Takeaways from Marion County game: North Marion tops Forest in high school season opener

CITRA — North Marion senior Titus Williams tossed three touchdown passes in his first-ever start at quarterback, and the Colts defense forced six turnovers and scored twice in a 39-14 win over Forest in Friday night's season opener.

Williams, a wide receiver, was pressed into playing quarterback as normal starter junior AJ Cussins was held out of the game with a shoulder injury.

"That's the first time that Titus has ever played quarterback and we put him in that situation because our starter was out, and hat's off to him because he came out and executed as best he could," said North Marion coach Greg Carr. "You couldn't tell it was his first time at quarterback because we don't coach the player, we coach the position. Our defense played well and made some big plays, but we've got a lot of things to work on to get better."

Some takeaways from the game.

Better late than not at all

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The game was delayed an hour and 20 minutes by lightning. Rain fell intermittently throughout the contest which caused the football to become quite slippery and hard to hold on to which contributed to the nine combined turnovers, six by Forest and three by North Marion.

Fast start for North Marion

Forest was forced to punt on its first possession of the game, and North Marion took over at midfield. On his first play from scrimmage, Williams dropped back to pass and hit senior wide receiver Elija Walton in stride for a 50-yard touchdown pass down the left sideline. The 2-point pass was incomplete and the Colts led 6-0 with 10:03 left in the first quarter.

The North Marion defense forced a poor Forest punt that Jermaine Jackson returned 50 yards for a score. The 2-point pass was no good and the Colts led 12-0 midway through the opening stanza.

Forest gets on the scoreboard

Forest put together a solid drive that went 60 yards and was capped off with quarterback Vimel Poole Jr., connecting with junior wide receiver Matt Hart on a 30-yard scoring strike. The extra point was good to pull the Wildcats within 12-7 late in the first period.

Colts' offense answers

North Marion took the ensuing kickoff and marched 72 yards in eight plays as Williams showed an accurate arm by hitting several receivers on the drive. Williams hit Chris Foster with a short pass and Foster eluded several defenders on his way to a 28-yard touchdown to give the Colts a 20-7 lead with 8:48 left in the second stanza.

After forcing another Forest punt, North Marion took over on the Wildcats' 30 and capitalized on the excellent field position as Williams and Walton hooked up on a 30-yard touchdown pass to give the Colts a commanding 26-7 lead at the half.

Sloppy conditions hurt in second half

With the rain coming down harder, both teams struggled to move the ball with any consistency in a scoreless third quarter.

North Marion turned the ball over in the fourth period when a high snap went over Williams' head and Forest senior Bryce Bullard picked up the loose ball and ran it in for a touchdown. The point after was good to make it 26-14.

Forest's Poole Jr., had a pass intercepted by North Marion's Jackson who returned it 40 yards for a touchdown to put the Colts on top, 32-14.

North Marion special teams came through once again as Kenyon Stocker fielded a Forest punt and raced 62 yards for the final score of the game.

"We appreciate getting the win, but at the same time we have to get better and capitalize on our scoring opportunities," Carr said. "We'll take the win, but like I told the guys we've got a lot of work to do to grow as a team."

Forest, despite the six turnovers, played hard until the final whistle.

"Our defense did a great job but we just didn't capitalize on the takeaways they created," said first-year Wildcats coach Eoghan Cullen. "We've got to do a better job of holding on to the football and we need to be more physical. We also made some special team mistakes that North Marion capitalized on. We'll work on these things in practice and get ready for our next game."

What's next?

Forest is on the road at First Coast in Jacksonville next Friday night, while North Marion is at Dunnellon.

This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: High school football: Takeaways from North Marion vs. Ocala Forest; Week 1