JASPER, Tenn. - If Marion County's offense is prep football's version of a viper, capable of striking quickly, the defense would certainly be more akin to a boa constrictor. Marion defenders simply squeeze the hope, and eventually the life, out of opposing offenses.
Friday night, against a Meigs County team that came in averaging nearly 30 points per game, the Warriors looked every bit the part of the state's top-ranked Class 2A team. No. 1 Marion dominated up front on both sides of the ball in rolling to a 43-6 Region 3-2A win.
"We wanted to set the tone early - hit them in the mouth and make them want to quit," said Warriors senior defensive lineman Ismael Avila, who had two sacks, including one for a safety on the game's second play, and seemingly spent as much time in the Meigs backfield as the Tigers runners.
Marion's defensive front six limited Meigs to 2.8 yards per play, and by halftime 14 of the Tigers' 29 plays had gone for either minus yards or a turnover. Through its first three games, Marion (3-0, 1-0) has outscored opponents by an average of 42 points and the first-team defense has yet to allow a touchdown.
"If there's a better defensive front in 2A, I don't know who it could be," said Tigers coach Jason Fitzgerald, whose team also lost two fumbles and an interception in the first half. "That's where it all starts for them, and the Avila kid is really good. They just took it to us early and we had no answer.
"I actually think they may be better on that side of the ball than they were last year. We tried just about everything we had, and we couldn't get anything to work against them."
After the defense had set the early tone with back-to-back tackles for loss, including Avila's sack for a safety, the Marion offense quickly went to work establishing itself.
On their first possession the Warriors covered 38 yards in seven plays, capped by Jacob Saylors' 6-yard touchdown run.
The junior took off on a 65-yard scoring run on the first play of Marion's next possession, then returned an interception 52 yards to the Meigs 10, setting up a short scoring run by Hunter McClain.
Saylors added a 4-yard TD catch midway through the second quarter, followed by McClain's second of three TDs, which resulted in a running clock.
The Warriors wound up averaging nearly 9 yards per carry in rolling up 277 rushing yards, led by Saylors and Hunter Zeman, who averaged 18 yards per carry in combining for 162 yards.
"We rely on those offensive and defensive linemen. That's our strength, up front," Warriors first-year head coach Joey Mathis said.
"Jacob can be lightning in a bottle when he gets the ball, but all of our backs love to block for each other. It's a real unselfish group that just loves playing together."
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.