Christ Presbyterian Academy proved to be as good as advertised, as the undefeated Lions whipped the Marshall County Tigers 45-16 at Preston Hopkins Field on Friday night to hand MCHS their third straight loss.

Ranked number one in the Class 3A AP poll, the Lions (9-0, 4-0 District) moved in for the kill early and scored touchdowns on their first four possessions en route to building a 31-0 halftime lead. CPA then opened up a 38-0 advantage at the end of the third quarter before coasting to the 29-point victory.

'Great team'

"They're a great ball team. They're really well coached and out executed us tonight. We executed a little better in the second half, but we need to play well in the first half too," said Marshall County coach Aaron Pitts. "Our kids kept fighting. We have a lot of freshman and sophomores playing right now so we've got to keep grinding. Hopefully this experience will help them in the future and they won't make the same mistakes."

Due to Friday's setback, the Tigers (3-5, 2-2 District) are currently on the outside looking in for one of the final at large spots to the Class 4A playoffs.

The Lions ran MCHS ragged with their rapid fire, up tempo offense and piled up 423 yards from scrimmage overall. CPA gave the Tigers' fits with their short passing game, as three different Lion quarterbacks combined to complete 22-of-32 throws for 247 yards and three touchdowns.

"They put a lot of pressure on you with how fast they play. Our defense was prepared for that, but they do a great job of running their system," said Pitts.

CPA numbers

Despite sitting out the entire second half, CPA starting quarterback Zack Weatherly still posted impressive stats and completed 15-of-18 passes for 175 yards and two touchdowns. Backup signal caller Jay Hockaday connected on 3-of-9 throws for 34 yards and a TD, while third string quarterback Alden Seger completed 4-of-5 passes for 38 yards.

Missouri commitment Thomas Richard was the Lions' most lethal weapon and hauled in seven passes for 103 yards and two TDs. J.R. Osborn caught six passes for 60 yards as well, while Will Whitaker added a three-yard touchdown reception.

CPA was almost equally effective on the ground and tallied 176 yards rushing on 31 carries. Tailback Chance Meier paced the Tigers' rushing attack by toting the ball 11 times for 89 yards and a touchdown, while Hockaday added 81 yards and a TD on 12 carries.

Tiger stats

Safety Quante Alderson led Marshall County's defense with 12 tackles. Jay Murphy also tallied eight tackles and a sack, while Antonio Shelton, Cain Hendrix and Payne Smith each registered seven tackles with Shelton recording a sack. Peyton Williams and Payton Hood both notched a sack for the Tigers as well with Hood recovering a fumble in the second quarter.

MCHS finished with 334 yards of total offense, but mustered just 124 yards through the first three quarters of play while committing four costly turnovers.

Aided by a couple of long runs by freshman tailback Bennielle Hill, the Tigers churned out 232 yards rushing on 45 carries. Hill spearheaded Marshall County's ground attack by rushing for 166 yards on 18 carries, while quarterback Austin Stacey toted the ball 14 times for 41 yards and a touchdown. Dontay Baugh also chipped in 26 yards and a TD on seven carries.

Stacey completed 12-of-17 passes for 107 yards, but tossed two interceptions and was sacked three times. Freshman wide out Jay Howard led MCHS' receiving corps with four catches for 24 yards, while Dontae Horton, Darius McKenzie, and Chris Walker each caught two passes for 26, 17, and 13 yards respectively. Kacy Pleas and Tre Crutcher both had one reception for 16 and six yards respectively as well.

Lions take control

The Lions took control of the game right from the start and put together a seven-play, 80-yard scoring drive on their opening possession that was punctuated by a Richard 32-yard touchdown catch to take a 7-0 lead just a 1:27 into the contest.

Things quickly got worse for the Tigers, as CPA recovered an onside kick attempt at the MCHS 48 before Meier scored on a 12-yard touchdown run to give the Lions a 14-0 lead.

Following a three and out by the Tigers, CPA extended their lead to 21-0 with 3:09 left in the first quarter when Hackaday scored on a two-yard touchdown plunge to cap a seven-play, 51-yard drive.

Marshall County picked up a couple of first downs on their ensuing possession, but Baugh had the ball jarred loose on the next play and William Trapnell pounced on the pigskin to give the Lions possession at the MCHS 44.

Position helps

CPA once again cashed in on the favorable field position, as Richard made a nice over the shoulder catch on a 40-yard touchdown pass by Weatherly to push the Lions' lead to 28-0 early in the second quarter.

After being forced to punt, the Tiger defense finally bowed its neck and stopped CPA on downs at the Marshall County 33.

MCHS then advanced to the Lion 4 with the aid of a 21-yard catch by Horton, a Hill 13-yard run, and a defensive pass interference penalty, but CPA defensive back Andrew Manuel intercepted a pass by Stacey near the goal line and returned it to the Tiger 34 to snuff out the threat.

Marshall County's defense came up with another stop when Hood recovered a fumble by Weatherly at the MCHS 23. The Tigers, however, would give the ball right back, as Xander Isaacs picked off Stacey three plays later and returned it to the Marshall County 22 with :03 left in the half. Osborn then extended the Lions' lead to 31-0 by booting a 39-yard field goal on the final play of the half.

Second half

In the second half, CPA stopped the Tigers on downs twice near midfield before opening up a 38-0 advantage when Huckaday hooked up with Whitaker for a three-yard touchdown pass on the last play of the third quarter.

Marshall County spoiled the Lions' shutout bid in the fourth period by marching 88 yards to the end zone in eight plays, highlighted by an 11-yard touchdown run from Baugh. Hill then ran in the two-point conversion to trim the deficit to 38-8 with 7:35 left.

After stopping CPA on downs at the Tiger 14, Hill scampered for six yards prior to breaking loose for a 48-yard run to set up Marshall County at the Lion 32. Stacey then scored on a 23-yard touchdown jaunt three plays later before Baugh ran in the two-point conversion to narrow the gap to 38-16 with 3:14 remaining.

CPA scored their final touchdown in unusual fashion, as Josh Townsend fielded an onside kick attempt by the Tigers near midfield before breaking into the clear. Townsend then had the ball stripped away near the goal line by a MCHS defender, but the Lions' Scotty Hudson recovered the ball in the end zone to cap CPA's 45-16 triumph.