Late defensive stands help Marion, Bledsoe grab wins
JASPER, Tenn. — When it mattered most, the Marion County defense stood up to help secure a tough 35-26 nonregion home win over Sequatchie County on Thursday night.
The interior of Marion’s defensive line stuffed a potential game-tying 2-point conversion attempt with just more than two minutes remaining. After the defensive stand, the Warriors recovered an onside kick and Anthony Guevera sealed the game with a 54-yard touchdown run.
“That stop was huge,” Warriors coach Dale Pruitt said. “We’re not where we want to be yet, but we’re making baby steps, and we’ll keep working and get better each week. It’s a lot easier to coach them if you’re winning. They’ll listen and work harder the next week after a win, so it’s good to get some confidence going.
“Our kids played hard. We didn’t play smart, we made a ton of mistakes, but there was a lot of effort and that’s all you can ask.”
The teams traded touchdowns in the first half and were tied 14-all at halftime. Marion junior Taye Hutchins broke free for a 52-yard scoring run midway through the third, but the Indians answered right back with Harley Meeks scoring on a 1-yard run — his third touchdown of the game. However Marion’s Michael Showalter blocked the extra-point attempt to maintain a one-point lead.
After a short touchdown run by Alex Condra, Sequatchie County made a fourth-down stop late in the fourth, and its offense capitalized by driving for the score that brought the visitors within two on quarterback Peyton Campbell’s 1-yard run.
But that’s when the Marion defense stiffened to help run its record to 2-0 with a Region 3-2A match-up at Polk County (0-2) next week.
The Warriors ran 50 times for 316 yards, led by Hutchins’ 156 yards on 24 carries. Sequatchie County (0-2) ran 43 times for 269 yards. Marion also completed both of its passes for 87 yards, with one a 72-yard screen from Gueverra to Hutchins.
“It’s always about the offensive line when you run it as much as we did tonight, but the couple of times we threw it we executed, and that’s a big key for us moving forward,” Pruitt said.
› Bledsoe County 21, East Ridge 14: With the Pioneers at the Bledsoe 3-yard line in the closing seconds, Harmon Keith deflected a pass to keep the hosts out of the end zone and hold on for the nonregion win.
Cadillac Seiver led the Warriors with 70 rushing yards on nine carries, including a touchdown, and Keith threw for 54 and ran for 50 with a score of his own.
Seiver also returned a fumble 84 yards for a score and returned a kickoff 66 yards for another. The Warriors improved to 2-0 despite four turnovers.
“We got the stop when we needed to, and this is a big win to go on the road and overcome the turnovers,” Warriors coach Dewayne Tabor said.
East Ridge is 1-1.
› South Pittsburg 49, Grundy County 0: The Pirates scored in every phase before the first quarter had ended as Kobe Cooper returned the opening kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown, Gio Davis recovered a fumble in the end zone and Hunter Frame broke loose for a 23-yard run to put Class 1A’s top-ranked Pirates in command.
Chris Jackson, whose night was highlighted by an 89-yard scoring run, led the Pirates with 139 rushing yards, while Frame finished with 123 and three touchdowns, including runs of 36 and 3 in the second half. Sophomore Jayden Mount added a 15-yard scoring run as the Pirates outgained Grundy County 389-63 in total offense to secure their second straight shutout to open the season.
› Jackson County 44, Sale Creek 26: After trailing just 20-14 at halftimes, mistakes and turnovers — including a 100-yard interception return — cost the Panthers. Quarterback Braden Penny threw for three scores in the nonregion loss.
› North Jackson 52, Whitwell 6: Chiefs quarterback Dalton Morris threw for five touchdowns, including three to Nigel Lanier, and more than 300 yards. Those two hooked up on a 70-yard score on the first play of the game as the visitors from Alabama built a 22-0 halftime lead, totaling 350 yards by the break.