West Marion head coach Brad Duncan said before the season he wanted the Trojans to run the ball far more often and efficiently this season, and the Trojans did just that in a 34-0 road win over Purvis to start the year.
The Trojans accounted for 240 rushing yards and five touchdowns on 36 carries while throwing the ball just eight times in the blowout.
“That’s (one of) the (few) times in probably 10 years or longer that we’ve had over 200 yards rushing,” Duncan said. “Running backs ran the ball really well. (Jartavious) Tater Rabbit (Martin) and Octavious (Harvey) both had some good runs. We were able to get outside of them with some toss sweep. We were able to run some power; our guys up front did a decent job.”
Duncan said the Tornadoes were who he thought were, that they were a physical team without a lot of speed. He added the game could’ve looked a lot different, but an early takeaway ignited the Trojans.
“We came out and scored on the opening possession. They had a drive going, a 10-play drive, and got inside the 20 and fumbled. That kind of set the tone,” he said. “If they score right there, we’re probably in a dog fight. But they didn’t, we scored again and it was kind of done then.”
West Marion returns to Foxworth this week to take on Lumberton, who beat North Forrest 21-6 in its opener. Duncan said Lumberton is multiple offensively with the I-formation as its staple, but the Panthers will also line up in the spread. Lumberton’s offense is centered around junior running back Robert Henry, who ran for 2,075 yards and 20 touchdowns last year and tallied 122 yards and a touchdown in Lumberton’s Week 1 victory over North Forrest.
“He’s as good as any running back we’ll see. He can go,” Duncan said. “He had 22 carries last week and a couple receptions. They’ll move him around — he’ll be anything from a running back to a quarterback to a slot guy — they do a lot of stuff with him to get him involved. He’s their go-to guy.”
Duncan added Lumberton’s defense had a few players stand out in Week 1 as well and that the Panthers play at a faster speed than what West Marion saw with Purvis.
Against Purvis it was the Martin and Harvey show offensively as the two backs combined for 196 rushing yards and three touchdowns, while Qavonte Swanigan and Jayden Duncan each had a rushing touchdown as well.
For the second year in a row, though, the Trojans lost a key piece to injury early on in their opening game. Sophomore cornerback Tyler Aikens, who Duncan said had as good of a summer flying up the depth chart as any young guy he’s coached, went down with a knee injury in the first quarter. Duncan said Monday that Aikens would get an MRI Tuesday to determine the severity, but the trainer at the game Friday feared a tear.
“He busted his butt to become a starter. It’s a possible tear. He’s a super kid. He’s very coachable, goes hard and we have our fingers crossed it’s just a sprain,” he said.
As of deadline Tuesday, there was no word on Aikens’ injury.
Larry Magee replaced Aikens at corner, and Duncan said he played well and had a pass breakup. But Magee also plays a big role offensively and will have to be spelled defensively from time to time in Aikens’ absence.
The next man up is Josh Boone, who is playing football for the first time and is one of West Marion’s best baseball players.
“Josh Boone, who hasn’t played ever, came in and stuck his nose in there, played hard and got a couple tackles. He’s got to come up and play now a little bit. He’s the No. 1 sub now,” Duncan said. “Instead of coming along slow, piece by piece, he’s going to get thrown into the mix now.”
Prior to the season, Duncan said he wanted to be multiple offensively and the Trojans were able to do that while remaining effective.
They operated both out of their traditional spread attack and a power look with an H-back and tight end. The wrinkle allows West Marion to use physical quarterback Jeremiah Holmes some at H-back while Jayden Duncan, who is more of a traditional drop back passer, comes in at quarterback.
Jordyn Mahaffey and Blake Lowery also played that H-back role, and Swanigan moved into the backfield as well.
Holmes completed 2-of-4 pass attempts for 24 yards, and Duncan 3-of-4 for 68 yards. Ott Mitchell led the receiving corps with two catches for 47 yards.
Pictured Above: West Marion's Jartavious Martin finds the open field against Purvis. | Photo by Susan Amundson
