The toughest opponent of the night Friday in the annual prep football jamboree at Finley Stadium was an uncooperative storm front that caused multiple delays due to lightning in the area.
In between those breaks was enough of a glimpse to know that Marion County and McCallie will be a problem for the rest of their respective classifications during the TSSAA’s 2024 season, which kicks off next week.
Marion and Red Bank swapped big plays before ending in a 7-7 tie in the opening quarter, and Marion followed with a 7-0 win over Hixson as the “BlueCross Bowl … Prelude to a Championship” continued with its second of three consecutive nights of action at Finley. With the exception of one busted coverage that opened the door for a 76-yard touchdown pass from Logan McGinnis to Cayden Loveless on Red Bank’s third snap, Marion’s defense was solid throughout its two jamboree quarters.
“We came out and played well,” said Warriors coach Tim Starkey, who guided his team to a 10-0 regular season last year that was followed by a first-round win in the Class 2A playoffs and then a loss to eventual state runner-up East Robertson for an 11-1 finish. “Red Bank is a very good football team and well coached. It’s not every week that we face a good 4A team like them, so to come out and go toe to toe with them and make plays against them is big for us.
“Our defense is solid. We had a little blowup on that one play, but the youth on our defense is on the back end, so mistakes may show up there early. I think we’ll learn from that, but up front, our linebackers and D-line are tough. This was a big confidence boost for us going into the season.”