Marion County has some work to do on its extra-point game. But at the rate the Warriors were scoring touchdowns in Friday's high school football opener at Hixson, they'll get plenty of practice.
On the strength of four first-quarter touchdowns, Marion cruised to a 39-3 victory.
"I don't know that you ever envision things going that way right away," Marion first-year coach Joey Mathis said. "I know a lot of kids worked hard to make things happen."
The first score came 1:23 into the game at the end of a four-up-tempo-play drive that covered 49 yards after Nick Capps returned the opening kickoff 45 yards. Jacob Saylors scored from 19 yards on a run around right end that he cut back inside.
Hunter McClain took a short pass from Isaah Sampson 30 yards for the second touchdown after the Marion defense made a fourth-down stop in Hixson territory. More precisely, the Wildcats stopped themselves with a dropped snap on fourth-and-1.
It was a sign of more to come.
Grayson Lawson's recovery of a fumbled snap led to Saylors scoring on a 33-yard inside reverse on the next play. He then made it consecutive one-play possessions for the Warriors by racing 70 yards for a TD at the 2:06 mark of the first quarter. Being 1-of-4 on extra points, they led 25-0.
"I think we ran the ball really well," said Mathis, who was presented a game ball after the win. "We executed well at times on offense and defense both. We operated well as a unit. The offensive line operated really well. We'll be relying on them throughout the year."
Saylors agreed with the work being done up front.
"They did phenomenal today," he said.
Saylors ended up with 128 rushing yards, but he had plenty of help offensively since his total came on four carries.
"We never stop working in the weight room. Not even on game day," Saylors said. "It all pays off, and what you get is a team effort."
While a number of Warriors did make contributions, Saylors did stand out in the game's other two phases, too. He blocked a punt and picked it up for a touchdown on the first play of the second quarter and contributed an interception early in the third.
Mathis said his team has some things to clean up. For instance, the Warriors had five fumbles and lost two.
But that didn't compare to the Wildcats' issues. They put the ball on the ground seven times, many of them dropped snaps, lost two fumbles, threw two interceptions and had a snap over the quarterback's head that cost them 19 yards.
And not only did Hixson lose on the scoreboard, several players had to leave the game with injuries. Most notably, Theo Elaster injured an ankle and was taken away on a stretcher and Brody Gregory injured a knee, although he stayed on the sideline. Both happened in the first quarter.
Contact Kelley Smiddie at ksmiddie@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6653. Follow him at twitter.com@KelleySmiddie.