The question Marshall County (1-1, 0-1) fans are asking themselves after Friday night is whether Tullahoma (3-0, 1-0) is really that good or the Tigers have that much more work to put in before a hopeful second or third round playoff rematch in the battle of the big cats.

A packed crowd at Preston Hopkins Field and the cameras from the Mid State-wide televised My TV 30 Game of the week saw the Tigers down just 7-0 with three minutes remaining in the opening half before the Wildcats stepped on the gas and outscored the home team 35-7 the rest of the way for a 42-7 Tullahoma win.

"We looked good in practice all week, but Tullahoma just wanted it more," A'Ky Howard, who led the Tigers with 59 receiving yards, pointed out. "Hats off to them and we will see them again down the road, but now we have to focus and lock in on Shelbyville and we looked at film today as a team and practiced getting ready for Week 3."

The 42 points allowed were the most points given up by a Marshall County defense since a 49-7 loss at 6-A powerhouse Brentwood and a 49-24 loss at eventual 4-A state champion Greeneville in the 4-A TSSAA state playoffs, both during the 2018 campaign.

There were some bright spots the Tigers can identify and build from during this week of practice.

Despite giving up 42 points, the Tigers were able to hold a potent Wildcat offense to just seven points with only a few minutes left before the halftime break.

MCHS quarterback Bryson Hammons had another steady game in spite of constant Wildcat pressure all night, finishing with 157 yards in the air on 10-for-21 attempts.

Howard led the Tigers in receiving yards for the second straight contest with 59 yards on two catches while Jayden Hart turned in another stellar performance with 56 yards on three catches, including a 46-yard snag to set up a late Marshall County score to go along with five tackles with a tackle for a loss on the other side of the ball.

Connor Hilton paced the Tiger rushing attack with 37 yards on 12 attempts, including a team high 78 all-purpose yards and Demari Braden added 12 yards on a single attempt.

Lamarion Pierce added another solid all-around contest with one catch for 18 yards, an 11-yard touchdown run, while also chipping in two tackles and an interception on defense.

Devonte Davis led the Tiger defense with seven tackles, Chandler Davis chipped in six stops, and Christian Stacey, Hayden Sheppard, and Logan McKnight all added five tackles apiece.

And as with every football game, a few minutes can change the outcome of the contest dramatically and that is precisely what happened to the Tigers on Friday night.

Three minutes before halftime, down just 7-0 and getting the ball to start the third quarter, MCHS coach Thomas Osteen gambled on fourth down hoping to even the score heading into the break.

The gamble failed and Tullahoma regained possession.

The Tiger defense appeared to alleviate the threat on third down, but a phantom pass interference penalty gave the Wildcats possession just a few yards from the goal line before Jakobe Thomas punched the ball in to the push the lead to 14-0.

Marshall County showed signs of life on the next possession with a long run by Hilton and a big gain by Howard on a screen pass, but a missed pass interference call, a questionable penalty on the Tiger offense, and subsequent sack on Hammons ended the blue and white’s drive prematurely to end the opening half.

Tullahoma used that defensive momentum to start the third quarter, forcing a Marshall County three-and-out before tacking on 22 unanswered points in the period to put the game out of reach.

Tullahoma backup quarterback D.J. Dillehay broke free for a 44-yard touchdown run on the first play of the Wildcats’ initial possession with the second string to pushing the rout to 42-0 early in the final period before the Tigers would finally make its mark on the offensive end.

Hammons found a wide open Hart streaking towards the end zone before stumbling to the 11-yard line after which Pierce made a catch and walked into the house virtually untouched for the first and only Tiger score of the night.

Thomas led the Wildcats with 108 rushing yards and two scores on 16 attempts and quarterback Ryan Scott chipped in 47 yards with two scores on nine carries plus 60 yards in the air on two completions.

The Tigers now turn their attention to longtime non-region rival 5-A Shelbyville Central (2-1) whose only loss was 38-13 season opening setback against Tullahoma before taking wins versus Columbia Academy (29-7) and Page (29-13).

"We need to improve every phase of the game to be successful against Shelbyville," Howard explained. "We have to be dialed in to beat Shelbyville. They are very big offensively and defensively and they are very good on special teams."

"As a team and a family we have to get off the bus thinking about our assignments and execute the game plan to perfection," Howard, who leads the Tigers with six receptions on the year, said. "We need to win this game and get back on top."

Since the two schools, located just 27 miles apart, resumed the series back in 2017, the rivalry has been an intense one.

In 2017, the Tigers whopped the Golden Eagles and record setting quarterback Grayson Trammel 51-27 before traveling to Shelbyville the following season for a memorable 24-21 win the week after Marshall County shocked the state with a near upset of the heavily favored 6-A Cane Ridge Ravens, 31-24 in overtime on a MidState wide TV broadcast.

Last season, the Tigers pushed one of the best Shelbyville Central teams of all-time to the brink before a hard fought 36-30 setback.

The Golden Eagles lost just twice in 2019, a five-point loss to highly ranked Page and a 5-A state quarterfinal setback to eventual state runnerup Summit after upsetting metro Nashville powerhouse Hillsboro and perennial 5-A power Hendersonville Beech in the opening two rounds and finishing 11-2.

The squads will clash for the fourth season in a row on Friday night in Shelbyville at 7 p.m.

Tullahoma 0 14 22 6-42

Marshall County 0 0 0 7-7

Scoring Plays

Second Quarter

Tullahoma-Ryan Scott 1-yard run (Justus Chadwick).

Tullahoma-Jakobe Thomas 1-yard run (Chadwick kick).

Third Quarter

Tullahoma-Ryan Scott 4-Yard run, (Scott 2-pt. run).

Tullahoma-Jakobe Thomas 15-yard run (Chadwick kick).

Tullahoma-Jaxon Sheffield 6-yard run (Chadwick kick).

Fourth Quarter

Tullahoma-DJ Dillehay 44-yard run (Chadwick kick NG).

Marshall County-Lamarion Pierce 15-yard pass from Bryson Hammons (Jon Estes kick).

Total Offense: Tullahoma 327, Marshall County 193.

Rushing: Tullahoma 267, Marshall County 36.

Passing: Tullahoma 60, Marshall County 157.

Marshall County Offense

Rushing: Connor Hilton 12-37, Demari Braden 1-12, Lamarion Pierce 1-11, Bryson Hammons 4-(-24).

Passing: Bryson Hammons 10-21-157-TD-INT.

Receiving: Ak’y Howard 2-59, Jayden Hart 3-56, Lamarion Pierce 1-18-TD, Devonte Davis 1-9, Kaden Whitson 1-8, Hunter Rolof 2-7.

Kicking

PAT-Jon Estes 1-1.

Kickoffs: Jon Estes 2-120-2TB.

Punting: Joseph Gold 4-105.

Returns

Kickoffs: Connor Hilton 2-41, Lamarion Pierce 1-9.

Punts: Lamarion Pierce 1-0.

Defense

Tackles: Devonte Davis 7, Chandler Davis 6, Christian Stacey 5, Hayden Sheppard 5, Logan McKnight 5, Jayden Hart 5 (TFL), Demari Braden 3 (TFL), Connor Hilton 3, Isaac Brinkley 3 (TFL), Kaden Whitson 2, Lamarion Pierce 2 (INT), Ak’y Howard 2, Joseph Gold 2, Anthony Diaz 2, Omari Armstrong 1.