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By LARRY HYPES
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
TAZEWELL, Va. — After the rain, a hurricane settled on the Dog House.
Marshal Wagner passed for 223 yards, had a 50-yard run and from his defensive back spot intercepted a pass to pace Marion to a 37-10 Southwest District win over Tazewell Friday.
Ethan Richardson rushed for 131 yards and scored three times for the Scarlet Hurricane (2-6) which avenged a home loss to the Bulldogs last season and ended a three-game skid against Tazewell (0-7).
Marion rolled up 406 yards in total offense including 183 on the ground in a balanced attack that never let up over the final three quarters.
Tazewell’s late-game fireworks dazzled the fans on a fourth quarter march. Cody McCann fired completions of 46 and 28 yards to Jalen Jordan before finding Ryan Hankins for an 11-yard touchdown with less than a minute to play. That capped an impressive 95-yard drive covering just five plays.
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McCann was 10-for-21, for 183 yards and a touchdown with 122 yards passing in the fourth quarter. Mikal Moore was Tazewell’s leading rusher with 41 yards.
“It was more fun near the end when we started moving the ball,” said McCann. “I gave it all I had. I called an audible to set up that long pass to Jalen, and that got us out to midfield to have a shot to score late in the game.”
Andrew Murray booted a 40-yard field goal with :14 left in the first half to put the Bulldogs on the scoreboard after Marion had jumped in front 14-0.
Richardson scored on a seven-yard pass with 11:53 to go in the second stanza and Ben Ampudia’s extra point put MHS ahead 7-0. The drive, which came on the first play of the second quarter, took 9:07 in 12 plays for 76 yards. Colin Gullion caught a 36-yard strike from Wagner on third-and-20 from the Bulldog 48 in a key play.
Richardson bolted in for a 32-yard touchdown with 7:07 on the clock and Ampudia again kicked the PAT to give the Scarlet Hurricane a two-score margin.
Tazewell had to punt a series later but a roughing the kicker penalty gave the Dogs their chance to get points.
Despite a low snap, holder Mikal Moore made a dandy placement and Murray dredged the ball from the wet grass and hit it dead center over the crossbar in the closing seconds to cut the deficit to 14-3.
A pair of Marion scores after halftime settled the suspense.
Gullion raced 33 yards for a TD with 7:51 to go in the third quarter and Ampudia nailed the extra point to make the score 21-3 in a six-play, 78-yard drive.
Wagner’s 50-yard run, and a 20-yard scoring dash by Richardson made short work of the next march as Marion moved 69 yards in only three plays to score again. Mikey Wright of the Bulldogs blocked the PAT, however, leaving the score at 27-3 with 2:20 to go in the third quarter.
Wagner intercepted a McCann pass to give Marion the ball near the end of the quarter but Moore tackled Gullion and recovered the fumble to return the pigskin to Tazewell possession in the frantic final minute of the third quarter.
After the Hurricane stopped Tazewell, Ampudia ended the next drive with a 25-yard field with 9:56 to play as Marion moved in front 30-3.
Jordan intercepted a Wagner pass but Marion again stopped the Bulldogs.
The final Scarlet Hurricane score came on a 75-pass from Wagner to Dylan Karriker right down the middle of the field with just 2:07 to go and Ampudia again hit the extra point. That made the score 37-3.
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McCann, who took over at quarterback after halftime, caught fire with the high-flying Jordan as his primary target. From the four-yard stripe, McCann changed a play at the line and lofted a pass for toward Jordan, who was streaking down the right sideline. He leaped, made the grab, and went out at midfield.
“My mom (Peggy Wilson) was the reason I had a good game,” grinned Jordan. “I didn’t start in my usual wide receiver spot and she told me I had better keep my head up and go out and play my best. She wouldn’t let me give in.
“When coach (Brandon Tate) called my number I had to go in and make it count.”
McCann then went right back to the lanky junior, and Jordan went up and pulled in a 28-yard aerial to give Tazewell a first down on the Hurricane 11-yard marker.
After an incompletion, Hankins cut to his left over the goal line and cradled the touchdown catch with just :33 to go. Murray nailed the PAT for the game’s final points.
“That wasn’t just my first touchdown of the season — it’s the first one I ever scored,” said Hankins, who starts both ways for Tazewell in his (senior) first season of varsity play. “We had an incomplete pass just before that. On the touchdown, I faked a post, the corner bit and I beat him. Once I got clear and the ball was in the air, all I had to do was reach up over my shoulder and catch it.”
Tate was disappointed with the loss but not with the effort of his team.
“We’ll get it going,” he said. “We’ll play hard for the rest of the season, try to win and then hit the weight room with all our team including the young guys from the middle school. We are going to turn this around and make the Bulldogs a winner again.”
Marion led 12-5 in first downs. The Hurricane was penalized 9 times for 60 yards, and THS was flagged 6 times for 55.
Tazewell travels to Carroll County for another SWD game on October 21.
At Bulldog Stadium/Witten Field
Marion..................0 14 13 10 — 37
Tazewell................0 3 0 7 — 10
Second Quarter
M—Richardson, 7-yard pass from Wagner (Ampudia kick)
M—Richardson, 32-yard run (Ampudia kick)
T—Murray, 40-yard field goal
Third Quarter
M—Gullion, 33-yard run (Ampudia kick)
M—Richardson, 20-yard run (kick blocked)
Fourth Quarter
M—Ampudia, 25-yard field goal
M—Karriker, 75-yard pass from Wagner (Ampudia kick)
T—Hankins, 11-yard pass from McCann (Murray kick)