A trip to Mississippi for a high school football game was a first for the Marshall County program but it was the second time they have played Northpoint Christian. The first was last season when the Marshals hosted the Trojans. A suburb of Memphis, Northpoint Christian sits just over the border from Tennessee in Southaven but is a member of the Tennessee Athletic Association.
The Trojans were 5-6 last season, one of those wins coming over the Marshals 42-7 and they were 1-1 coming into Friday’s game. Like last season, the Marshals came into the game 2-0 and were handed their first loss by Northpoint Christian by a final score of 43-14.
Both teams finished the night with nearly the same total yardage, just under 250 unofficially, but it was big plays in the first half by the Trojans that stunned the Marshals. The first coming on the opening kick when Northpoint Christian’s Sammy Chapman ran that ball back 98 yards for a touchdown.
The Trojans scored on their second possession on a 21-yard touchdown pass from Jack Patterson to Noah Oigbokie after a 55-yard drive and took a 15-0 lead. Scoring their third touchdown on their third possession, the Trojans found the endzone on a 71-yard pass from Patterson to Christian Gilliland and the lead was 22-0.
Northpoint Christian scored their final touchdown of the first quarter to take a 29-0 lead following an interception of Marshall County quarterback Conner Nix.
With great field position on their next possession, Northpoint Christian went up 36-0 after a 46-yard touchdown scored by Grayson Alford. With that touchdown, an early running clock would accelerate the game and limit the Marshals opportunities to put points on the board.
An interception of Nix on the Marshals next possession led to another quick seven points for the Trojans and a 43-0 lead.
Advancing the ball for the first time in the half, the Marshals put together a drive while stopping the clock with timeouts. With seconds ticking down, they scored their first touchdown of the game on a touchdown pass from Nix to Parker Gibbs and with the extra point tacked on by Logan Parker, trailed 43-7 at halftime.
A quick third quarter saw a new face in at quarterback for the Trojans and a Marshals drive that began at the three yard line and moved downfield 54 yards as the quarter ended. The fourth quarter opened on a 27-yard touchdown run by Aiden Dunigan that capped off the 97-yard drive. With Parker’s PAT, the Marshals added seven more points to the board before the horn sounded on the 43-14 final score.
The Marshals picked up most of their yards on the ground, unofficially 29 carries for 159 yards, led by Dunigan with 70 on nine carries and Gibbs with one carry for 43 yards. Nix was 5-of-13 for 84 yards in passing. The majority of the Trojans total yards came in the first half, rushing for 108 on 16 carries and Patterson was a perfect 5-of-5 in the air for 126 yards in unofficial stats.
The Marshals will host Calloway County on Friday. The Lakers are 0-3 and lost to Fulton County 44-28 on Friday.
Marshall County 0 7 0 7 – 14
Northpoint Christian 29 14 0 0 – 43