Marion County's Blake Zeman (1) looks for running room against Grace Christian from Knoxville in their TSSAA
Class 2A semifinal game Friday night in Jasper. Marion won 24-15 after falling behind 15-0.Looking back: Area 2014 prep football playoffsTENNESSEEClass 6AMaryville 48, Walker Valley 0Science Hill 59, Bradley Central 47Class 5AOak Ridge 53, Soddy-Daisy 28Cleveland 10, Clinton 7Ooltewah 31, Stone Memorial 0Rhea County 52, Tullahoma 14Oak Ridge 10, Cleveland 6Rhea County 47, Ooltewah 14Rhea County 35, Oak Ridge 21Knoxfille West 35, Rhea County 28Class 4ASignal Mountain 49, DeKalb County 10Hixson 28, Page 21Livingston Academy 42, Central 7Loudon 37, Signal Mountain 21Livingston Academy 21, Hixson 20Class 3ARed Bank 29, Bledsoe County 14McMinn Central 43, Grundy County 14Notre Dame 55, Chattanooga Christian 14McMinn Central 30, Red Bank 7Notre Dame 55, Upperman 7Notre Dame 48, McMinn Central 7Alcoa 28, Notre Dame 19Class 2ARockwood 24, Boyd-Buchanan 21Marion County 49, Jackson County 6Marion County 41, Trousdale County 20Marion County 24, Knoxville Grace 15Class 1ASouth Pittsburg 36, Clay County 34Copper Basin 22, South Pittsburg 15Monterey 28, Copper Basin 8Division II-AAMcCallie 64, Pope John Paul II 14Baylor 28, Father Ryan 21Montgomery Bell 40, McCallie 14Baylor 10, Christian Brothers 7Montgomery Bell 31, Baylor 29GEORGIAClass A-PrivateCalvary Day 26, Christian Heritage 7Class AARabun County 24, Chattooga 20Class AAACallaway 35, Ringgold 7Central 42, Sonoraville 14Calhoun 43, Rockmart 14Calhoun 38, Cedar Grove 18Calhoun 19, Elbert County 17Class AAAABuford 63, Southeast Whitfield 0Class AAAAADalton 23, Salem 6Northside 30, Dalton 21
Marion County has traveled twists and cutbacks, hills and valleys, and all that remains is a couple of more turns and a climb over the mountain to its final destination.
"Everybody has pipe dreams, and I don't care who you are as a coach, you go in with a plan, stick to it and who knows," first-year coach Ricky Ross said. "But let's be honest. We lost every guy up front and we're coming off that scandal. Everything happens for a reason, but I think it's just the good Lord taking care of us."
Ross's Warriors are 12-1 and going to Cookeville on Saturday to play for the Tennessee Class 2A state football championship, and it seems like their journey has come full circle on roads less traveled.
As they practice this week -- a time of year when nobody's grumbling about practice length, intensity or howling coaches -- Marion County players will recall time and again the spring practice they were denied and the summer practice sessions for everybody but them. It likely will be the same when they climb sleepy-eyed on the bus for the two-hour trip to Tennessee Tech and a date with the 12-2 Peabody Golden Tide.
Hired on the heels of an alleged head-coach-initiated vandalism of Marion's own field house, Ross knew his work wasn't just cut out for him. It was chiseled.
"I wanted to create a working environment, a positive environment," he recalled of the fight through school-imposed and TSSAA-endorsed disciplinary actions carried over from the preceding season.
The Warriors had plenty of time to have pads and helmets reconditioned. They weren't allowed to use them for spring or early-summer drills.
"We lifted weights. From the time I got here till school ended, we lifted weights at 6 each morning four days a week," Ross related. "We did what most people do in January, February and March and just extended it."
The no-contact period over the summer was then extended from one week to four for the Warriors leading into the preseason.
"We had to really, really, really start with the basics," the coach said. "We tried to do as much as we could in June, but it was one week and then we were done for four -- no open facilities and no contact. It was completely dead. It was a tough pill to swallow."
Yet the punishments wound up paying dividends.
"I think maybe our kids are a little hungrier. They took the time they had and made the most of it," Ross said.
For most of the year they have made the most of it, stumbling in a 7-0 loss to Class 4A playoff participant Central but rebounding to reel off nine straight wins, including Friday's 24-15 rally past Grace Christian from Knoxville. In their last home game in a run to the state-title game, the Warriors had to rally from a 15-0 deficit.
"I don't want to take credit from Knox Grace. They're a good football team," Ross said. "But part of the problem was that we weren't dialed in. We weren't doing what we were supposed to do."
He didn't yell and scream at halftime. Instead, it was calmly presenting the facts: "Guys, think about it and see it for what it is."
Marion County had 200 yards rushing in the second-half comeback.
"We played physical in the first half, and it wasn't anything physical we were doing. We weren't playing like we should mentally," Ross said. "By late in the third quarter their hands were on their hips and they were backing off the football when we said, 'Hut.'"
The 2A championship game will be the first one Saturday, kicking off at noon Eastern.
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.