McEachern 29, Marietta 28
Ty Griffin scored his third touchdown of the night with 30 seconds to play and McEachern converted on a two-point attempt to rally for a 29-28 victory over Marietta on Friday in a Region 4-AAAAAA game.
Griffin’s final touchdown capped a 65-yard drive that began with 1:55 to play at the McEachern 35. The Indians used seven plays to get to the Marietta 4, and Griffin took it in from there. Tymashian Clemons then threw a jump-pass to a wide-open Chris Okeh for the two-point conversion and the victory in a game in which the Indians trailed by 14 points at halftime and again in the third quarter.
McEachern (2-2, 2-0) used Griffin, who has missed significant playing time since suffering an injury against Grayson in the season-opener, and Clemons at both quarterback and running back and had both players on the field for much of the night.
And both were effective. Griffin rushed for 168 yards on 17 carries, was 1-for-2 passing for 10 yards and had two receptions for 16 yards. He had a 17-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter and a 1-yard scoring run early in the fourth to tie the game at 21-21. Clemons rushed for 33 yards on eight carries and was 10-for-16 passing for 111 yards.
Marietta (2-2, 1-1) struck first on the first play from scrimmage when Anthony Jennings threw a quick pass over the middle to Jordan Mathis, who took it 80 yards for a 7-0 lead 15 seconds into the game. The Blue Devils added to the lead midway through the second quarter, when Jennings hit Marcus Bennett for a 54-yard touchdown to make it 14-0 with 4:21 to play in the half.
Jennings, who has committed to LSU, completed 16 of 29 passes for 279 yards and had 91 yards rushing on 16 carries.
McEachern had its chances in the first half. Griffin’s 48-yard run set the Indians up at the Marietta 24-yard line, but a holding penalty on the next play moved the ball back to the 35. The Indians eventually turned the ball over on downs at the 24.
McEachern also got into Marietta territory on its first drive but turned it over on downs when Taj Griffin’s run on fourth-and-6 was stopped less than a yard short at the 39. Taj Griffin later scored McEachern’s first touchdown on a 16-yard run on the Indians’ first possession of the second half.
Marietta – 7-7-7-7 – 28
McEachern – 0-0-14-15– 29
Ma – Anthony Jennings 80 pass to Jordan Mathis (Ian Shannon kick)
Ma – Jennings 54 pass to Marcus Bennett (Shannon kick)
Mc – Taj Griffin 16 run (Dennis Dominguez kick)
Ma – Kervonte Benson 16 run (Shannon kick)
Mc – Ty Griffin 17 run (Dominguez kick)
Mc – Ty Griffin 1 run (Dominguez kick)
Ma – Tyrell Tomlin 2 run (Shannon kick)
Mc – Ty Griffin 4 run (Tymashian Clemons pass to Chris Okeh)
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19 comments Add your comment
westcobb5
September 21st, 2012
11:50 pm
Way to go Indians! Great game! Can’t wait to see these teams play N. Cobb.
Lamar
September 22nd, 2012
12:07 am
WAY TO GO!! GREAT COACHING TO GO FOR 2 POINTS AND THE WIN!! BUT IF THEY FAILED ON THE CONVERSION, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN “BAD COACHING NUT!!”" BUT IT WORKED!! They should have won the Walton game, but this was the WORST CALLS I HAVE EVER SEEN BY A PAID OFF REFEREE. Even the announcers said during the game that the field judge and Walton’s coach WAS BEST FRIENDS!! HELL AT LEAST KEEP THIS QUIET!! SORRY REFS!!
battleaxekid
September 22nd, 2012
1:17 am
My question is simple, Is Marietta that good or is McEachern that bad?? Just wondering….
McEachernFan
September 22nd, 2012
2:32 am
I think it’s little bit of both…Marietta seems better than the mediocre team they usually are while this is definitely a down year for McEachern. The Indians just aren’t all that good right now on defense due to nine or ten first time starters. Maybe they’ll improve more throughout the season, but right now they can’t stop anyone with a halfway decent running game.
Straight arrow
September 22nd, 2012
9:24 am
yes the defense is young but really the DC is the problem. Coach “grandpa” as they call him needs to hand the defense to somebody else. We had a coordinator that had an aggressive scheme of moving downhill and attacking the offensive. we used to make them do whatever we wanted them to do. and we didnt average surrendering 30.3 points a game. Grandpa’s style is a wait and see, bend but don’t brake defense! That doesn’t work ask the 80’s and 90’s falcons. i dont buy for a minute that it is due to youth, it is due to pissy coaching period. Coach Hockman and Grandpa Hockman show doesnt work to well. Offensively we tend to go for the spectacular and sexy play. We stray from what really works. If you ever want to win a championship in football you have to establish a solid running game so tthat the defense will come up and play against the run (and this will tire them out) then ya pass the ball. Ya run to set up the pass not the other way around. And you must have a solid aggressive defense that gets upfield and disrupts the offense. not one that just tries to catch them. Hockman needs to let somebody else call the plays (on both defense and offense) and he just manage the game. tired of just making the playoff only to go home early.
indianpride
September 22nd, 2012
12:09 pm
The mceachern team is definitely young but that 3-5 defense is the problem. When a team comes out in a 3-5 defense it says my line backers are so ferocious they can take on your O line. Have you seen our linebackers? They range from 145lbs to 200, with only 1 at 200, they cant physically handle anyones O line. Then your suppose to blitz 1 or 2 linebackers on each play but take a look at our game tapes and you see there is no blitzing. Last night Jennings could of made himself a picnic lunch and had time to enjioy it while in the pocket due to lack of pressure. This has been the same scenario for the last 5 years since the hockman show came to town, the m.o. has been we have to outscore our opponent because we sure as hell cant stop them. Remember the hillgrove game from 2 years ago? 63 to 48, that was our m.o. in full effect. Coach Grandpa no direspect needs to go back to coaching wide receivers and Hockman needs to hire a real defensive coordinator. The Hockman show needs to wake up and smell the coffee, every opponent knows by now that our defensive scheme is garbage if we dont change boy are we in for a long season and if we make it past the season our nickname 1 and done will show up in the playoffs.
Straight arrow
September 22nd, 2012
2:27 pm
I totally agree with Indian pride. I have played defense through college and we ran the 3-5. It is an aggressive attack defense. You dictate to the offense what they will do. Somebody is always coming from almost anywhere. You don’t have to be big, but you have to be quick and willing to lay some wood down when you get there. You can’t sit there and try to take on blocks from guys that outweigh you by 30-40 lbs. You have to move and maintain gap control. If you want to see a good example of it, look at the defense as run by the junior program. I have watched the 8th grade team play this year and last year as 7th graders, they are constantly attacking and they will hit you. Sad to say but maybe Hockman and Grandpa need to learn from them! After all they did win a championship last year. We can do better, but this is the South. Down here to be a champion, you don’t make excuses like we are young! You overcome and conquer with hard nose football! This ain’t Ohio, down here we play football. Team got to much talent to look so mediocre! We beginning to look like Campbell used to about 6-7 years ago. Giving up too ,any points and having tunnel vision offense
Real Talk
September 22nd, 2012
3:52 pm
@ Indian pride you don’t know football!! You run a 3-5 when you have a big DL (especially NG, which McEachern has two 300 lb kids) for gap control and to occupy the OL so that your LB’s can run free to make plays and not take on the OL. Dumb comment!!?? @ “Straight Arrow” for you to agree shows your lack of knowledge too. What’s why yal should leave the coaching to Hockman and you just watch. If you think they didn’t establish the run with over 250 rushing yards you make my point of not knowing the game. Another dumb comment. Yes, Marietta is a much improved team, heck they just beat a Hillgrove team that was predicted to win the region!!
indianpride
September 22nd, 2012
5:05 pm
@real talk, you are absolutely right we have two kids 300 plus pounds and you see how well they occupied the OL on both Walton and Marietta right? When your DL cant occupy the OL and control the gap your linebackers have to go against the OL to make the tackle the defensive scheme is garbage! The 3-5 is based movement and on points of attack making sure the other QB can’t read the rush, so tell me real talk how many times did you see the defense attack or even move to make the QB uncomfortable? Like I said Jennings had a picnic in the pocket. I see how well the 3-5 the base defense is working, heck take a look at the Walton, Pebblebrook, and Marietta games, and then real talk tell me it’s working perfectly! I stand by my earlier statement, if we don’t get a real defensive coordinator in there, we will be 1 and done and that is a big IF we make it past the region opponents!
Indian Fan
September 22nd, 2012
5:15 pm
Well I’ve been to all the McEachern games this year and win support them no matter what. However, I have to admit…it looks like ever team we’ve played thus far has had a lot of success running the ball right up the middle. Grayson did it, Walton, Pebblebrook, and so did Marietta.
GoRaiders
September 22nd, 2012
5:49 pm
Indian Fan, it apparently doesn’t matter what you do, according to ‘Lamar’. He’s the moron who likes to write in ALL CAPS for emphasis. It appears that Walton’s coach and all of the other coaches are best friends with the officials and that’s why McEachern doesn’t win or blow everyone out. Thankfully, we are aware that McEachern has good fans and they’re intelligent, too. Not just fools like LAMAR. I’m not sure what happened in your Pebblebrook or Marietta game, but I can tell you that Tyren Jones is a special back and can make things happen, even against the best defenses around. Good luck the rest of the season.
Straight arrow
September 22nd, 2012
10:45 pm
Ditto Indian pride to real talk. Not a dumb comment just the truth. Those two 300 lbs. men are not getting upfield and if they are getting double teamed why are the middle and inside backers moving laterally and not filling the gaps. Remember Grayson only threw two passes the whole game and one was called back. Tyron Jones had over three hundred yards of rushing verses our sit back and watch 3-5. Marietta ran the ball well and so did Peeblebrook. You can’t have linebackers that sit at let blockers come to them in this defense. You have to attack especially when you are undersized. I will give you this we did run the ball well this game. Griffin and Sherman really produced. So why don’t we feed them more. Not a dumb statement about running. Looknatbthe games we lost. How many rushing yards did we have? How many attempts. You got to pound the ball and tire out the defense. You got a thunder and lightning combo. Why not put them out there at the same time along with Clemons and run it more. My statement dumb? Really we give up 30 points a game and you see nothing wrong with the scheme? Hmmm. I’m glad we got the win but to compete with the elite, you got to have better management and execution. Come on man! I’ll be there Friday chopping and hoping.
GA Fan
September 23rd, 2012
10:36 am
@battleaxekid
“My question is simple, Is Marietta that good or is McEachern that bad?? Just wondering….
GA Fan
September 23rd, 2012
10:49 am
@Battleaxkid
Marietta was a pretty good team. It’s a reason that Jennings will be playing for LSU and Harris for Wake Forest. McEachern’s young team stepped up and made plays when needed. Im not a fan of the 3-5 defense b/c I feel it leave gaps for teams that run off tackle. So far, every team MC has played has………..run off tackle. Mc started the season off with two tough games and are playing in a region that competition is tough every week. My hope is that we use more of our speed on offense. NO excuses for my team but how many coaches started the season playing the number 1 and 2 teams in the state? Certainly not Lowndes, Camden or Valdosta. Wow!
OMacG
September 23rd, 2012
2:05 pm
It is clear that our defense has fallen off from last season but I honestly don’t know enough to say what the problem is, if scheme is the issue. Maybe some of my fellow Indians who posted here do indeed have the answer, assuming they’ve coached and are speaking from experience…gotta be careful about those who pick up their knowledge from watching football roundtable discussion on TV.
I do know this: all men struggle with pride. I hope our coaches are humble enough to consider changing the approach if it’s not working…putting the success of the team above any individual, just as we teach our young men to do.
Real Talk
September 23rd, 2012
3:44 pm
@ Indian Pride and Straight Arrow you said “When you run a 3-5 that says my LB’s are so ferocious that they can take on the OL” which is totally wrong!! Again you run it if you have some big boys in the middle that can occupy the LB’s. Your statement was incorrect. Are they giving up too many yards?? Yes, but your comments were wrong which shows your lack of knowledge on the game. McEachern had over 350 yards rushing but thats not enough for yal?? Come on fellas!! Again they just beat the team that last week beat the predicted region winner with “9″ new starters on defense. The MDJ predicted McEachern not to even mk the play-offs. Is the defense giving up too much, yes but give these new starters a couple more games and see your comments at the end of the season. That way you can learn a little more about schemes before you post comments that make you sound dumb!!
NC Warriors
September 23rd, 2012
5:53 pm
Region 4 will finish like this
1. North Cobb
2. Mceachern
3. South Cobb
4. Marietta
OMacG
September 23rd, 2012
8:02 pm
NC Warriors already calling it! Still early…no way to know which teams will improve as the season progresses and by how much. I think you’re premature at best and crazy at worst to think Hillgrove is out of it.
Straight arrow
September 24th, 2012
1:20 am
Real talk evidently you can’t read or are just a person who is really S L O W. I said that the linebackers don’t fill gaps. The coach has them moving laterally. I have watched them at practice. If your BIG D LINE, is being double teamed then by golly, your linebackers, have got to fill gaps not stay 5 yards off the ball! I have played the 3-5 and coached it. By the way your linebackers have to be fast and hard hitting to run this D. You can’t hit squat if you are not going to fill gaps and let blockers get at you five,5 yards downfield. I know these guys are young, but they are talented. I don’t have a problem with them. My problem is with the Coach and his shceme for the defense. And until we get out of the second round and stop ending the season at home instead of the dome…….. One and done ain’t good enough. And before you say it I don’t care how many other teams haven’t gotten that far, they ain’t us!