Marion County handed Fayetteville its first on-field loss since October 2018, rallying for four unanswered touchdowns in a 27-16 season-opening win Friday night in Jasper.
After Fayetteville scored midway through the first quarter, the Warriors countered with two touchdowns before halftime and continued to pull away to give Dale Pruitt a win in his first game back as head coach of the program.
Taye Hutchins totaled more than 100 yards of offense and scored three times for Marion, twice on runs - including a 54-yarder - with the other on a 56-yard pass from Anthony Guevera.
After Fayetteville's opening scoring drive, the Marion defense held the Tigers to 70 yards.
"After that first drive, we played pretty good defensively," Pruitt said. "It was sloppy, but what I liked was how the kids kept fighting. Even when things went bad, we kept fighting. They scored on a fourth-and-5, and after we had a kickoff return brought back for a penalty, our kids still didn't blink. They just kept coming.
"Taye had to play quarterback last year because of an injury, and he played no defense because they had to protect him. So really he had a lost year because he was just handing it off mostly. But he had a big first night and proved he's a baller. He can play."
South Pittsburg 46, Sequatchie County 0: Senior running back Hunter Frame had a career night, rushing for 261 yards and four touchdowns - covering 18, 58, 47 and 10 yards - on 14 carries for the Pirates. Brayden Sanders added a 24-yard scoring pass to Reggie Hunter and freshman Racash Kelly rounded out the scoring with a 33-yard run late.
DeAndre Kelly added 72 yards as the visiting Pirates rolled up 359 rushing yards.
South Pittsburg's defense was also impressive, limiting the Indians to just 58 total yards, including 45 on 30 rushing attempts, and also created three turnovers.
"Hunter looked like a senior with something to prove," Pirates coach Vic Grider said. "We've got a lot of skill guys who can put pressure on people, and tonight was his night.
"Our defense pretty much shut them down totally. We have the potential to be really good on that side of the ball."
Ooltewah 14, David Crockett 12: After falling behind 5-0 at halftime, Ooltewah rode two touchdown passes from quarterback Fisher Perry to a narrow victory in its opener at home. Perry hit Christian Doty on a 45-yard touchdown in the third quarter, then connected with Raymos McGee on a 35-yard touchdown later in the half to secure the win. Braeden Haynes kicked the crucial extra points for the Owls.
Donelson Christian Academy 27, Silverdale Baptist Academy 13: Despite an 80-yard touchdown strike from Turner Junkins to Noah Bowen on its first possession of the game, Silverdale fell to DCA at Tennessee Tech. Conner Delashmitt accounted for the Seahawks' second score of the night on a 36-yard run at the close of the fourth quarter.
Meigs County 27, Sweetwater 7: Despite giving up an early touchdown, the host Tigers took control with four unanswered scores, and the defense allowed just 45 rushing yards.
Making his first start at quarterback, Logan Carroll ran for 77 yards and two scores, while sophomore Cody Cawood led Meigs with 120 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown.
"We started five new offensive linemen because of injury, so we feel good about what we were able to do," Tigers coach Jason Fitzgerald said. "Our kids know how to win. We've won a lot of games the last few years, and they don't want to be the group that lets it drop off.
"It was fun to get to play high school football again. Two months ago we didn't think we'd get to."
Copper Basin 29, Polk County 18: After giving up a touchdown on the first play of the game, Copper Basin rallied for 29 unanswered points for the program's 300th all-time win.
Senior quarterback Bryson Grabowski had 300 total yards in the home win, including 200 passing yards and three touchdowns.
"It took us a little bit to get going but once we did we really started clicking," Cougars coach Chad Grabowski said. "Even though we were a little sloppy, it's early and I really like the way we came back after giving up the big play early.
"This is a huge win for us. It's a big rivalry, and to beat a bigger team like that should really be a confidence boost."
Bledsoe County 40, Whitwell 7: Harmon Keith totaled 115 yards and three touchdowns, while Dylan Robeck ran for 129 and a score and Cadillac Seiver added 84 yards and two scores for the visitors. The Warriors ran for 315 yards.
McMinn County 20, McMinn Central 0: The Cherokees led 7-0 midway through the fourth quarter before pulling away late against the visitors behind the running of Jalen Hunt, who finished with 190 rushing yards and one score. The Cherokees' other touchdowns came on an 11-yard pass from Jayden Miller to Aiden Bautsch and a 22-yard strike to Noah Brown.
In other games delayed by weather, Farragut came back to beat Bradley Central 25-21 and Rhea County topped Knoxville Carter 21-14 in overtime.
The Grace Academy at Lookout Valley game was canceled at the request of Grace.
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.