The main characteristic that Marshall County coach Thomas Osteen's most successful teams all have in common is the ability to excel in the three main areas of the game-- offense, defense, and special teams.

If last Fridays 41-7 thrashing of Columbia Academy (0-1) is any indication, the 2019 season could be one to remember as the Tigers dominated the Bulldogs in all three aspects.

The Tigers finished the contest with 308 yards on offense while holding Columbia Academy to 167 total yards, including a dismal 15 yards in the passing game.

"Our game plan going into CA was getting the ball to the secondary," Tiger quarterback Bryson Hammons, who tossed 131 passing yards and a score, said. "When our guys get the ball and have field to use, we've got a great chance of beating the opponents with speed."

"We executed this plan very well," Hammons added. "We could have defended the blitz better but the O-Line gave us plenty of time to make something happen."

A strong rushing game allowed the passing game to open up with Hammons hitting senior running back Javarria Rucker four times for 16 yards and a score, junior A'Ky Howard for two catches for 54 yards with a team-high 48-yard reception, and Devon Wilson added two more catches for 42 yards.

Rucker led the team with 205 all-purpose yards with 91 yards on the ground on just eight attempts.

A big chunk of those 205 yards came on the opening kickoff as Rucker set the tone with a 98 yard touchdown return to put the Tigers up 7-0 after a Jon Estes extra point.

The Bulldogs turned the ball over on downs and a confident Hammons marched the Tigers down the field before finding Rucker in the end zone from 10 yards out and just minutes into the contest the Tigers pushed the lead to 14-0.

"I was a little nervous at the beginning of the game until Javaria returned a kickoff the very first play of the game," Hammons said. "It made me and the team very confident."

The Bulldogs shot themselves in the foot on its second possession by fumbling and Keylin Talley jumped on the ball to give possession right back to the visiting Tigers.

The drive stalled on the 27-yard line but the special teams picked up the slack as Estes nailed a 37-yard attempt.

The dominant first half was abruptly cut short on the next Columbia Academy drive as Landon Prentice broke free for a huge 82-yard touchdown run to cut the lead to 17-7 heading into the second quarter.

Estes came through again for the Tigers late in the second quarter by nailing a 21-yard field goal after the drive stalled in the red zone and the team from Marshall County headed into the halftime break with a 20-7 advantage.

The third quarter belonged to Kel Greer, who was a defensive standout in 2018, but will be featured more on the offensive side of the ball in 2019.

The more involved role for Greer turned out to be the right move by Osteen as Greer scored on two straight second half possessions to finish with 71 yards on 12 carries to put the game out of reach for the Bulldogs.

Former record setting middle school running back Demarie Braden got in on the action by scoring from one yard out for the 41-7 final.

The defense was paced by senior linebacker Andrew Gold, who finished with nine tackles and also added a reception for 14 yards on offense.

Tez Allen started his senior season off with a bang by adding eight tackles and a blocked kick, while Christian Stacey chipped in seven tackles and a blocked punt.

Riqkyous Summers ended up with four tackles, two tackles for a loss, and a sack.

Sophomore Devonte Davis had a big game with five tackles and two tackles for a loss and Kaden Whitson added three tackles and came up with the Tigers first interception of the season.

The Tigers return to Preston Hopkins Field in Lewisburg for the 2019 home opener Friday night against coach Osteen's alma mater, the Lincoln County Falcons (0-1).

The Falcons, who play at the 5A level, lost its home opener 38-14 last Friday against the Tigers arch nemesis Giles County (1-0) who the Tigers play in Week 8.

"We know they run their defense like CA," Hammons said about Lincoln County. "As long as we execute the game plan the coaches got for us this week, we will do great."

The Tigers welcome the Falcons into Lewisburg Friday night at 7 p.m. before jumping into region play against Tullahoma, who beat Marshall County twice in 2018 by a combined three points, including the season-ending 16-14 loss in the second round of the playoffs.

Marshall County 17 3 14 7-41

Columbia Academy 7 0 0 0-7

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

Marshal County-Javarria Rucker 98-yard kickoff return, Jon Estes PAT, 11:43.

Marshall County-Rucker 10-yard pass from Bryson Hammons, Estes PAT, 10:01.

Marshall County-Estes 38-yard field goal, 4:26.

Columbia Academy-Franklin Walker 82-yard run, Will Garrison PAT, 3:36.

Second Quarter

Marshall County-Estes 25-yard field goal, 0:03.

Third Quarter

Marshall County-Kel Greer 11-yard run, Estes PAT, 6:29.

Marshall County-Greer 19-yard run, Estes PAT, 2:29.

Fourth Quarter

Marshall County-Demari Braden 1-yard run, Carlos Alvarez PAT, 2:05.

Total Offense: Marshall County 308, Columbia Academy 167.

Rushing: Marshall County 177, Columbia Academy 152.

Passing: Marshall County 131, Columbia Academy 15.

First Downs: Marshall County 16, Columbia Academy 12.

Turnovers: Marshall County 1, Columbia Academy 2.

Penalty Yards: Marshall County 127, Columbia Academy 30.

Marshall County Offense

Rushing: Javarria Rucker 8-91, Kel Greer 12-71-2TD, Bryson Hammons 2-13, Demari Braden 4-2-TD, Devon Wilson 1-0.

Passing: Bryson Hammons 10-20-131-1 TD-0 INT.

Receiving: A’ky Howard 2-54, Devon Wilson 2-42, Javarria Rucker 4-16-TD, Andrew Gold 1-15, Parker Little 1-4.

Kicking

PAT: Jon Estes 5-5.

Kickoffs: Jon Estes 6-358-5 TB.

Punting: Joseph Gold 2-59.

Returns:

Kickoffs: Javarria Rucker 1-98-TD, Devonte Davis 1-6.

Punts: Devon Wilson 2-16.

Defense

Tackles: Andrew Gold 9 (TFL), Tez Allen 8 (Blocked FG), Christian Stacey 7 (Blocked Punt), Connor Hilton 6 (TFL), Devonte Davis 5 (2 TFL), Keylin Talley 5 (Fumble Recovery), Riqkyous Summers 5 (2 TFL, Sack), Logan McKnight 4, Kaden Whitson 3 (INT), Demari Braden 2 (TFL), Joseph Gold 2 (2 TFL), Devon Wilson 1, Kortez Ingram 1, Kamron Dunnavant 1, Bradley Wright 1, Terry Gulley 1 (TFL).