Marion County's Blake Zeman (1) breaks through the Warrior defense ion this Oct. 31, 2014 photo.Player of the Week honorable mention(Coaches are invited to submit nominations by 6 p.m. each Saturday to Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com)Hunter Maynor, Soddy-Daisy: He turned in his eighth 300-yard passing game (20-36-0, 328) in a narrow loss to Walker Valley.Kelvin Leon, Ooltewah: He passed for 335 yards (28-43-1) and three TDs as the Owls clinched an undefeated season with a win over McMinn County.Cole Copeland, Bradley Central: He ran for 123 yards and completed 15 of 20 passes with no interceptions for 223 yards and two TDs in a win over East Hamilton.
There was, Marion County coach Ricky Ross said, one small difference in Blake Zeman in Friday's game against South Pittsburg and other opponents this year.
On his way to Player of the Week honors, ran for three TDs and 201 yards in Marion's winless streak-ending, 48-6 victory over the Pirates.
"He didn't play on offense in the second half, but instead of 10 or 12 carries, like he has been getting, he had 21," Ross said. "The only time he's played running back in the second half this year was against Central (Marion's only loss this season).
Blake Zeman, Marion County High School"Mostly through the (9-1) run this year that's the way it's been. I know it sounds crazy but what he did Friday night is what he's done every Friday night."
Ross hasn't exactly been saving his senior tailback-that-runs-like-a-fullback. The first-year coach felt that as good as Zeman was offensively, the team needed him more at linebacker.
"What we wanted to make sure of was that he gave us everything he had on defense. I watched film from last year, and I didn't feel he played as well on defense as he could. In order for us to be a good football team he had to be great on defense. We knew we wanted him to be in great shape," Ross said.
The coach also sat down with Zeman and told him man-to-man that he felt the senior was nowhere near his defensive potential and specifically placed higher expectations on the 5-foot-9, 225-pounder.
"I told him I needed him to be at a high level all the time and run to the football and I didn't think he was doing that," Ross said. "It's about accountability and holding yourself to high expectation. He has always embraced wanting to be better and once I showed him high expectations, he took it and raised them even more."
The first order of business was for the Warriors' anchor to shed 20-25 pounds and Zeman did as asked, changing his lifestyle and his eating habits while maintaining a very strong presence in the weight room.
"When I watched him run last year everything was 10 or so yards, no more than 25," Ross said. "He's lost 25 pounds and he isn't looking around now to see who's coming to get him. He has that reputation as a bruiser, but I think he likes it when he finesses somebody."
Zeman's reduced offensive opportunities were to save him some for defensive responsibilities, but Ross' thinking went deeper.
"We needed other players to step up and be as good, and we had to give them those opportunities and we're to the point now where teams don't just worry about stopping No. 1. We have others for people to defend."
The process has worked out well for Zeman, who now has rushed for 1,248 yards while maintaining a 9.1 yards-per-carry average and scoring 25 TDs, and Marion County, which enters the playoffs with a bye and having ended an old rival's eight-game win streak.
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.