Marietta 42, McEachern 21

Tyler Hughes passed for 244 yards and two touchdowns in the first half as Marietta built a 28-19 lead and struck twice more in the second half to put the game away in a 42-21 victory over Cobb County rival McEachern on Friday at Marietta’s Northcutt Stadium.

Hughes completed 21 of his 27 attempts in the first half and had touchdown passes of 7 yards to Christian Mathis and 4 yards to Kamryn Perry, both of which came in the final five minutes of the second quarter to counter McEachern scores on consecutive possessions.

Hughes finished with 348 yards and four touchdowns passing and had a 3-yard touchdown run.

“He was phenomenal tonight,” Marietta coach Richard Morgan said of his senior quarterback. “He was on target, he ran when he had to, and he threw his receivers open. I don’t know what his stats were, but that’s the best game he’s ever played.”

Marietta, 1-1 and ranked No. 9 in Class 7A, was looking to bounce back from a season-opening 28-25 loss to Colquitt County in which it led 18-7 in the second but was not able to hang on. It wasn’t ideal having to do it against a McEachern team that had won 12 of the last 13 meetings in the series, including 49-28 in 2020.

The Blue Devils were hot from the outset, driving 77 yards on 10 plays on the game’s opening possession and scoring on a 3-yard run by Melvin Alexander. After McEachern answered with a touchdown but missed the extra point, the Blue Devils scored on their next three possessions to seize control.

Marietta put the game out of reach in the second half when Hughes hit Perry for a 32-yard score in the third quarter and Mathis on a 45-yarder in the fourth for a 42-19 lead with 8:24 remaining.

Mathis finished with nine receptions for 140 yards. Perry had eight catches for 97 yards, and Camden Overton had 64 yards on five receptions.

“It just feels great,” Morgan said. “It’s a great rivalry, and they’re a great program. It’s an important win, and our kids really prepared hard for it, so I’m proud of them.”

McEachern (1-2) stayed close throughout the first half behind the passing of Bryce Archie, a senior who has committed to Coastal Carolina. Archie had 217 passing yards of his own in the half and had three long touchdown passes of 45 yards to Kaleb Webb and 44 and 67 yards to Savion West, who got well behind the Marietta secondary on two consecutive possessions to keep the Indians within 21-19.

Although Marietta eventually pulled away, McEachern still had its chances. The Indians had the ball in Marietta territory in six of their seven second-half possessions but were not able to take advantage. The Indians turned the ball over on downs on three of those drives, punted on two others, and threw an interception. The Blue Devils also were able to slow down Archie, who was just 4-of-15 for 34 yards in the second half.

McEachern’s only second-half score came when Marietta snapped the ball over the head of the punter, who recovered it in the end zone for a McEachern safety.

McEachern got big games receiving from West and Webb. West finished with 123 yards on three catches, and Webb had seven receptions for 116 yards.

McEachern - 6-13-0-2 - 21

Marietta - 7-21-7-7 - 42

First quarter

Mar - Melvin Alexander 3 run (Ben Parrot kick), 9:16

McE - Kaleb Webb 45 pass from Bryce Archie (kick blocked), 5:10

Second quarter

Mar - Tyler Hughes 3 run (Renee Galomo kick), 11:18

McE - Savion West 44 pass from Archie (pass failed), 8:34

Mar - Christian Mathis 7 pass from Hughes (Parrot kick), 4:52

McE - West 67 pass from Archie (Rodriguez kick), 4:10

Mar - Kamryn Perry 4 pass from Hughes (Galomo kick), 2:10