Bring on the Monarchs: Marion moves on to the second round with win over Buford

The 2007 Class 2A playoffs featured a number of opening round blowouts, but the Foxes draw at home turned out to be a slugfest. Marion rallied after being down 22-15, at halftime against Buford with a 36-22, thrilling victory. “Big thrill. I didn’t think we played that well in the first half. Our strong point all year has been stopping the run,” says Foxes Head Coach Bryan Carfley on his playoff win that took some halftime adjustments to limit the big plays from the Yellow Jackets. The win for Carfley and the squad now leads to a huge game against Manning, where the Swamp Foxes can seek vengeance for three straight losses to the Monarchs in two years.

Marion and the Yellow Jackets traded shots early and often in the contest, but the Foxes struck first as D.J. Gause “toe-dragged” like Deion Sanders across the goal line on a 34-yard touchdown run at the 8:01 mark in the opening quarter. After Aaron Taylor’s extra point kick, the Foxes enjoyed the lead for about 20 seconds before Buford’s Andrew Jennings broke away for a 62-yard touchdown run to even the game 7-7, at the 7:41 mark. In a fast pace game Buford was poised for the upset, while Marion was “Powered-Up” and excited to begin the postseason on their homefield.

The trio of Jacolgan Rowell, Brian Gilliard, and Mark Gunter in the backfield has been paying off. Gilliard’s “Bo Knows” tactics have produced a physical running back with the speed to out-run defenders. Rowell got the second quarter going with tough runs to move the chains, even knocking an opponent out the game when he chose the run-him-over option rather than the juke button. Gunter’s fourth down conversion to move the ball across midfield during a nine minute drive that started from their own 4-yard line was a major factor. The play was the set-up for quarterback Justin Brock’s connection with Gause for a 48-yard touchdown pass. Rowell added the 2-point conversion with a slashing run up the middle to give Marion a 15-7, lead with 6:29 remaining in the first half.

On the ensuing drive, starting from their own 45-yard line, Buford wasted little time with the counter punch, scoring on the first play off a playaction pass from Zack Beckham to Chris Jacobs for the touchdown. Jennings added a two point conversion to tie the score 15-15, at the 6:15 mark. The Foxes would go on to punt the ball away on their next possession, giving the Yellow Jackets the ball at their own 22-yard line. The power of Andrew Jennings was on full display and a shock to the home crowd at Fox Field, getting their first glimpse of the squad. Jennings was tough to bring down and refused to do so on a 78-yard touchdown run that gave Buford a 22-15, advantage at the 3:46 mark in the quarter.

Buford would take that lead into halftime, with Jennings accumulating 173 of 225-yards rushing in the first half. The Foxes were down but not out, as the squad began gang tackling the Jacket’s running back with efficiency, realizing they stood tall on all but three huge plays from the opposition due to poor tackling. “Our team just kept coming back and coming back, they showed a lot of resiliency,” Carfley said. 

Marion was forced to punt on their drive to start the second half, and Buford threatened to break the game open with a long drive that extend 65-yards inside the redzone. However, Brian Gilliard, a very talented linebacker, racking-up 200 tackles combined this season with Carlton Brown, got an interception to end the drive.

Heading into the fourth quarter, Marion was down and needed a big lift. At the 11:51 mark, working out the “trips” formation with Deonte Johnson, Jarrott Hooks, and D.J. Gause lined-up at receiver, Carfley got the match-up he wanted, as Gause burned single coverage with a 37-yard touchdown pass from Brock. Taylor would go on to come through in the clutch with the extra point kick to even the game at 22-22. The Swamp Fox defense would later force a punt and continue with another strong drive from their own 24-yard line. First down runs by Rowell and Gause was the lead for the haymaker, as Brian Gilliard raced around the right side for a 28-yard go-ahead touchdown run. The P.A.T. from Taylor placed Marion in the driver’s seat with 5:16 remaining in the game.

Buford’s final shot at an upset began at their own 43-yard line and the team moved downfield in hurry to the Foxes 21-yard line. Foxes cornerback Jeremy Curry was the difference making two critical tackles on Jennings as the last line of defense, and would later end the drive with press coverage to force an incomplete pass on fourth down. Marion didn’t let their foot off the gas with the ball on their own 13-yard line. Instead, D.J. “Duffel Bag” Gause left a vapor trail down the left sideline, out-running Yellow Jacket defenders on a 82-yard touchdown run for the final score of the game 36-22.

The Swamp Foxes now face the team that ousted them from the playoffs a year ago at home. The two bitter foes faced off this season in a non-region game that was close with a 14-12 first half score that eventually turned into a route. “Last time we played them I felt going in at halftime, we had two opportunities to score touchdowns and we didn’t convert, and they knew at that time that they were in a ball game, Carfley says of the experience against the Monarchs. D.J. Gause provided a monster performance with 208-yards total and four touchdowns. Gause ran for 116-yards on six carries and added 91-yards receiving on just two receptions. Brian Gilliard continues his solid play in the backfield with 71-yards and a touchdown off nine rushes. Quarterback Justin Brock threw for 93-yards and two touchdowns in the contest. “Justin played absolutely tremendous and I’m proud of him and the way he stepped-up. D.J. probably had one of his best games this year by far receiving and rushing, Brian had a another good game, everybody when it came down to crunch-time, they were getting it down,” Carfley said of the team effort.

Marion’s road game against Manning kicks-off at 8:00 pm this Friday night.