Marion County quarterback Bryce Massengale (12) is brought down after a gain.High-powered Marion County entered Friday's football game averaging 43 points per game. Touchdowns, though, were hard to come by, and neither the visiting Warriors offensive unit nor that of Central's Purple Pounders were able to get across the goal line.
The Pounders scored on a 43-yard fumble return by Quinn Beasley in the first quarter and held all-state Blake Zeman and the Marion offense in check for a 7-0 victory, their third win in four games.
"We have a great defense. They're definitely our heart and soul right now," Central coach Ryan Mallory said. "If the other guy can't score, he can't win, and we've been able to find a way to get points."
The Central defense has yet to surrender a touchdown this season, and this was its second shutout. The Pounders beat Polk County 24-0 in Week 2 and just missed a shutout last week, falling to East Ridge 3-0. Central has given up only 13 points for the year.
Zeman was held to 88 yards, and his longest carry of the night was for 8 yards.
"We both have a good defense. If not for the turnover, I think we would've been playing for overtime," said Marion's two-way senior standout, who was held under the 100-yard rushing mark for the first time this year.
The turnover was a pitch and toss, but the trailing back was nowhere near when the pitch was made and Beasley made the most of it, scooping up the loose ball and scoring 6:48 into the game.
"You have to give them some credit," Marion coach Ricky Ross said. "We knew coming in that they were a good defensive ballclub. They have some good players. They have some good coaches, and their kids know exactly what they're doing."
It was the first time Marion County has been shut out since Sept. 16, 2011, against South Pittsburg.
Ross wasn't ready to throw in any towels.
"I couldn't be more proud of our kids' effort -- their fight and their resolve. Sometimes you just have to tip your cap," he said. "We have things to work on for sure."
Not having spring practice due to an incident the previous season left the Warriors somewhat handicapped.
"We knew with the time we lost that we either had to get good on one or the other," he said. "We felt like we better look at the one (running) first, and now we're trying to catch up with the other (passing). Obviously, we have to improve."
Mallory felt the same after seeing his own offense go scoreless for the second straight week.
"Our entire offensive execution has to get better," he said. "We were probably a little better than last week, but we're still one guy away. We've got five guys [up front] that do a good job, and the sixth one is a step behind. We've got to rep it, rep it, rep it and go back to the board and make sure they understand it."
The loss dropped top-10 ranked Marion from the list of area unbeatens and left both clubs with 3-1 records.
"It hurts losing the undefeated season. That's a senior goal," Zeman said. "We're going to come out next week and work even harder, and we'll be ready next Friday night."
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at twitter.com/wardgossett.