Fullback leads Marist to victory

Marist coach Alan Chadwick said his team wanted to deliver a punch in the face to Mt. Zion-Jonesboro in Friday’s Class AAAA state quarterfinal.

Matt Connors was the fist.

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Pouya Dianat / AJC

Marist’s Matt Connors drags Mt. Zion’s Rummel Victor for extra yardage in the first half. Connors finished with 205 yards on 27 carries, three short of the total his coaches told him to be prepared for. The War Eagles will face Rome next week in the semifinals.

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Connors, the senior fullback for the War Eagles, scored three touchdowns in the first half and was the steady, driving force for Marist in the second half in a 34-33 victory over the upstart Bulldogs.

“The coaches told me to be ready for a 30-carry kind of game,” said Connors, who finished with 205 yards but fell 3 short of that magic carry number of 30. “We knew this would be a battle in the second half, and they slowed us down, but we did what we had to do to win the game.”

Mt. Zion was hampered by a pair of missed extra-point attempts. Marist had jumped out to a 28-7 lead in the first half before Mt. Zion’s offense started clicking behind the play of quarterback Jarrel King and receiver Drexel Copeland.

But Marist’s early lead proved to be too much for the Bulldogs to overcome.

“We wanted to hit them in the mouth early, and we did that,” said Chadwick, whose team moved almost at will in the first half.

“You have to give them credit. They responded, but the good thing for us is that our kids responded to them.”

Marist never trailed and never held less than a two-score lead until late in the fourth. King’s 9-yard touchdown run cut the lead to 31-25, but the War Eagles responded with the second of two Justin Moore field goals.

Mt. Zion scored its final points when Copeland and King hooked up, then Copeland passed to Chris Jones for the two-point conversion to pull within a point.

However, Marist recovered the onside kick, and Connors’ fourth-and-1 conversion sealed the victory for Marist, which is unbeaten at home in the playoffs since 1994.

The War Eagles will be at home next week for their semifinal with Rome, a winner over Statesboro on Friday night.

Marist dominated early, using eight plays to drive 142 yards and score two touchdowns.

An interception in the end zone by Sam McNearney stopped the Bulldogs’ most threatening drive of the first quarter.

Mt. Zion 0 13 6 14 — 33

— Matt Connors 4 run (Justin Moore kick)

M — Connors 45 run (Moore kick)

MZ — Quartterio Morgan 49 run (Everett Sanchez kick)

M — Patrick Sullivan 16 run (Moore kick)

M — Connors 1 run (Moore kick)

MZ — Drexel Copeland 26 pass from Jarrel King (kick failed)

MZ — Josh King 1 run (kick failed)

M — Moore 32 FG

MZ — Jarrel King 9 run (run failed)

M — Moore 26 FG

MZ — Copeland 17 pass from Jarrel King (Chris Jones pass from Copeland)