Marion County Eagles escape first round with 28-27 victory

A blocked extra point by Marion County helped the Eagles survive a late would-be comeback by Telfair County in the first round of the Class A Public playoffs Friday.

After Marion County led Telfair County 28-14 entering the fourth quarter, the Trojans went to work to save their season. Ian Blankenship scored on a 2-yard run with 6:14 to go in regulation, cutting the Eagles’ lead to 28-21. With 3:45 remaining, Blankenship connected with Larrion Hamilton for a 78-yard touchdown, seemingly setting up a tied contest.

A failed extra-point attempt proved that was not the case, giving Marion County a 28-27 victory.

Marion County (9-2,4-1) got a scare late, but its offense ultimately did enough to seal the deal. Travon Matthews brought the Eagles their first points of the game on a 4-yard run with 10:37 left in the first quarter. After Telefair County (4-7, 3-4) tied the game with a passing touchdown, the Eagles took a 14-7 lead on Trice McCannon’s 40-yard run midway through the first quarter.

Matthews stretched the lead to two touchdowns in the second quarter, finding the end zone on a 1-yard run with 2:24 left until halftime. Blankenship added another passing touchdown -- his second of three in the loss -- with 7:50 to go in the third quarter, but Matthews responded with a 6-yard touchdown run with under a minute to go in the quarter.

Matthews finished the game with 21 carries for 109 yards and three touchdowns.

Though the Eagles had to sweat it out, they now advance to the second round of the playoffs. Marion County travels to play Mount Zion (Carrollton) next Friday.

This story was originally published November 11, 2017 at 10:39 AM with the headline "Marion County Eagles escape first round with 28-27 victory."