in that situation, but a severe crosswind forced the Dolphins to go for it.</p><p>The score remained 7-7 until the end of the third quarter, when Westminster capitalized on three Marathon personal fouls to make it 14-7 heading into the fourth quarter.</p><p>"We had them stopped. They either had to punt or go for it on fourth [down]. They were going to punt but we picked up three straight unsportsmanlike conducts to give them first downs," he said.</p><p>The Warriors eventually scored off a fourth down and 13 screen pass to take the lead. Later, a 70-yard punt with the wind pinned the Dolphins deep in Westminster territory.</p><p>Marathon failed to gain ground, forcing Ross to kick into the wind. The result was a 12-yard punt.</p><p>"He didn't hit it really well but the wind was so bad that when they were punting into the wind, we didn't even put anyone back," Martin said. "They got the ball on the 27-yard line [and] scored five or six plays later on a run."</p><p>That made the score 21-7 with just two minutes left in the game. Marathon turned the ball over on downs on its next possession and Westminster added a late touchdown to make it 28-7.</p><p>Ross finished with 42 passing yards on 10 attempts and ran for 103 yards on 14 carries. Freeman gained just 30 yards on 15 carries and scored the team's lone touchdown.</p><p>The Dolphins (4-5) will close out the regular season at home Friday against LaSalle High School at 7:30 p.m.