DECATUR, Tenn. - Marion County quarterback Logan Walters is finding the Warriors' offense quite to his liking.
The senior flourished on Friday night, rushing for five touchdowns in a 49-15 win at Meigs County to open the Region 3-2A schedule for both teams.
"That's a great night," Marion County coach Ricky Ross said of his first-year starter. "We didn't just give him the job.
"It's taken a lot of people, including the attitude of (former quarterback) Bryce Massengale."
Walters had touchdown runs of 1, 3, 14, 4, and 1 yards while totaling 100 yards on 11 carries. He also completed four passes for 41 yards.
"The line did their job and the defense did their job," he said. "The bellies and traps and stuff like that was working."
The Warriors (3-0) were clicking just as well on defense. They limited the Tigers (1-2) to 8 rushing yards and 115 total before a 58-yard pass late in the fourth quarter with reserves on the field.
"We didn't get beat by a slouch football team," Meigs County coach Jason Fitzgerald said. "They do everything on offense and make you defend the whole field. Defensively, they have strong technical guys up front and guys behind them who can run."
Walters helped guide the Warriors to 296 yards of total offense and watched the final two series from the sideline during a running-clock second half.
"He put in work," senior Josh Henderson said of his teammate. "A lot of work is done in the days leading up to the game."
Despite all of its success, the Marion County offense sputtered at the start with three straight procedure penalties and a punt.
Every other Marion County offensive drive before the halftime ended with a Warrior taking the ball over the goal line, with Walters doing the job four times. Hunter Downs and Jacob Saylors also scored rushing touchdowns, which made it 42-7 when the bands took the field.
"When they got up a couple touchdowns, a couple of our kids kind of panicked, and that's my fault," Fitzgerald said. "(Marion County has) been in big games. We're learning how to handle big games."
The Warriors needed only 29 snaps to score their 42 points. They averaged 9.7 yards per play and rushed for 262 yards in the first 24 minutes.
Walters' first score came on a simple sneak. He went around the right side for his next touchdown, which covered the final 3 yards of a 74-yard drive.
Downs secured a hat trick by racing around the right side, diving over the corner and landing on his back for an acrobatic 14-yard score.
Walters let Downs score next, from 6 yards out. Saylors scampered 59 yards for his touchdown.
Zy Moore scored a touchdown on a 5-yard run in the second quarter for Meigs County.
Walters' final touchdown came on a short sneak. Meigs County's Riley Wilburn hauled in a 58-yard pass from Clint Oliver for the final score.
"They're a solid football team that has no weakness," Fitzgerald said. "We got a few trick plays against them, but we couldn't bust anything."
Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6484. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/UchiyamaCTFP