Senior defensive end Reid Mitchell (64) celebrates after coming up with a fumble recovery on the Pearl-Cohn 1-yard line. (Post Photo by Chris Siers)
By CHRIS SIERS
csiers@bedfordcountypost.com
LEWISBURG — It figured that Marshall County and Pearl-Cohn would meet on a rainy Halloween night for the Region 5-4A championship.
The Firebirds (7-3, 6-1), the defending Class 4-A state champions from a year ago have been the roadblock standing in Marshall County’s way for years, with the Tigers (10-0), 7-0) being unable to claim a
Jamahl Gentry keeps his eyes downfield and finds a crease. He had 110 yards on 14 carries and a touchdown, in addition to five receptions for 59 yards. (Post Photo by Chris Siers)
win against Pearl-Cohn in their previous six tries, despite holding leads in the second half in multiple meetings.
No more.
The Tigers survived a drenching rain, muddy field, physical Firebird team and relied on a 19-yard field goal by Luis Gonzalez in overtime to claim the 24-21 win over Pearl-Cohn and lock down the region title to finish the regular season with a perfect 10-0 record.
“What a night to remember. I’m so proud of our kids. Our motto all year has been tough people win. It was raining and muddy. We’ve been a great throwing team all year. It was tough to throw the ball tonight,” Tiger head coach Thomas Osteen said.
The Tigers have leaned on the talents of junior gunslinger Tyler Thompson all year, but the torrential rain kept the Tigers limited through the air.
Even with the rain, Thompson completed 13-of-26 attempts for 128 yards, but for the first time this season, didn’t have a passing touchdown.
He did, however, find the end zone twice on the ground.
On fourth and two, Thompson put a cap on a near-five minute drive with a 2-yard burst into the end zone to put Marshall County up 7-0, following Gonzalez’ kick.
The Firebirds responded with a nearly identical drive that milked over six minutes of clock before quarterback LJ Funk scored on a 1-yard dive to tie the game at seven following the made extra point.
Junior quarterback Tyler Thompson leaps to make a pass over a Firebird defender. He went 13-of-26 for 128 yards and had two rushing touchdowns. (Post Photo by Chris Siers)
Although the Tigers were forced to punt on the next drive, a bad snap tumbled back to the Firebird 1-yard line and Tiger defensive end Reid Mitchell jumped on the ball for the recovery to set up Thompson’s second rushing touchdown of the night to give Marshall County a 14-7 lead with 9:38 left in the half.
While the first two scoring drives were lengthy, clock draining possessions, the Firebirds again tied it up, this time on just a three-minute drive, finished on a 13-yard run by Javion Kinnard.
With Pearl-Cohn due to get the ball back in the third, the Tigers got two key conversions on the next drive before senior tailback Jamahl Gentry took a first-down handoff and appeared to be trapped in the backfield for a loss.
Instead, Gentry reversed field, found a crease and broke loose for 18 yards to once again put the Tigers up 21-14 following Gonzalez’ kick.
Marcus O’Neal drags a pile of Firebird defenders along after making a catch near the sideline. He had six catches for 53 yards. (Post Photo by Chris Siers)
As rain continued to dump on the field, both teams struggled to finish drives in the third quarter.
The Tigers got a key fourth-down stop with 5:18 left in the third as the Firebirds drove to the Marshall County 23-yard line.
Marshall County was able to move the ball in spurts in the next possession, but untimely penalties ultimately forced another punt by Kel Ford.
On third down, Funk hit Ladamion Hunter on a 52-yard pickup to put the Firebirds inside the Marshall County 10.
But again, the Tiger defense rose to the occasion and came up with a fourth-down stop from the 4-yard line with 10:20 left in regulation.
Playing the field position game, it was back-to-back plays by Gentry that included a 15-yard reception and a 30-yard run to put the Tigers into plus-territory.
While the Tigers were on the march, it was the penalty bug that backed Marshall County up and ultimately stalled the drive near mid-field.
After punting with 5:43 left, it was a 71-yard touchdown strike from the Firebird 29-yard line that drove a dagger into the hearts of the Tiger faithful.
The 71-yard reception by Kinnard left the game tied with 4:37 left following the extra point.
Still, with plenty of clock left and a pair of timeouts to work with, Marshall County took the drive 13 plays to the Pearl Cohn 23, which included a fourth-down and third-down conversion to keep the drive alive.
But with time dwindling inside 20 seconds, a fumble gave the Firebirds the ball back and with one last heave, Funk got a 34-yard pass to Kinnard, but was ultimately brought down to force overtime.
With both teams guaranteed to get a possession, beginning on the 10-yard line, the Tigers deferred possession and Pearl-Cohn was hit with a second-down penalty that backed the Firebirds up outside the 20.
Although able to get down to the 8-yard line, the Firebirds opted to go for it on fourth down instead of kicking the field goal and with the biggest stop of the night, the Marshall County defensive front stuffed the run by Funk.
“If you’re going to be a championship team, you have to be great on defense. And man, the Tigers are playing really good defensive football right now,” Osteen said.
Having forced the turnover on downs without giving up any points, Thompson pressed the Tigers down to the 2-yard line before Gonzalez lined up the game-winning kick to secure the perfect regular season for the Tigers.
While the passing game wasn’t as effective with the weather, Gentry led the charge out of the backfield, totaling 110 yards on 14 carries, while Thompson added 59 on 17 touches as well.
Marcus O’Neal made six catches for 53 yards, while Gentry added five for 59 on the night.
Funk went 11-for-13 for 226 yards and a score.
The Firebirds churned out similar ground production, totaling 198 yards, with Kinnard finishing with 121 yards on 19 touches.
He had three catches for 114 yards as well.
After facing Pearl-Cohn twice a season ago, including for the Region 5-4A title and again in the third-round of the Class 4-A playoffs, the Tigers finally were able to exact their revenge and lock up the No. 1 seed for the upcoming playoffs.
While it would be easy enough to rest on their laurels with a perfect season, Osteen says now the challenge is to not become complacent with the accomplishments so far this season and prepare each week for a one-week season.
“That’s going to be the toughest thing. There was a huge hurdle tonight. We’re going to celebrate this like crazy. But we can’t let this affect next week,” he said.
“I think the Tigers play better at home. Getting the first game here is big and we’ll see what happens after that.”
After defeating the defending Class 4-A state champs, the Tigers’ confidence is riding at perhaps an all-time high under Osteen’s direction—and with good reason.
Following the conclusion of Friday night’s regular season games, the Tigers are just one of three unbeaten Class 4-A teams left in the state, with the other two being Upperman and Loudon.
“We’re not perfect, but we’ve got just enough to compete with anybody in the state. I’m really happy to be coaching this team and we’ve got a bunch of really good players,” he said.
The Tigers will host Lexington (4-6) on Friday night at Preston Hopkins Field for the first-round of the Class 4-A playoffs.
Pearl Cohn 7 7 0 7 0 — 21
Marshall Co. 7 14 0 0 3 — 24
First Quarter
MC — Tyler Thompson 2 run, (Luis Gonzalez kick), 7:06.
PC — L.J. Funk 1 run, (Rohan Kassie kick), 1:15.
Second Quarter
MC — Thompson 1 run, (Gonzalez kick), 9:38.
PC — Javion Kinnard 13 run, (Kassie kick), 6:28.
MC — Jamahl Gentry 18 run, (Gonzalez kick), 2:14.
Fourth Quarter
PC — Kinnard 71 pass from Funk, (Kassie kick), 4:37.
Overtime
MC — Gonzalez 19 field goal.
