By Chris Siers ~ sports@t-g.com
LEWISBURG — A week after being trounced by Pearl-Cohn, the Marshall County Tigers responded with a huge victory over Glencliff (0-8, 0-6) to remain in the thick of the Region 5-AAAA standings.
The Tigers (6-2, 4-2) coasted off a monster first half to the 63-0 victory over the beleaguered Colts.
“It's always good to get the bad taste out of your mouth after a loss. We talked all week about playing to our standard no matter the opponent and I think for the most part we did that,” Tiger coach Thomas Osteen said.
The Tigers did the bulk of their work on the ground, having only attempted eight passes against the Colts.
Starting quarterback Devonte Davis connected on 3-of-4 attempts and a touchdown.
Cahlin Henry also completed a pass for 26 yards and Trey Warner completed 2-of-3 attempts for 26 yards as well.
The true Marshall County attack came on the ground.
Marshall County exploded out of the gates with a 35-point first quarter.
The Tigers scored touchdown runs of 40, 21, six and eight yard scores.
Marshall County also recorded a 69-yard punt return as well.
The onslaught continued into the second quarter as well, with the Tiger defense recording an interception returned for a touchdown and a fumble recovered for a touchdown as well.
The Tigers added one final punt return to bump the advantage to 56-0 at the half.
Marshall County added just one final score in a quick second half.
With a running clock, the Tigers scored just one touchdown in the fourth quarter which came on a 25-yard strike.
With working on a short field, the Tigers managed just 211 total yards of offense, with 136 coming on the ground.
Davis and Demari Braden combined to lead the Tigers on the ground, with Davis rushing twice for 58 yards and a score, while Braden had three carries for 49 yards and a score.
Lamarion Pierce had just one carry for eight yards and a touchdown as well.
Makiy Tapp also added four carries for 28 yards and a touchdown.
The Tigers completed just six passes, but it was Antomme Cawthorne catching the six-yard pass from Davis to account for the lone touchdown pass against the Colts.
Jayden Randolph added two catches for 20 yards as well.
Defensively, it was a nightmare for the Colts’ offense trying to escape the pass rush of the Tigers.
Marshall County recorded three sacks, with Grayson Miller and Kamariq Perryman each recording a solo sack and Darain Crenshaw and Brock Anderson each recording half a sack.
Marshall County also recorded eight tackles for loss, with Perryman recording three of his own.
As a team, the Tigers managed a pair of interceptions returned by Trice Gordon and Imar Pindeda, while Crenshaw recovered a fumble as well.
Kicker Wyatt Joyce was a perfect 6-of-6 on extra point tries, while Jorge Campuzano added a perfect 3-of-3 attempts as well.
With the offense piling up five scores, Osteen was glad to see the Tigers succeed in all three phases, including a pair of scores on defense and special teams.
“I think we played complimentary football really well. We scored twice on defense and twice on special teams. So I think the result was just a byproduct of all three phases working well together,” he said.
Friday night’s win comes after a tough outing against perennial power Pearl-Cohn, who handed the Tigers just their second loss of the season.
While Marshall County was able to vent some frustrations from the Pearl-Cohn loss against an out-matched Glencliff squad, the attention now turns to Montgomery Central, who like Marshall County, sits in the mix of the Region 5-4A standings.
Currently, Montgomery Central’s only loss came at the hands of Tullahoma, a 37-7 blowout defeat.
After Friday’s game against the Tigers, Montgomery Central closes the regular season against Pearl-Cohn.
“Huge game this week as they will all be from this point on. We have to win one of our last two games to get in the playoffs and obviously need to win them both to improve our position as much as possible. Montgomery Central is a physical team that is senior heavy. They will be very tough to beat at their place,” Osteen said.
With a strong finish in the regions standings still within reach, Friday’s game becomes a must-win for Marshall County.
The Tigers will kickoff against the Indians at 7 p.m. on Friday.
Glencliff 0 0 0 0 — 0
Marshall Co. 35 21 0 7 — 63
