Beacon Is 3-0. Marlboro Is the Team That Beat Them Last Time.

Beacon has not lost in 2026.

Marlboro has not lost to Beacon in the KOT845 archive.

Friday night, one of those facts changes.

The Bulldogs enter Week 3 at 3-0, ranked No. 13 in the KOT845 Power 40 and No. 2 in Class B. Marlboro enters 1-1, ranked No. 15 overall and No. 3 in Class B.

Beacon has the better record.

Marlboro has the recent history.

Friday, September 25 · 6:00 PM · Beacon High School
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Beacon has been one of Section IX’s fastest risers

Beacon is 3-0.

The Bulldogs have beaten Ketcham 27-14, O’Neill 29-22 and Red Hook 49-7.

They are averaging 35.0 points per game and allowing only 14.3.

That is a +20.7 average scoring margin through three games.

Beacon’s latest result was the loudest one yet.

The Bulldogs beat Red Hook by 42.

That is why Beacon is no longer being treated like a nice early-season story. The Bulldogs are now a real Class B ranking problem.

Beacon has production everywhere

KOT845’s checked totals give Beacon one of the more complete statistical profiles on the current board.

Delano Rigby Jr. has 399 passing yards and four passing touchdowns through three games.

Elijah Epps has 172 rushing yards, three rushing touchdowns and 25 tackles.

Ramon Soto has 167 receiving yards.

Quincy Owens has two defensive interceptions.

Jahreal Whitted has 20 tackles and is tied for the team lead with two receiving touchdowns in KOT845’s available totals.

That is why Beacon’s 3-0 start feels sustainable. It is not one player carrying an empty record.

Head coach Gerald Ryan has the Bulldogs producing on both sides of the ball.

Marlboro’s record is smaller than its résumé

Marlboro has played only two games.

The Iron Dukes beat Chester 12-7, then lost 21-6 to Port Jervis.

That is a 1-1 record, but both opponents matter.

Chester is the defending sectional champion from last year’s Class C field and remains one of the strongest teams in the Class D conversation.

Port Jervis is currently No. 6 in the Power 40 and No. 1 in Class B.

So Marlboro’s two-game sample is not built against the bottom of the board.

Head coach Ryan Brooks also leads a program with a substantial recent championship history. Marlboro won seven Section IX titles from 2011 through 2018.

That does not decide Friday.

It does explain why a 1-1 Marlboro team still sits only two spots behind unbeaten Beacon.

Marlboro beat Beacon the last time they met

KOT845’s preserved series between Beacon and Marlboro contains only two scored meetings.

Marlboro won both.

That is not enough evidence to call this a complete all-time series.

It is enough to say Beacon has not yet beaten Marlboro in the currently preserved KOT845 archive.

Open the available Beacon–Marlboro series in KOT845 History Watch →

The 2024 loss interrupted a strong Beacon season

The last meeting matters beyond the final score.

Beacon entered that 2024 matchup after opening the season 6-1.

Marlboro went to Beacon and won 21-14.

The Bulldogs still finished with a winning season, but Marlboro was the team that stopped that run.

Now Beacon is unbeaten again.

And Marlboro is back on the schedule.

This is a Class B sorting game

Port Jervis is currently No. 1 in Class B.

Beacon is No. 2.

Marlboro is No. 3.

That makes Friday more than a non-league date on the schedule.

It is a direct comparison between two teams trying to position themselves behind Port.

Beacon can reach 4-0 and add another Class B-quality result.

Marlboro can beat the team directly ahead of it and completely change the middle of the class rankings.

Beacon’s argument is simple

Win again.

At 3-0, the Bulldogs do not need to explain much.

They have scored 105 points and allowed 43.

They have already beaten an O’Neill team that remains respected in Class C and destroyed Red Hook in their first Class B matchup.

A win over Marlboro would add another team with a meaningful résumé and would also erase the most recent head-to-head result hanging over Beacon.

At that point, keeping Beacon outside the overall Top 10 would require an increasingly strong argument.

Marlboro’s argument is different

The Iron Dukes do not need a perfect record to make noise.

They need another quality win.

Beating Chester gave Marlboro one.

Beating Beacon would give them another.

And because Marlboro already owns the latest preserved meeting, a win Friday would extend the available series run to three straight.

That would give the Iron Dukes a direct Class B comparison that no ranking formula could ignore.

Can Marlboro slow Beacon enough?

Beacon is scoring 35.0 points per game.

Marlboro is allowing 14.0.

That is the matchup.

The Iron Dukes held Chester to seven and Port Jervis to 21.

Beacon has scored at least 27 in every game and just put 49 on Red Hook.

If Marlboro can force Beacon into the teens or low 20s, Friday starts to look much more like the Iron Dukes’ kind of game.

If Beacon gets into the 30s again, the Bulldogs will have produced against another one of the stronger defenses they have seen.

Friday answers a question that has been sitting in the rankings

How high should Beacon really be?

The Bulldogs are unbeaten.

The scoring margin is strong.

The individual production is real.

The main argument against a Top 10 jump has been opponent quality compared with teams above them.

Marlboro gives Beacon another chance to remove that objection.

For Marlboro, Friday is the opportunity to remind the section that the 1-1 record is attached to a program that still knows how to win high-leverage Class B games.

Beacon is 3-0. Marlboro is the team that beat them last time. Friday tells us which fact matters more now.

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