Saturday night was a season opener to forget for West Marion. With a new head coach at the helm and newly-designed helmets, the Trojans were looking to make some noise and announce they’re still a bully to be reckoned with in Class 3A. But Tylertown had other plans and used its vaunted passing attack to beat West Marion 38-12.
The Chiefs (2-0) threw for five touchdowns while the Trojans (0-1) turned it over four times in the first 16 minutes of action in the lopsided affair. West Marion head coach Brandon Thornhill said the only positive takeaway he had from the game was that the Trojans offensive line played “solid.”
“The downfall was we turned it over with fumbles and had an interception,” he said. “We fell too far behind to be able to do what we wanted to do.”
On the opening possession of the game, West Marion fell just inches shy of picking up a first down while going for it on fourth, allowing the Chiefs to take over at the West Marion 37-yard line. Tylertown wasted no time at all making the Trojans pay, launching a 37-yard touchdown on a deep post over the middle on the very next play to go up 6-0 early.
West Marion turned it over again almost immediately as quarterback Larry Magee fumbled on second-and-8, setting the Chiefs up at the West Marion 35. With Tylertown facing fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line, quarterback Amerion Jefferson connected with Ole Miss commit Jeremiah Dillon on a fade in the back of the end zone to put the Chiefs up 12-0.
The onslaught of errors continued on West Marion’s first play after getting the ball back. The Trojans had the perfect play drawn up that would have been a walk-in touchdown if executed correctly. From a heavy formation with just one receiver, West Marion faked a jet sweep and had tight end Caleb Varnado wide open up the seam with nothing but green grass in front of him. Had the throw been on target, it would have been a 65-yard touchdown, but Magee underthrew the pass and allowed Tylertown safety Kendrick Lampton Jr. to recover and intercept it. While the turnover didn’t lead to Tylertown points, it was at least a six-point swing.
Octavious Harvey, The Columbian-Progress Defensive Player of the Year last season, made sure the turnover wouldn’t cost the Trojans on the scoreboard. With the Chiefs facing third down, Harvey came screaming off the edge and blindsided Jefferson for a sack. Then Harvey came screaming off the edge again on fourth down, blocking a Tylertown punt and setting the Trojans up at the Tylertown 19.
After Magee scampered for 13 yards on first down, Harvey — lined up as the quarterback — found pay dirt on a 6-yard run up the gut to cut the deficit to 12-6. However, the Chiefs would need just two plays to go back up by 12 points.
On Tylertown’s first play, Jefferson’s scrambling ability torched the Trojans again as he tossed a 43-yard pass to set up first-and-goal. Then Jefferson connected with his running back on a swing pass for a 5-yard touchdown on the final play of the first quarter to extend Tylertown’s lead to 18-6. The Chiefs would widen the lead even further following a West Marion punt. Another scramble drill for Jefferson resulted in a 40-yard touchdown pass on a deep ball, making it 24-6 with just under nine minutes remaining in the second quarter.
Thornhill said the plan was to rush Jefferson and force him to have to throw off platform, but he proved to be too elusive and capable of making big plays on the move.
“We played man some and zone some, but it comes down to speed. We just weren’t able to contain them,” he said. “We still have guys learning on the back end that haven’t played, and it was some guys’ first time playing (varsity) ever. That’s tough playing on the back end with that kind of speed. We have to get better with our football IQ and knowing what to expect.”
It could have been even worse for the Trojans with Magee being stripped on the ensuing kickoff and again on West Marion’s next possession, but both times the Trojans defense stepped up to force turnovers on downs. West Marion was able to get into the red zone just before the end of the first half, but the final two plays were Magee incompletions.
Thornhill said he believes the Trojans got tired in both the second and third quarters, which led to some of the turnovers and secondary miscues.
Late in the third quarter, Tylertown added to its lead as Jefferson threw his fifth touchdown of the game on fourth-and-goal from the West Marion 8. The Chiefs converted the two-point try to go up 32-6 with 1:11 remaining in the third quarter.
On the ensuing possession, with the Trojans facing fourth-and-1, Harvey took matters into his own hands once again. Lined up as a Wildcat quarterback, the diminutive superstar burst through an open hole up the middle and raced 54 yards for his second touchdown of the game. Tylertown would answer right back, though, with a 2-yard touchdown run on the heels of yet another long pass.
West Marion will have its homecoming this week when St. Martin (0-1) visits Foxworth.
