Marion County rallies into state final

JASPER, Tenn. - Marion County hadn't relied on the pass much at all this season, but if not for two big pass plays the Warriors' season would've ended Friday.

Bryce Massengale's only completions -- 34 and 18 yards to Blake Brooks -- helped the Warriors move the ball 73 yards in the final 2:21 without a timeout. Then on a play that looked like it confused the offense more than the defense, Massengale's 1-yard run put Marion County ahead with 7.3 seconds left for the first time in the TSSAA Class 2A semfinal.

Grace Christian from Knoxville tried a few laterals on the ensuing kickoff, but that resulted only in the Warriors' Hunter McClain falling on the ball in the end zone to cap their 24-15 come-from-behind victory. With it goes a trip to Cookeville to compete for a state championship.

photo Marion County's Blake Brooks (10) fumbles as he is hit by Grace's Tyler Beck (15).

The Warriors will be taking on Peabody, which beat Adamsville 42-31.

The play that sealed it for Marion County was a third-down play at the 1 in which Massengale first turned and bumped into running back Blake Zeman, whose 2- and 3-yard runs the plays before had moved it there.

"I thought I heard him call a play, but what I thought wasn't what it was," Massengale said of the play call by assistant coach Joey Mathis. "It all turned out for the best."

After the bump, Massengale spun off and lunged in off right tackle.

"We had a mixup," Marion County coach Ricky Ross said. "He did the right thing. He ran to where the play was called."

The Warriors struggled throughout the first half, turning the ball over three times. They went to the half down 15-0 -- the Rams faking the extra point after their first touchdown and passing for the conversion.

Marion County (12-1) did not pick up its first first down until its fifth series and had two the entire first half.

"I told the kids, 'We played about as bad as we could play and we're only down 15-0,'" Ross said. "We didn't come out and do anything different. It was us."

But the result was different starting the second half. Marion drove it 73 yards on 15 running plays with Massengale scoring on a sneak from the 1.

"That was huge," Ross said. "That was all about us not turning it over, not having silly penalties and (maintaining) ball security."

Christian Stephens' 32-yard field goal with 11:52 to play pulled the Warriors within four points. The teams then swapped a couple of possessions, setting the stage for the wild finish.

"Every practice we work on the two-minute drill," Massengale said. "We work on it every day."

Zeman bounced back from losing two fumbles in the first half and finished with 97 yards on 22 carries. He was aided by Josh Henderson's 63 yards on 12 carries and Brooks' 62 yards on 13 rushes.

Cameron Kuerschen led Grace Christian (10-4) with 74 yards on seven carries, including a 55-yard touchdown. Kobe Kelley had a 13-yard TD catch from Jimmy Clevenger and finished with five catches for 73 yards.

"It's amazing," Ross said of going to the state final. "These kids have earned it. They deserve it. We've worked hard. Now we want to go take what's rightfully ours."

Contact Kelley Smiddie at ksmiddie@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6653. Follow him at twitter.com/KelleySmiddie.

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