MORAN It may not have been a work of art, but Fridays 48-24 win over Southern Coffey County High was pretty enough for Marmaton Valley head coach Garret Ericson.
The Wildcats were able to overcome assorted penalties and miscues to pull away in the second half and pick up their first win of the season.
We got off to a hot start, but in the second quarter, we started shooting ourselves in the foot, Ericson said. Too many penalties on offense and on defense. Any time wed get a big play, it was coming back. And defensively, we were just having trouble stopping the run.
The result was a sloppy, yet entertaining first two quarters in which SCC (0-4) dominated time of possession, while Marmaton Valley scored on an assortment of big plays.
The Titans firetruck-sized quarterback Cooper Harred capped an eight-play, 50-yard drive to open the scoring with a 9-yard touchdown run.
Marmaton Valley took a single play for the equalizer, a 43-yard Will Lowder touchdown run.
Then, after SCC went three-and-out, the Wildcats Wes Lowder did his older brother one better by breaking loose for a 65-yard touchdown on the next play from scrimmage.
Harreds 10-yard touchdown pass to Jaden Pankey with 4:24 left in the first quarter knotted the score once again at 12-12.
Marmaton Valley responded with a 10-play, 57-yard touchdown drive, capped by a nifty halfback pass from Quincy Adams to quarterback Rylan McVey on fourth-and-goal.
Harred scored again to finish off SCCs next drive on a 10-yard jaunt to cut the Wildcat lead to 20-18.
Then, after a promising Wildcat drive was cut short by penalties, the Titans retook the lead at the 1:27 mark of the half on a 13-yard Harred scramble. Southern Coffey County threatened to extend its lead after Harred stepped in front of a Wildcat pass with about a minute left, but Marmaton Valleys defense stiffened, forcing a punt from midfield in the waning seconds.
THE TIDE turned as the third quarter got underway.
Wes Lowder returned the second half kickoff 65 yards for a touchdown to give Marmaton Valley a 26-24 lead, an advantage the Wildcats never surrendered.
Harred came up one-yard short on fourth-and-four on the Titans next drive, giving the Wildcats possession on their own 23. That led to McVeys 18-yard touchdown run late in the period. McVeys next touchdown in the opening moments of the fourth period extended the margin to 42-24.
By then, Harred and his tiring SCC teammates the Titans suited up only 11 players were out of gas. Harred and Wade Gleue, who were pivotal on extending drives in the first two quarters, had little room to maneuver after intermission.
We made some adjustments at halftime, Ericson said. Theyre both good football players, and we knew the offense ran through them. Luckily in the second half, we were able to slow them down. I think they were getting tired. We were getting tired, too. We had ome guys gutting it out.
