The West Marion Trojans battled to the bitter end in an effort to overcome early mistakes in Friday night's game against Tylertown. Although they put themselves in position to complete the comeback with a one-possession deficit in the final quarter, the efforts proved to be too little too late as they ultimately fell to the Chiefs by a score of 24-20.
The miscues started coming early for the visiting Trojans. Despite several effective plays on their opening drive, a mishandled snap to the punter allowed Tylertown to take over possession at the West Marion 26-yard line. Just four plays later, the Chiefs punched the ball across the goal line for the first touchdown of the evening.
"We made a lot of mistakes early, and on special teams, you know, we just didn't play very well in that department," said West Marion head coach Brandon Thornhill. "It wasn't just the fact that we made certain mistakes, but it was the fact that we made them in really pivotal situations. That turnover on the first drive just kind of hit us in the mouth, and we were fighting an uphill battle from there on out."
The Chiefs doubled their lead late in the second quarter after forcing the Trojans to punt on three consecutive drives. Just before both teams headed to the locker room, senior running back Jakaden Mark broke free for a 5-yard touchdown run to put West Marion on the board, trailing 12-6.
Another scoring drive by Tylertown to start the second half lifted their advantage to two scores, but the Trojans' defense stepped up down the stretch to bring West Marion within reach of the lead. Late in the third, Quai Ward scored on an 107-yard pick six to swing momentum in the Trojans' favor, and a safety on the Chiefs' following drive gave the Trojans possession with an opportunity to cut deeper into the lead.
Elijah Kendrick pushed the ball across the goal line on a 5-yard touchdown run late in the fourth, making it a one-score ball game with time dwindling, and the Trojans' defense recovered a fumble on the first play of the ensuing drive.
West Marion's offense was unable to capitalize on the opportunity to capture the lead, however, turning the ball over on downs and allowing the Chiefs to take a knee and drain the rest of the play clock to secure the 24-20 victory.
Mark reached triple digits for the second straight week on the ground, totaling 18 carries for 104 yards and a touchdown in the contest. Kendrick tallied 83 yards on 11 carries with a score while Ward rushed for 37 yards on five carries to go along with an 8-yard catch and a pick six.
The bright side for the Trojans is that, despite all of the mishaps that put them behind the eight ball for most of the evening, they still found themselves in position to steal the win. Thornhill believes his team is just a few more minor corrections away from being capable of big things as they move closer and closer toward the district portion of their schedule.
"We made a lot of mistakes, we didn't capitalize on a few really good opportunities to score, and yet somehow we still put ourselves in position to have a chance to win late in the ballgame," Thornhill said. "We committed a lot of penalties, too, which is something you just can't do and expect to win against good football teams.
"I know a lot of coaches all around the state are dealing with the same issues right now, so we're not going to just sit around and act like the sky is falling. We'll get back to work this week and try to make a few more corrections because St. Martin will feel no sympathy for us whenever we visit them for this Friday's ball game."
The Trojans will be back on the road Friday to take on the Class 6A St. Martin Yellow Jackets before returning to Foxworth for their home opener against Columbia on Sept. 16.
