By Sean McNamara
PHILIPPI – With four forced turnovers and a balanced offensive attack, the North Marion Huskies held off the big-play ability of the Philip Barbour Colts and earned a 47-24 victory at BC Bank Park in Philippi on Friday to move to 3-0 on the season.
In the win, the North Marion offense was paced by a rushing attack that saw 10 different players combine for 362 yards on 49 carries to go along with 91 passing yards and seven total touchdowns.
“We moved the ball well,” junior Cyrus Collins said. “It’s really simple – we just ran the ball well and nobody could stop it.”
Three different Huskies ran for touchdowns Friday with Trevor Mullett – who ran for a team-high 123 yards on 18 carries – scoring on runs of 57, 4, and 1 yards, while quarterback Toby Michael ran for a 22-yard score and Brian Poindexter ran for a 50-yard score.
Michael, who also threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Collins, ran for 52 yards and passed for 34 yards in the win, credited his team’s versatility and depth for his team’s success Friday.
“It works well because we don’t mind switching back and forth,” Michael said. “It gives us all a break and we’re all playing at the same skill level.”
Rounding out the scoring for North Marion was Ryder Bland, who caught a 25-yard fourth-quarter touchdown pass from Kolson Brown in the fourth quarter.
While the Huskies earned the 23-point road win Friday, the Colts were able to find some big plays throughout the night with junior Logan Beam setting the tone with a game-high 188 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
In addition to Beam’s touchdown, which came on an 81-yard run on the game’s second play, the Colts scored on a 26-yard run by Mason Jones and touchdown passes from Braylyn Edwards to Cameron Bennett of 52 and 42 yards, respectively.
Despite the big plays from a PB offense that collected 359 yards in the loss, Colts’ (2-1) coach Nic Mayle said his team still had some missed opportunities throughout the game.
“We left some points hanging just dropping passes,” Mayle, whose team went 2-10 passing with a pair of thrown interceptions, said. “If they weren’t touchdowns, they were big gainers. That’s adversity that’s hard to overcome. North Marion is a great team, and if we want to be in the mix with them, we have to do everything right.”
Paramount in keeping the Colts from taking advantage of the opportunities available were four turnovers which came by way of Edwards interceptions that were picked off by Michael and Collins, respectively, as well as a pair of fumbles that were recovered by Cole Morris and Josh Holden of the Huskies.
“It was us vs. us, and if we don’t take care of what we need to do, we don’t stand a chance,” Mayle said. “Any time you’re giving the ball to the other guys four or five times in a game, you’re putting yourself in a bad spot.”
According to Collins and Michael, film study and preparation were key to them forcing the turnovers that were so crucial in Friday’s win.
“We read the defense and knew some of the plays they were going to run,” Collins said. “We had the guys who could stop them.”
“We really just studied hard and watched film like we were supposed to,” Michael said. “It all paid off.”
Now North Marion will prepare to take on a 3-0 Fairmont Senior squad in the team’s home opener. The Polar Bears were the last team to defeat the Huskies on their home field in a game two years ago, and the Huskies hope to keep their 2024 momentum going against one of Class AAA’s best.
“We have to prepare regularly and go to work,” Michael said. “That’s it.”
Next up for the Colts will be a home game next Friday against Liberty (Harrison).
NORTH MARION 47 PHILIP BARBOUR 24
First Downs;;16;14
Rushing Yards;;362;265
Passing Yards;;91;94
Total Yards;;453;359
Passing;;5-9-0;2-10-2
Fumbles;;0;4
Fumbles Lost;;0;2
Penalties;;6-55;5-45
Individual Stats
Rushing – NM: Trevor Mullett 18-123 3 TD, Brain Poindexter 9-77 1 TD, Toby Michael 8-52 1 TD, Noah Hess 1-33, Kolson Brown 1-26, Cyrus Collins 1-24, Karter Parson 3-19, Cole Morris 3-14, Jackson Fluharty 1-(-1), Blake Edgell 1-(-3), TEAM 2-(-2). Totals: 49-362. PB: Logan Beam 15-188 1 TD, Mason Jones 7-54 1 TD, Braylyn Edwards 8-25, Michael Morral 6-17, Aidan Phillips 1-(-4), TEAM 1-(-15). Totals: 38-265.
Passing – NM: Toby Michael 2-5-0 34 1 TD, Kolson Brown 1-1-0 25 1 TD, Cole Morris 2-3-0 32. PB: Braylyn Edwards 2-10-2 94 2 TD.
Receiving – NM: Cyrus Collins 1-32 1 TD, Ryder Bland 1-25 1 TD, Trevor Mullett 2-13, Blake Johnson 1-21. PB: Cameron Bennett 2-94 2 TD.
NM;;14;13;6;14;;47
PB;;6;6;6;6;;24
Scoring Plays
First Quarter
PB – Logan Beam 81-yard run (kick failed)
NM – Brain Poindexter 50-yard run (Brady Anderson kick)
NM – Toby Michael 22-yard run (Anderson kick)
Second Quarter
PB – Cameron Bennett 52-yard pass from Braylyn Edwards (run railed)
NM – Trevor Mullett 57-yard run (Anderson kick)
NM – Mullett 4-yard run (run failed)
Third Quarter
PB – Bennett 42-yard pass from Edwards (run failed)
NM – Cyrus Collins 32-yard pass from Toby Michael (run failed)
Fourth Quarter
NM – Mullett 1-yard run (Anderson kick)
NM – Ryder Bland 25-yard pass from Kolson Brown (Anderson kick)
PB – Mason Jones 26-yard run (kick failed)
