JASPER, Tenn. — Not even the prep football season’s first night with a chill in the air could cool off Marion County’s offense.
The reigning TSSAA Class 2A state champions began their effort to repeat by handing visiting Jackson County a thorough 49-13 thumping in their first-round matchup Thursday at Bill Baxter Stadium.
The first half was dominated by big plays and a display of the amount of talent and speed Marion County boasts at the skill positions as four players for the home team found the end zone and three of the Warriors’ first-half touchdowns were either the result of or helped by plays covering 50-plus yards.
The final touchdown of the first half was set up by a defense that’s been salty all season.
(READ MORE: Final scores and photos from Friday night’s Chattanooga-area prep football games)
Marion County vs. Jackson County on Nov. 6, 2025
“We knew we had to come out hot and take it to them early,” said senior Mason Mays, who scored two touchdowns and was one of four Marion County players to rush for 60 or more yards. “We just did our job. That’s what we do.
“Everything we do starts with our defense, and we take a lot of pride in what we do on that side of the ball. We still feel like we’ve got a chip on our shoulder, for sure. Even though we went to Finley last year and won it, we still feel like we’ve got everything to prove every game.”
In notching their third straight season with double-digit wins, the Warriors (10-1) will now wait to see who they’ll face in the second round next week, when Marion County will host the winner of Friday’s game between Polk County (5-5) and host South Greene (7-3). As Mays said, the ultimate goal is to return to Chattanooga’s Finley Stadium, the host of the BlueCross Bowl state championship games next month.
On Marion County’s first drive Thursday, Zaiden Humphrey’s 54-yard rush set up a 9-yard touchdown run by Mays, and the Warriors needed just two plays to find the end zone on their second possession as Jayden Frazier broke a tackle near the line before sprinting 71 yards for the score.
On a wild back-and-forth sequence midway through the second quarter in which Jackson County scored on a 60-yard pass to cut the deficit to 14-10, Marion County freshman Neno Humphrey took the ensuing kickoff back 82 yards for a touchdown — and essentially took a lot of fight out of Jackson County (6-5), which finishes with its first winning record since 2016.
After Caden McCrary’s interception set Marion County’s offense up with a short field, it was Ashton Martin’s turn to tack on points as the senior dove across the goal line on an 8-yard run that ended any lingering drama.
The Warriors continued to put the hammer down on both sides of the ball in the second half as Zaiden Humphrey ran for a score and connected with T.J. Starkey on a 19-yard touchdown pass that invoked the mercy rule and a running clock.
In his return to playing quarterback after having spent the previous five games at receiver, Humphrey totaled 135 yards.
“He made some really good reads, and if he can get a step, it’s hard to catch him,” said Warriors head coach Tim Starkey, whose team allowed just 148 total yards, including an average of just 1.5 yards per rush. “It’s huge having a lot of different guys you can give the ball to and know any of them can break a big play.
“We’ve still been trying to find ourselves on offense. We’ve been inconsistent, but tonight was a really good glimpse of how good we can be. The foundation here has been built in the playoffs. We work hard all season to get to this point where we can make a run, and these guys know what it means this time of year around here.”
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com.