Cordarrian Richardson offers the stiffest test Marion County has seen this football season.
“He’s a great player,” Marion County coach Ricky Ross said. “If he wasn’t, then everybody in the world wouldn’t be after him. He gets downhill in a hurry.”
Ross’s Warriors have shown their defensive prowess against big-name running backs, most recently virtually shutting down Hampton 1,000-yard rushers Jerry Lunsford and Adam McClain. Playing at Hampton in a Class 2A state semifinal, the Warriors held Lunsford and McClain to 75 yards on 21 carries in a 55-17 victory over a previously unbeaten team.
They also have faced Boyd-Buchanan’s E.J. Matthews and Tyner’s Shannon Sprawls, yet today in the state championship game at Cookeville the Warriors will be tested by the best and certainly the most recruited runner they will have seen all season.
That would be Trezevant’s Richardson.
The Bears junior has gained 1,586 yards and is being recruited by the likes of Alabama, Tennessee, LSU and Florida State. And he gets a solid endorsement for far more than his athletic prowess.
“He has a great attitude and great character. He doesn’t cause any problems,” Bears coach Teli White said this week. “Kids like him are a blessing to their parents and their coaches. He’s a good football player, but he’s an even better student and person.”
The Bears showcase Richardson’s talents via a traditional I-formation, leaving the Warriors bent on limiting his big-play potential. Yet little will change in their 3-3-5 alignment other than the likelihood of an even more amped-up pressure mindset.
“We want to make him break stride before he gets to the line of scrimmage. You wait and you’re losing the battle on your own side of the line of scrimmage. That’s not what we want to do,” Ross said.
He compared Trezevant to Tyner, a team that twice challenged the Warriors this season.
“They’re a team that knows who they are. They may not do a million things, but what they do they do well,” Ross said. “They run the ball. Their line comes off the ball well. It sounds simple, but it’s a great prescription for success.”
Trezevant’s problem may be limited offensive opportunities. Or at least Marion County hopes so.
This will be the first time the Bears have seen a multiple-wing offense that Marion favors, a time-consuming offense that has produced six backs with at least 500 rushing yards.
“You see kids being where they’re supposed to be. The offense is well-run. It’s complex,” White assessed prior to the Mr. Football awards ceremony Monday. “It’s going to make preparations difficult.”
Beyond the efficiency of his offensive line, Ross has the luxury of quarterback Logan Walters taking the snap and taking off or handing off to 1,500-yard rusher Josh Henderson. Walters, who scored five times last week at Hampton, also is a capable passer, completing 57 percent of his throws while stretching the field with Jacob Saylors, Bryce Massengale, Henderson and Hunter Zeman.
It’s possible that Marion will have an edge in mindset also. Having gotten to Cookeville last year is a plus, and that 2014 loss has fueled the Warriors through spring and summer workouts and their 14 games to date.
“We want to finish what we started,” said Brad Baxter, Marion’s senior tight end and middle linebacker. “We’re coming back to familiar territory. It’s not our first time going. Winning the state championship was our number-one goal all season.”
For Trezevant, a team with only three seniors, there may be no trepidation, but the Bears certainly didn’t enter the season with title expectations.
“We graduated 19 players last year,” White said. “I’m surprised that we’re here. We’re a young team. The highlight of our season? Getting here.”
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at @http://Twitter.com/wardgossettwardgossett.