The Marshall County Tigers (1-3, 0-2) followed up its first regular season region loss spanning four years with an even tougher opponent Friday at Preston Hopkins Field in Lewisburg as the red hot Maplewood Panthers came calling.

Most if not all the sports personalities in the Mid-State had the Panthers (4-1, 2-0) winning over the struggling Tigers easily.

But the Tigers scored the first two touchdowns of the game and took a 14-0 lead with less than two minutes to go before halftime, but the Panthers scored two straight touchdowns in the last two minutes of the first half and the Panthers had the two lone scores of the second half to return to Nashville with the 28-14 win.

"We were well prepared for the pass and that's what we got," Tiger defensive back Keshun Gentry, who added two tackles in his first game off the IR this season said. "We've just got to get better on defense and score on offense and everything will be alright."

Tiger coach Thomas Osteen knew that in order to win the game against Maplewood, the Tigers were going to have to control the clock and eat away as much time as possible.

That game plan worked the majority of the first half as running backs Elijah Taylor and Javarria Rucker combined with quarterback Malik Thomison getting tough yardage to keep drives alive and most importantly use as much clock as possible.

Rucker scored midway through the first quarter for a 7-0 Tiger lead and a great defensive effort by MCHS stopped the Panthers’ drive short to give the Tigers back the ball.

Once again the three main ball carriers worked the possession well before Rucker was able to break free for a second straight score and a 14-0 Marshall County lead in the second quarter.

The Panthers fumbled on the next possession, but the Tigers failed to capitalize on the mistakes and went three-and-out before giving up possession to Maplewood.

The Panthers finally got into a rhythm with Bobo Hodges slipping though the defense for a 39-yard gain before breaking off runs of nine and 13 yards.

David Southerland added a 13-yard carry and Hodges added three more on the ground before Southerland ran for three yards and finally one yard into the end zone.

A Hodges quarterback sneak into the end zone for the two-point conversion trimmed the Marshall County lead to 14-8 with 1:42 remaining in the first half.

The Tigers ran three straight run plays hoping to ultimately get a first down and end the half or take as much time off the clock as possible.

Neither happened.

The Panthers got the ball back with under 30 seconds left in the half, but that was all that was needed as Hodges whipped a 50-yard pass down field to Kendrell Scurry to set up a six-yard pass to Markell Smith to even the game at 14-14 following a unsuccessful PAT.

"We knew that we weren't gonna stop them every single time," Tiger senior Marcellus Campbell admitted. "We knew that when we kept stalling on offense and they started to be able to move the ball on us more effectively, it was kind of demoralizing."

The second half offered much of the same as the Tigers kept shooting themselves in the foot with penalties and allowing the Panthers to maintain the momentum.

The tie was finally broken at the 4:45 mark in the third quarter when a scrambling Hodges found Scurry in the end zone, but another failed PAT kept the game close at 20-14.

The Tigers made little gains and stalled on the first series, forcing a punt.

The Panthers wasted little time opening up a fourth quarter cushion when Southerland took a screen pass 30 yards to the house for a 28-14 lead.

The Tigers were not ready to lie over and die, however.

Thomison started the ensuing drive with a 16-yard pass to Rucker, followed by an eight-yard Thomison run before the Tiger quarterback hit Campbell for 12 yards for a first down.

The drive continued with Thomison rushing for 13 yards and five yards before coming up to fourth-and-five on the 23-yard line.

The Tiger coaches drew up a brilliant play with a halfback pass, but Rucker got nervous and instead of tossing to ball to the wide open Tiger behind the defense, Rucker slung the ball which helplessly hopped a few times toward the receiver.

And with the game all but over things took a dark turn when the Maplewood players charged the field over an apparent late hit.

The sidelines became packed with players, coaches and even a few civilians as the two teams threw shots at one another before the police had to come onto the field to restore order.

"I just try and tell the younger guys to have mind discipline," senior X'Zavier Garrett explained. "Act like you're growing up basically. Try and act like a young adult at least."

The Tigers road does not get any easier this week as Pearl-Cohn comes to town.

The team features a four-star offensive lineman that is committed to Tennessee and a receiver that has committed to Vanderbilt.

The Firebirds are just as good as any past season with wins over 6A Cookeville and 3A Giles County and a loss to #1 ranked CPA by just three points.

"We are expecting their defense to be really solid, they have a four-star lineman that's going to Tennessee and their defense is always solid," Campbell, who had nine tackles versus Maplewood, said. "They always have really good skilled players too, players that can flat out just ball. So we're gonna have to be a better team defensively if we want to get this win."

Maplewood 0 14 6 8-28

Marshall County 7 7 0 0-14

Scoring Plays

First Quarter

Marshall County-Javarria Rucker 15-yard run, John Estes PAT.

Second Quarter

Marshall County-Rucker 3-yard run, Estes PAT.

Maplewood-Makell Smith 1-yard run, Bobo Hodges 2-poiny conversion run.

Maplewood-Smith 6-yard pass from Hodges, 2-point run failed.

Third Quarter

Maplewood- Smith 3-yard pass from Hodges, 2-point run failed.

Fourth Quarter

Maplewood- David Southerland 30-yard pass from Hodges, Kendrell Scurry 2-point conversion pass from Hodges.

Marshall County Offense

Total Yards: Rushing 79, Passing 101.

Rushing: Javarria Rucker 9-43-2TD, Malik Thomison 10-25, Elijah Taylor 11-11.

Passing: Thomison 8-14-101.

Receiving: Marcellus Campbell 3-70, Ak’y Howard 2-18, Rucker 2-14, Dagon Stacey 1-(-1).

Kicking

PAT: John Estes 2-2.

Kickoffs: Estes 3-63-2TB.

Punting: Dagon Stacey 3-86.

Returns

Kickoffs: Campbell 3-59, Dagon Stacey 1-0, Riqkyous Summers 1-0.

Defense

Tackles: Kel Greer 15, Antonio Warren 10 (FUM REC), Marcellus Campbell 9 (TFL), Jayshon Wilcox 7, Keylin Talley 6, Andrew Gold 5, Connor Hilton 5, Carter Shirey 4 (TFL), Tez Allen 4 (TFL), Keshun Gentry 2, Christian Stacey 2, Terry Gulley 2, Lamarion Pierce 1 (FUM REC), Malik Thomison 1, Dagon Stacy 1, Bennett Flemming 1, Austin Wright 1.