JASPER, Tenn. - Marion County is seeking its fourth consecutive trip to the Class 2A football title game. The Warriors aren't looking that far ahead, having just played their season opener, though they looked the part Friday night.
Marion was dominant in every facet in hosting and defeating Hixson 62-14.
Not surprisingly, Marion coach Joey Mathis saw some things he believes need addressing.
"We had some execution errors at times," Mathis said. "We've got to do a better job just being consistent in our offensive and defensive lines."
But overall the coach couldn't be displeased, especially considering it was 34-0 after the first play of the second quarter.
"We started well," Mathis said. "We want to try to start fast every week. We want to keep momentum, keep the pressure on them."
Marion pressured Hixson into four interceptions, which was the same number of passes completed to Wildcats. Hixson also lost three fumbles.
Jacob Saylors ended up the Warriors' leading rusher, with the majority of his 96 yards coming on his scoring runs of 51 and 39. He also returned an interception 40 yards for a touchdown.
Isaiah Sampson also had two scoring runs, both on sneaks from the 1, and Nick Capps added a special-teams touchdown with a 93-yard kickoff return.
Jace Williamson had two of Marion's interceptions. He also had one of the many tackles for losses as the Warriors limited the Wildcats to two first downs in the first half and 114 yards from scrimmage overall.
"We had so many new faces in the lineup, we didn't know what to expect," Mathis said. "A lot of kids stepped up. It started with our coaches on Saturday and with our kids at 7:40 Monday in the weight room. Everything we do is geared toward Friday night."
Josiah Bowman started out with minus-8 yards on his first five rushes but ended up with 95 yards on 22 carries and had one of Hixson's touchdowns.
Contact Kelley Smiddie at ksmiddie@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6653. Follow him on Twitter @KelleySmiddie.