SOUTH PITTSBURG, Tenn. – Coming into the annual Sequatchie Valley jamboree there had been plenty of buzz about a pair of perennial high school football powers, and both Marion County and South Pittsburg looked every bit as good as their preseason reputation.
South Pittsburg scored on a 70-yard touchdown pass on the first play of each of its two quarters, both from Hogan Holland to Cade Kennemore, and Marion County was rarely slowed in its two quarters, either. Both the Pirates and Warriors defenses pitched shutouts.
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“Obviously in the jamboree you’ll do some things you might not normally do, but we feel confident that Cade is as talented as any receiver we’ll see all year,” said Pirates coach Vic Grider, whose team beat Lookout Valley 21-0 and then Whitwell 7-0 in the nightcap. “And Hogan has really improved his ability to throw the ball around, so we think we can do some things with our passing game.
“That second score, Cade just turned a 7-yard gain into a 70-yard touchdown because he’s so athletic and fast. You don’t coach that. Probably the thing I liked most, we ran to the ball really well on defense and I didn’t see us get knocked off the ball very much, which is a huge step up from last year.”
Marion County began its first quarter of play with an impressive length-of-the-field drive, capped by senior fullback Hunter McClain’s 11-yard touchdown run in a 7-0 win over Whitwell. The Warriors, who have reached the Class 2A state title game each of the past two years, are confident enough in senior Hunter Zeman taking over at quarterback that they used athletic sophomore Isaiah Sampson under center.
The Warriors added an 8-0 win over Bledsoe County, and senior defensive tackle Ismael Avila won the fastest-lineman race during the skills competition.
“It was good for our guys to see some live, moving parts under the lights and in front of a crowd,” Marion coach Joey Mathis said. “We just wanted to get out of here healthy and get some of our younger guys some snaps. We did that.
“Isaiah is a kid who has some potential, he just hasn’t gotten to play much. He broke his foot last year, but he can help us.”
Sequatchie County and Silverdale Baptist played to a 7-7 draw. Silverdale’s Seahawks also played to a 14-14 tie with Grundy County after the Yellow Jackets scored on the final play of the quarter, then added a two-point conversion. The Jackets later beat Lookout Valley 14-0 thanks to a pair of Josh Wingo scoring runs.
Sequatchie County’s Austin Stephens accounted for the only score of the second quarter on a short TD run, giving the Indians a 7-0 win over Bledsoe County.
In other skills competitions, South Pittsburg’s JoJo Lilly won for fastest back, Bledsoe County’s Gabe Boring won the punting-for-distance contest, Lookout Valley’s Greg Dixon won the throwing contest and Silverdale Baptist’s Connor Eischeid won the field-goal kicking contest by making a 50-yarder.
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293.
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