BY ALLEN GREGORY
BRISTOL HERALD COURIER
MARION, Va. – Marion football coach Mike Briscoe had hundreds of reasons to be worried after he lost the leading rusher and scorer in the Southwest District to graduation.
Through two games, Briscoe has many reasons to smile.
Marion earned its second straight victory over a Smyth County rival Friday, accounting for 284 yards rushing in a 56-6 victory against Northwood in the Smyth County Hall of Fame game.
Marion’s Brock Hanna topped the SWD last season with 1,226 yards and 115 points. The Scarlet Hurricane has adjusted behind quick sophomore Brett Johnson, who accounted for 145 yards rushing on 11 carries Friday. Johnson also scored three touchdowns.
“We’ve been preparing for this since the final game of last season,” Johnson said. “Now, we’re just working on coming together as a team.”
The Scarlet Hurricane came together early against Northwood, opening a 21-6 halftime lead and then cruising behind solid line play and sure tackling. Marion compiled 258 total yards last week en route to a 10-7 victory Smyth County rival Chilhowie. Johnson rushed for 78 yards in that game.
“I don’t care about my stats,’’ said Johnson, son of former Marion baseball star A.J. Johnson. “I just look for my hole and hit it hard.”
Senior Zeb Rhodes (6-0, 220) is the lone returning starter on the Marion offensive line, which features a blend of size and strength. Senior Lucas Helton (6-4, 260) and junior Jacob Wolford (6-3, 300) also lead the line crew.
“We’ve got some young offensive linemen who are really coming around and getting better with each game,’’ Briscoe said. “That’s fun to watch.”
Senior quarterback Matt Noe supplied 95 yards rushing for Marion, while fullback Eric Bane added 57 yards and two scores.
Northwood, which has posted a 2-18 record the past two seasons, rushed for 213 yards in a 42-38 win over Galax last week behind speedy senior Ty Frye.
The Panthers were handicapped Friday by 15 penalties and two fumbles Friday. In fact, the lengthy game was slowed by 18 penalties in the first half.
Frye carried the ball 21 times Friday in Northwood’s creative single-wing offense, but he managed just 40 yards.
“Ty always puts out the effort, but we didn’t play with any of the intensity that we had last week,” Northwood coach Billy Wyatt said after a long talk with his team.
“This was the worst week of practice we’ve had since we’ve started the year. That’s just the way it is. Once we start getting some pats on the back, we think we’ve got it made. We’ve got to find that desire and hunger again.”
After Marion built a 21-0 lead at the 8:03 mark of the first half, Northwood scored on a 20-yard pass from Frye to Jeremiah Thompson. Led by the defense of varsity newcomer Micky Holman and the speed of Johnson, the Scarlet Hurricane ended the suspense quickly.
“I thought it would be a closer game, and Northwood played us tough in the first half,’’ Briscoe said. “But we were able to do some good things, then we just got on a roll.”
Northwood 0 6 0 0–6
Marion 13 8 14 21–56
Scoring Summary
MAR –Johnson 35 run (kick failed)
MAR-Noe 6 run (Ampudia kick)
MAR-Johnson 35 interception return (Bane pass from Noe)
N-Thompson 20 pass from Frye (kick failed)
MAR-Johnson 7 run (Ampudia kick)
MAR-Bane 1 run (Ampudia kick)
MAR-Bane 2 run (Ampudia kick)
MAR-Wolford fumble recovery in end zone (Ampudia kick)
MAR-Wagner 26 run (Ampudia kick)
Team Stats
First Downs: N 11, M 14; Rushes-Yards: N 33-52, M 37-284 Passing Yards: N 111, M 43; Comp-Att-Int.: N 7-25-1, M 2-6-0; Penalties: N 15-108, M 8-90; Fumbles-Lost: N 2-2, M 0-0 Punts-Avg.; N 5-33, M 1-37.
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