Red Raiders defeat Bears 40-12

By Luke Brantley
Staff Writer

GUIN — The Marion County High School Red Raiders took down the Phillips High School Bears on Friday night, Sept. 24.
The Raiders kicked off to get their homecoming game underway. The Bears got close to midfield but had to punt before they could score.
The Raiders got the ball back on their own 28. Their first possession of the game got off to a rocky start with a false start and a dropped pass in the backfield, but the Raiders started to pick up speed.
Tye Madison gained 10 yards on a run, but after the lost yards, it wasn’t quite enough for a first down. Brodie Silas broke through to get the first down. Madison and Silas kept gaining yards until Silas crossed the goal line for the Raider’s first touchdown with 5:25 left in the first quarter.
The two-point attempt failed, but the Raiders were ahead 6-0. The Bears fumbled the kickoff return, and the Raiders recovered on the Bears’ 15 yard line. Madison made it into the end zone on second down, but a flag called him back. But on fourth and long, the Raiders scored again on a pass. Marion County couldn’t capitalize on the two-point conversion attempt, but they were ahead 12-0.
The Bears got back to their own 28, but a flag and a sack brought up second and 20.
Ryan Jaggers, who made the sack on first down, followed it up with another one on second down. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the Bears took them back even farther.
Back on their own seven, the Bears tried a long pass to get out of danger, but it fell incomplete and the Bears punted from their end zone.
The Raiders still had the ball as the second quarter began.
Madison and Silas kept the Raiders on the move. On fourth and goal from the seven yard line, Madison threw a pass to Silas. Some Phillips’ defenders were able to get their fingertips on the ball, but Silas came away with the ball to score. The Raiders went for two and were successful. They were now ahead 20-0 with 7:31 left in the half.
The Raiders shut down the Bears’ next drive and started again from their 42.
Madison kept the ball and ran on first down to gain 10 yards and move the chains.
Silas gained nine on a run the next play. On second down, Madison tossed the ball to Silas, who ran it in for another touchdown. The two-point attempt failed, but with 4:11 remaining in the half, the Raiders were leading the Bears 26-0.
The Bears returned the kickoff to their own 34 yard line. On first down, Phillips’ Nevin Elkins was sacked for a big loss of yards by Landon Morrow.
Quarterback Christian Chambers ran on third down to gain 18 yards, leaving two more for his next run, which he got.
The Bears kept pushing, reaching the Raiders’ 22. Chambers threw a touchdown pass. The kick was blocked, but the Bears were now on the board, 26-6.
A few minutes into the third quarter, the Raiders scored again on a keeper by Madison. Without the extra point, it raised their lead to 32-6 with 7:16 remaining in the third quarter.
A few minutes later, the Raiders scored again and got the extra two points, bringing the score up to 40-6.
The Bears were able to score one more time, during the fourth quarter on a run by Elkins with under 30 seconds left in the game. But it wasn’t enough, and the game ended with the Raiders defeating the Bears 40-12.
The Raiders travel to Meek on Oct. 1, for their next game. Phillips will play Cherokee at home the same day.