Tomcats hang on for close win

BROWNSVILLE - The Haywood Tomcats came up with just enough big hits, big plays and big stops on Saturday night as they defeated the Marion High School Wildcats by the score of 35-34.

With 11:49 left in the fourth quarter, Haywood quarterback Tillman McCrae connected with Montavious Pugh for a 48-yard touchdown pass. That touchdown turned out to be the difference as the Tomcats held Marion scoreless in the fourth quarter with big defensive stops.

"Marion is one of the top teams out of Illinois in their class," Haywood head coach Steve Hookfin said. "We try to put together a very tough schedule here to prepare us for later in the season. This game was great for us tonight because we had our backs against the wall in several parts of the game. Our guys fought and battled all night.

"This was a big win against a very good team."

Haywood got the ball to start the game and had no trouble scoring their first touchdown of the game as they capped off a long drive with a 10-yard touchdown run by Tillman McCrae. McCrae had 91 yards rushing in the game.

Marion displayed an impressive offense of their own as they tied the game up with 1:15 left in the first quarter on a 13-yard touchdown pass.

The second quarter was a back-and-forth battle that saw Marion take a 14-7 lead as well as a 21-14 lead before Haywood was able to tie the game at 21-21 at the half.

Haywood scored via the big play in the second quarter as Tillman McCrae connected with Montavious Pugh for a 32-yard touchdown, the first of two touchdown connections between the two.

Decourtney Reed also scored on a 75-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. Reed finished the night with 122 yards rushing on 11 carries.

The Tomcats found their backs against the wall once again in the third quarter as Marion took the lead once again on a four-yard touchdown run.

This time, Haywood’s Taylor Shields answered the call as he returned the ensuing kickoff 82 yards to tie the game at 28.

Marion scored their final touchdown of the game with 1:38 left in the third quarter on a 52-yard touchdown run. They elected to go for the 2-point conversion and failed.

Haywood took the lead with 11:49 left in the game as Tillman McCrae connected with Montavious Pugh for a touchdown to tie the game. Haywood took the lead with the extra point.

"This was a great effort for my guys," Hookfin said. "We faced some adversity and answered the call every chance we got. This was a great opportunity for this team this early in the year. I'm proud of them tonight."

With the win, the Tomcats pick up their first win of the season and will travel to Obion County next week.

"Obion County is playing some good football so far this year," Hookfin said. "They could very easily be 2-0 right now. This will also be our first region game so it will be a huge game for us as well.

"We will be taking Obion County very seriously in practice this coming week."