DUNLAP, Tenn. — Sequatchie County senior Hunter Lewis intercepted a pass on the goal line and ran from one sideline to the other trying to advance.
It turned out to be a final warm-up sprint.
Lewis gained 226 yards on 15 carries, including three touchdowns and six runs of at least 20 yards, in Sequatchie County’s 31-8 win over Marion County.
Players doused coach Chad Barger with a cooler of ice water.
“It’s been a long time coming, and 20 years since we beat them at home,” said Barger, whose team has now won the last two matchups. “They fought for four quarters, and they will be back.
“We made mistakes in the second half and overcame them.”
Lewis had 142 yards on just seven carries in the first half. Before the break, he had runs of 51, 32 and 37 yards.
His first long run set up a 30-yard field goal by Juan Martinez after the Indians’ first drive stalled.
Their second score surprised Marion County’s defense. The Indians didn’t complete one pass in their previous game. They did Friday.
Quarterback Shawn Cooley found a wide-open Rodney Smith for a 43-yard touchdown. Cooley executed play-action in the backfield and Smith didn’t have a man within 15 yards of him when the ball floated into his hands.
Lewis continued his sprinting late in the second quarter. On fourth-and-2, he burst through a hole for a 32-yard touchdown and a 17-0 lead.
The Indians (3-2) recovered an onside kick. Three plays later, and out of the same I-formation as his other touchdown sprint, Lewis went through the right side of the line 37 yards for a touchdown and a 24-0 halftime lead.
“We played [Sequatchie] Valley football,” Lewis said. “It was a hard-fought Valley game.”
Marion County (2-3) had the ball across the 50-yard line for much of the second half, and quarterback Caden Shadrick finally punched it in from 5 yards out with 1:12 to go in the third quarter.
Marion County finished with 8 rushing yards and 99 passing yards. Its defense improved in the second half, but the offense managed only eight points and eventually succumbed to another Lewis run, a 20-yarder with 3:01 to go.
“I pulled him to the side and said, ‘Let’s finish it,’” Barger said. “He finished it quicker than I expected.”
Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com at 423-757-6484. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/UchSports.
David Uchiyama is a sports writer at the Chattanooga Times Free Press who began his tenure here in May 2001. His primary beats are UTC athletics — specifically men’s basketball and athletic department administration — and golf, which includes coverage from the PGA Tour to youth events. He also covers other high school sports, outdoor adventures, and contributes to other sections of the newspaper when necessary. David grew up in Salinas, Calif., and began working ...
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