After suffering a disappointing 26-8 loss at Lafayette the previous week, the Mehlville Senior High School football team returned to form Friday night with a 27-6 win at Marquette (2-5, 1-4 Suburban West) in Suburban West Conference play.

“After you lose a tough game against Lafayette like that you want to bounce back,” Mehlville head coach Eric Meyer said. “The kids played well and the results were good.”

The Panthers (5-2, 5-1 Suburban West) took a 3-0 lead with 6:09 left in the first quarter when Aaron Alexander hit a 27-yard field goal. Alexander scored again for the Panthers with a 36-yard field goal with 1:16 left in the first quarter.

“We stalled a little bit on offense and he really came through for us,” Meyer said. “It’s a great threat to have a kid kicking as well as he is.”

Mehlville hammered the Mustangs again midway through the second quarter when Phil Blair scored on a three-yard run to bring the score to 12-0.

Mehlville quarterback Tyrone Clark scored on the two-point conversion to give the Panthers a 14-0 lead.

“Ty had a solid game for us when we really needed him to,” Meyer said. “He’s a tough kid that plays hard all of the time.”

The Panthers extended their lead to 21-0 on a 37-yard touchdown run by Phil Blair with 8:44 left in the third quarter.

“Phil had a couple of nice catches and some really good blocks,” Meyer said. “He had a real good night.”

Marquette broke the shutout midway through the third quarter when Matt Warrick scored on a two-yard run. Warrick carried the ball 18 times for 145 yards and one touchdown.

Mehlville finished off the Mustangs with a four-yard touchdown run by Clark with 26 seconds left in the third quarter.

The Panthers are back in action at 7 p.m.

Friday at home when they face Lindbergh in the first round of the Class 6, District 2 playoffs.

Besides Lindbergh (6-1, 4-1 Suburban West), Mehlville’s district includes St. Louis University High (5-2, 2-2 Metro Catholic) and Ritenour (4-3, 4-3 Suburban North).

“Any team in our district can advance to the playoffs,” Meyer said. “We have to play hard in every game or else we won’t be in the playoffs.”

Should the Panthers defeat Lindbergh, it keeps their hopes of a conference championship alive pending a loss by Lafayette at Parkway South or at home against Marquette.