Marion County’s defense stood tall when it had to, and quarterback Tilton Pickett made some big plays to lead the Warriors to a 35-0 road win over Central on Friday night.
Pickett completed only five passes for 168 yards, but two of those were touchdowns of 69 and 71 yards in the first half to help the visitors build a 28-0 lead at halftime. TSSAA Class 2A’s fourth-ranked Warriors improved to 3-0 while dropping 3A’s Purple Pounders to 1-2.
“He was (Chattanooga Times Free Press) player of the week last week, and he’s just playing like a senior right now,” Marion County coach Tim Starkey said. “When he’s playing at a top level, it makes it easier for our offense to do what it’s going to do. And he’s doing that. He’s leading this football team, and just playing good ball right now.”
(READ MORE: Final scores and photos from Friday night’s Chattanooga-area prep football games)
Central had several opportunities to be the first team to score on Marion County all year, beginning with a 14-play drive to start the game led by the rushing of Ronye Watson. But incomplete passes by quarterback Caden Jones on third and fourth downs ended the drive on the Marion 25.