In one of the strangest season openers in recent memory, West Marion braved the adversity and came away with a convincing 36-7 home win over Presbyterian Christian Thursday night.
Lightning was spotted during the National Anthem, forcing the referees to delay the start of the game 25 minutes. Trojans head coach Brad Duncan had some concern the interruption could lead to a slow start, but West Marion came out the gate swinging.
On the very first play from scrimmage, Noland Miller Jr. recovered a PCS fumble and set the Trojans up in the red zone for their first drive of the season. It took just four plays to get on the scoreboard as Qavonte Swanigan raced around the edge on a jet sweep and beat the safety to the pylon for a 5-yard touchdown, putting the Trojans up 6-0 just over two minutes into the game.
West Marion’s defense set the tone for the rest of the game on the ensuing possession, playing fast and physical and forcing a quick punt. All night the Trojans were making plays in the backfield and never allowed the Bobcats to get any semblance of momentum going. When Trojans defenders reached the ball carrier, they made sure to make their presence felt with a number of big hits.
Quarterback Jeremiah Holmes and company needed just five plays to find pay dirt as he connected on a 26-yard touchdown to Miller on a quick screen to the outside. DonTavious McGowan and O’Marion Husband blocked the defensive backs to perfection, and Miller scampered into the end zone untouched. McGowan then caught the two-point conversion on a fade in the corner of the end zone to make it 14-0 with 4:10 left on the clock in the first quarter.
West Marion pounced on the ensuing onside kick, but it would be for naught. Holmes put the Trojans in the red zone on a long run, but two incompletions and a pair of runs for no gain forced a turnover on downs. That remained the theme for much of the remainder of the first half. PCS had several 3-and-outs offensively, and West Marion turned it over downs in the red zone once again. Then Jayden Duncan was intercepted on a quick screen on his first offensive snap of the game in relief of Holmes.
Following a Patrique Martin sack on 4th-and-5 to give the Trojans the ball back late in the half, West Marion’s offense found its footing once again. They drove 66 yards in seven plays — highlighted by two catches for 51 yards by Miller — to set up a 2nd-and-goal at the 1, but then pandemonium ensued. Holmes had appeared to cross the goal line on a quarterback power, but the moment flags were spotted on the field a bright flash of lightning was immediately followed by a thunderous roar from the clouds that sounded like a cannon had been set off in a closet. The players, fans, coaches and even the refs took off immediately for cover with the remainder of the game seemingly in doubt.
However, play resumed at the conclusion of a 30-minute delay, and a chop block penalty was announced that nullified Holmes’ touchdown, which pushed the Trojans back to the 16. The 15-yard penalty didn’t matter, though, as McGowan was wide open in the end zone on a post route and hauled in the touchdown from Holmes. Swanigan ran in a jet sweep for the two-point conversion, sending the Trojans into halftime with a 22-0 lead.
A pair of punts succeeded intermission before the Trojans rushing attack took control of the game. One of the Trojans’ biggest question marks coming into the season was having five new starters on the offensive line, but they dominated the trenches and Adryane James and Jartavious Martin formed a dynamic 1-2 punch at running back.
While James checks in at just 5-foot-10 and 170 pounds, he ran with power and balance and showed he can be the Trojans’ primary inside rushing threat with 43 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. Jartavious Martin, on the other hand, proved to be the lightning to James’ thunder as he displayed an uncanny burst and electrifying open-field quickness that led to 82 yards on 13 carries.
“Jartavious ran the ball hard and is a good kid. He has good vision and quick feet, but I was really proud of our offensive line. We went through heck losing six out of our top 12 from last season,” coach Duncan said. “We wanted to emphasize running the football after we got command (of the game), plus it was a little bit sloppy out here. Trying to throw it around in the slop isn’t really good, but the line played hard. I’m proud of them.”
The duo of James and Martin marched the Trojans back down the field, but it was Miller who found the end zone on a jet sweep from 4 yards out to extend the lead to 28-0.
Patrique Martin forced another PCS 3-and-out with his second sack of the night, but it set up an unfortunate sequence for the Foxworth faithful. Swanigan had just one man to beat on a long punt return but was hit hard near the sideline and hyperextended his knee. The Trojans lost their composure following the injury and received two 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalties following the first play of the drive, pushing them back to their own 5-yard line. Holmes then lost grip of the football attempting to throw a quick screen, and the Bobcats pounced on the loose ball in the end zone for their only touchdown of the night.
“We lost our composure there, and that’s something we’re not going to tolerate. We’re not going to have one guy being selfish and hurt the football team because somebody said something or did something,” coach Duncan said.
The Trojans regained their self-control and added a safety on Patrique Martin’s third sack of the game and a touchdown on a quick toss to James from four yards out in the fourth quarter to put the game on ice.
Holmes showed why he is so much of a threat as the signal caller of the offense, completing 69 percent of his passes for 131 yards and two touchdowns and running for 50 yards on 12 carries. Miller had his big breakout game to begin his senior year after struggling last season due to shoulder surgery, catching seven passes for 126 yards and a touchdown and rushing for 16 yards and a touchdown.
“The Miller family has been great to us the past eight or 10 years. I’ve had one every year, and he’s the baby of them,” coach Duncan said. “Noland is going to be a really good player for us.”
Coach Duncan added the Bobcats’ depleted numbers this year — down from 58 to 37 — after losing several players to transfer as well as graduation impacted the outcome of the Week 1 matchup. PCS beat West Marion 38-18 last season and 45-26 in 2016.
“They had the depth and could put us away (the last two years), and that was the difference in the ball game. The past few years they’ve had a lot of good players they could bring in and out and just pound us,” he said. “Last year at halftime it was a ball game. Then the third and fourth quarter they just pounded us into submission.”
The Trojans will remain at home next week as Purvis comes to town for a Friday night showdown at 7. Purvis beat West Marion 28-14 last season.
Pictured Above: West Marion sophomore running back Jartavious Martin breaks a tackle into the open field against PCS Thursday night. | Photo by Mark Rogers
