Marion County football team mauls Sequatchie County

DUNLAP, Tenn. -- From the drive through the Sequatchie Valley to the trim of the numbers on field to the helmets and uniforms of every player on each team, purple ruled Friday night as Marion County rolled Sequatchie County 35-7.

From the passion on the faces of the fans lining the chain-link fences behind the benches to the flushed faces of the frustrated hosts, it was obviously the optic of the evening. And the outcome.

"They're probably better than us, and they played a lot better than us," Sequatchie coach Ken Colquette said after his purple-and-gold team fell to 2-3 with the home loss. "And there's no way we're going to beat anybody playing like we did tonight."

Marion (5-1) made the most of almost every Indians mistake. The purple-and-white Warriors turned two crucial second-half fumble recoveries into touchdowns to extend the lead to 35-0 before clearing the bench and rotating out almost every Warrior in uniform.

In fact, with the game comfortably in hand, first-year Marion boss Rick Ross was still working the sideline and making sure the second-teamers were giving a first-team effort.

"Absolutely, that's what we do," Ross said of the instruction in the passion-filled final seconds. "We're going to coach them up and make sure they know what we are doing and what this program expects."

The expected outcome -- even Colquette, the longtime former Marion County coach, said he noticed the Warriors' growing since of confidence -- for Marion County eventually arrived, but it was not without some early setbacks.

A defensive-minded first quarter was tinted purple when Marion quarterback Bryce Massengale sprinted 89 yards around left end for a touchdown. Josh Henderson added a 36-yard score on a second-quarter sweep as Sequatchie was focused on closing the middle to bruising fullback Blake Zeman.

"I thought we played really good as a team," said Massengale, who rushed for 109 yards on four carries and threw for 73 yards and a score. "We forced some turnovers, and that always helps.

"It was kind of a rough start, but we picked it up really fast."

Henderson and Zeman each added a third-quarter touchdown as Marion capitalized on three recoveries of eight Sequatchie fumbles. Henderson finished with 149 yards rushing on 10 carries, and Zeman had 99 total yards and two scores.

Colby Reed's 31-yard fourth-quarter run was Sequatchie's lone score against a Marion first-team defense that held the Indians under 100 yards and to four first downs before Ross called on the reserves.

"I thought the defense played really well," Ross said of his bunch that leveled ever thing in site.

And, yes, Marion left its mark and its share of bruises on Friday night. Want to guess the color?

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