The football bounced perfectly off the tee for Blountstown on the opening kickoff and the Tigers recovered an onside kick at the Marianna 49 yard line to open the game Friday night at Bowles Field. On first down, quarterback Hunter Jordan threw a long pass to Marquel Thomas who pulled the ball in at the 10 yard line and strolled into the endzone for a touchdown. Corin Peterson missed the extra point, but the Tigers were ahead 6-0 before fans had settled in their seats.
It took the Tigers 11 seconds to take lead, but that would be their only score of the night as Marianna would put 16 points on the scoreboard to take the victory. The loss dropped the Tigers to 2 and 4 on the season with district rival Liberty County visiting Bowles Field Friday night.
"It is really frustrating for our kids", coach Greg Jordan said Monday. "They work hard at practice all week and they give a great effort in the games. We continue to make drive killing penalties, miss key blocks on critical plays, and drop passes that would extend drives. This team is a couple of plays from being 4 and 2."'
On paper, the Blountstown Tigers did enough to win. They outrushed Marianna 150 yards on 36 plays to the Bulldogs' 136 yards on 38 plays. The Tigers added 64 yards passing on 4 of 14 completions by Hunter Jordan. Marianna completed 2 of 4 passes for 30 yards. Blountstown tallied 214 yards of offense to the Bulldogs' 166.
The Tiger defense has continued to play well all season holding some good offensive teams to limited yards. After the Tiger offense lost a fumble at their own 21 yard line, the defense held and forced a Marianna field goal attempt that missed late in the first quarter.
The Blountstown defense was put to the test again early in the second quarter after the Tigers failed to pick up a 1/2 yard on fourth down at their own 33 yard line. Marianna scored in 6 plays and the extra point put the Bulldogs on top 7-6.
The Tigers reached the Bulldog 30 yard line in the third quarter but a holding penalty stalled the drive that ended on the Bulldog 15.
Late in the third quarter, a Marianna punt rolled dead at the Tiger 4 yard line. Javakiel Brigham lost 3 yards on first down and Jawon Mosley was tackled in the endzone on 2nd down for a safety. Marianna jumped ahead, 9-6.
Following the free kick following the safety, the Tiger defense once again stepped up and stopped the Bulldogs on a fourth and 1 from the Tiger 39. Blountstown's offense moved across midfield after a 23 yard run by Jordan. Two incompletions turned the ball back over to Marianna at he Bulldog 30.
Another Bulldog punt pinned the Tigers deep and the offense couldn't move and turned the ball back over to Marianna at the Tiger 18 yard line. On first down, Christopher Bowers raced to the endzone to dash all Tiger hopes. The PAT gave the Bulldogs the final margin of victory, 16-6.
Jawon Mosley led the Tigers with 45 yards on 12 carries followed closely by Hunter Jordan with 42 yards on 12 carries. Marquel Thomas added 32 yards on 3 carries with Javakiel Brigham adding 13 yards and Brian Middlebrooks 18 yards.
Brigham continues to lead the Tiger defense and he finished with 9 tackles including 2.5 for losses against the Bulldogs. Anthony Williams also finished with 9 tackles followed by Hunter Jordan with 7, Patrick Pitts and Anthony Curry with 5, and Corin Peterson with 4 each. Bobby Andrews, Marquel Thomas, Jawon Mosley, Austin Capps, Steadman Dawson, Roosevelt Martin and Anthony Jones all added to the defensive effort.
The Tigers will have to play error free against the 6-1 Liberty County Bulldogs Friday night, fresh off a 13-10 win over Bozeman. "They're well disciplined and they don't beat themselves," coach Jordan noted. "We've got to be able to move the football and score when we have opportunities. We can not turn the ball over.
It should be a hard fought ball game and I hope our fans will fill the stands and support our team."
