Marshall County is 0-6 against Pearl-Cohn since September of 2017 but things could change on Thursday. The Marshall County Tigers will be playing in front of their home fans against the Pearl-Cohn Firebirds at 7:00 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Pearl-Cohn is hoping to do what Whites Creek couldn't on Friday: put an end to Marshall County's winning streak, which now stands at nine games. Marshall County claimed a resounding 54-18 victory over Whites Creek. With the Tigers ahead 34-12 at the half, the contest was all but over already.
Tyler Thompson continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, throwing for 240 yards and three touchdowns while completing 75% of his passes, and also rushing for 40 yards and two touchdowns. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in rushing yards.
Marshall County's defense stepped up as well, laying out the QB five times. Whites Creek's QB won't forget Jaden Keys anytime soon given he sacked him twice.
Meanwhile, Pearl-Cohn came tearing into Friday's match with six straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 39.5 points) and they left with even more momentum. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat the Blue Devils 41-7. Given the Firebirds' advantage in MaxPreps' Tennessee football rankings (they are ranked 44th, while the Blue Devils are ranked 158th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
OmariOn Starnes was his usual excellent self, rushing for 167 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 7.6 yards per carry. His rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his fourth straight game with at least 113 rushing yards.
Pearl-Cohn didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Donovan Higgins and Davontae Anderson. Pearl-Cohn got some further help from Karmelo League: he picked up a sack, forced a fumble, and made seven total tackles (2.0 for loss).
Pearl-Cohn was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 321 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Marshall County's win was their ninth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 9-0. As for Pearl-Cohn, their victory bumped their record up to 7-2.
We should be in store for an exciting game as the two teams have no problem gaining yardage. Marshall County has been on an offensive roll this season, having averaged 374.8 total yards per game. However, it's not like Pearl-Cohn struggles in that department as they've been averaging 364.7. With a pair of commanding offenses duking it out, the defenses are going to have their work cut out for them.
Marshall County suffered a grim 41-21 defeat to Pearl-Cohn in their previous meeting back in November of 2023. Thankfully for Marshall County, Zeion Simpson-Smith (who rushed for 165 yards and two touchdowns on only 11 carries) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
