After losing their first two games of the season, the Marshall County Tigers picked up a much needed win on Friday night when they defeated District 12-AA rival Page 42-21 at Preston Hopkins Field to record their second straight victory over the Patriots.

With eight of the last 10 meetings between the two teams having been decided by eight points or less, Marshall County (1-2, 1-0 District) appeared to be embroiled in another hard fought contest against Page early on and were locked in a 14-14 tie with the Patriots (1-2, 0-1 District) midway through the second quarter.

Taking over

The Tigers, however, seized the momentum by scoring a touchdown late in the second period to take a 21-14 lead into the break before reaching the end zone on three of their first four possessions of the second half to open up a 42-14 advantage en route to claiming the 21-point win.

MCHS combined a big play passing attack with a methodical ground game to roll up a season high 515 yards of total offense. Marshall County quarterback Austin Stacey torched Page's secondary by completing 9-of-13 passes for 260 yards and four touchdowns.

Junior wide out Chris Walker did the most damage for the Tigers and hauled in three passes for 187 yards and three touchdowns. Jay Howard also tallied four receptions for 57 yards and a TD, while Kacey Pleas had two catches for 16 yards.

"Chris Walker is a special player. He plays with heart and never complains. Austin loves throwing the ball to him. He's just a playmaker," said MCHS coach Aaron Pitts.

On the run

Marshall County enjoyed consistent success running the ball and churned out 255 yards rushing on 48 carries. Stacey and freshman tailback Bennielle Hill both rushed for 88 yards and a touchdown to lead the Tigers ground game, while Dontay Baugh added 51 yards on 11 carries. Quinnie White toted the ball six times for 25 yards as well.

"The big plays did open things up for our running game. When they had to start bracketing Chris, we knew we were going to be able to run the ball. The offensive line did a great job of opening up holes for our backs," said Pitts.

The Patriots finished with 449 yards of total offense, but mustered just 14 yards rushing on 20 carries and committed three turnovers.

Page relied heavily on the right arm of quarterback Zac Mizel, who completed 29-of-40 passes for 324 yards and two touchdowns to go along with an interception. Patriot backup quarterback Michael Magochy also completed 7-of-12 passes for 111 yards and added a 12-yard TD run.

Trevor Johnson paced Page's receiving corps by snaring 13 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown, while Mason Smith tallied 10 catches for 121 yards. Running back Michael Roberts notched seven receptions as well for 102 yards and a touchdown, but was held to -2 yards rushing on nine carries.

Tiger 'D' shines

Despite being sacked twice, Mizel was the Patriots leading rusher with 22 yards on eight carries.

"We knew they liked to pass the ball so we wanted to shut down the run and make them one dimensional," said Pitts.

Walker and defensive lineman Jay Murphy both recorded eight tackles to lead the Tiger defense with Murphy tallying two sacks. Nick Jorgensen and Antonio Shelton also registered seven tackles apiece with Shelton recovering a fumble, while Cain Hendrix and Blake Darnell both had six tackles. Steven Dangerfield tallied an interception for MCHS as well and Prentiss Davis added a fumble recovery.

The Patriots fired the opening salvo and marched 80 yards to pay dirt in 12 plays on their first possession of the game, capped by a 13-yard touchdown catch by Roberts, before Mason Foley tacked on the extra point go give Page a 7-0.

Marshall County mounted an immediate response and tied the game at 7-7 a few moments later when Walker caught a short pass from Stacey in the flat and raced 71 yards down the right sideline for a touchdown, while Aaron Medley converted the extra point.

Into the lead

Following a three and out by the Patriots, the Tigers put together a 10-play, 62-yard scoring drive that was punctuated by a 14-yard TD run by Hill to take a 14-7 lead with 2:43 left in the first quarter. During the touchdown run, Hill fumbled the ball after breaking past the line of scrimmage, but quickly scooped up the pigskin and scampered into the end zone.

After Davis recovered a fumble by Page's Allen Engle at the MCHS 42, the Tigers saw their ensuing drive sabotaged by three penalties and were forced to punt.

Engle then fielded the punt at his own 16 and broke loose for a 45 yard return prior to being knocked out of bounds by Medley at the Tiger 39.

The Patriots advanced down to the Marshall County 4 with the help of a 23-yard run by Mizel and a personal foul penalty on MCHS, but lost four yards on their next three plays before Foley missed a 25-yard field goal attempt.

Page's offense was set up with good field position again midway through the second quarter when Dylan Myers recovered a Tiger fumble at the Marshall County 45. The Patriots would cash in this time around, as Mizel hit Johnson for a 45-yard touchdown strike on the next play to tie the game at 14-14.

Ahead to stay

MCHS was forced to punt on their next offensive series, but the Tiger defense stepped up and stopped Page on downs at the Marshall County 46 late in the first half.

That gamble quickly came back to haunt the Patriots, as Howard hauled in a 40-yard touchdown pass from Stacey with :27 left in the second period to stake Marshall County to a 21-14 advantage at the break.

The Tigers quickly padded their lead at the start of third quarter when Stacey and Walker hooked up for a 48-yard touchdown pass on their opening possession of the half to make it 28-14.

Facing a 4th and inches situation at their own 42 on their ensuing drive, Page rolled the dice once again, but Hendrix, Shelton, and Bryson Alexander broke through and dropped Roberts for a one-yard loss to give MCHS the ball at the Patriot 41.

The Tigers capitalized on the short field and extended their lead to 35-14 with 5:10 left in the third quarter when Stacey burst up the middle for a nine-yard touchdown run on a quarterback draw.

Final TDs

After Shelton recovered a fumble by Mizel at the Marshall County 48, Medley had a 43-yard field goal attempt blocked before Page was forced to punt on their next offensive series.

The Tigers then pushed their lead to 42-14 with 11:40 remaining in the fourth quarter when Walker caught a short pass from Stacey in the right flat and raced 68 yards for a touchdown.

Both teams came up empty on their next two possessions before Magochy scored on a 12-yard touchdown run on the Patriots last offensive series for the 42-21 final.