GAINESVILLE, Ga. –– North Hall quarterback Tanner Marsh was a workhorse Friday night at The Brickyard.
The senior quarterback, who missed most of the season at the position last season, put on a show in the Trojans' 49-34 win over rival White County. He also broke the school record for most yards in a single game.
"I asked him before the game if he was ready to throw and run, and he said, 'I'm ready,' North Hall coach Sean Pender said. "I'm proud of the way he played because he's worked so hard this offseason."
Marsh's 338 total yards set the school record for most yards in a game. He rushed 15 times for 137 yards and a touchdown. He also completed 19 passes for 201 yards and three TDs.
The Trojans finished with 452 total yards of offense, 251 on the ground, and 201 through the air. White County turned in 392 total yards, 228 yards on 43 rushes and 164 passing.
The game had its fair share of turnovers, with North Hall coughing up the ball three times and losing two. White County fumbled twice and lost it one time.
The Trojans were able to cash in one of the Warriors' mistakes early in the second quarter when Breckan Kirby hauled in a seven-yard TD pass to push the Trojan's lead to 21-7.
"That one turnover helped us there," Pender said. "But we gave it right back to a few times as well. White County had that fumble, but how many times did we fumble the ball? So, we've both have stuff to clean up, obviously. White Couty plays hard, and we play hard. I think the effort was there, and I think both teams have a lot to be proud of and a lot to work on."
White County also had moments and answered with an 82-yard drive after the North Hall cashed in the fumble for points.
Ryan Fowler, who finished the night with 95 yards on 12 carries, had rushes of 39 and 19 on the march, leaving quarterback Tripp Nix to finish the drive with a 10-yard TD run. The score cut the lead, 21-14, the closest the Warriors would get on the scoreboard for the rest of the game.
The Trojans continued with the big plays on the ensuing drive, in which Ryals Puryear returned the kickoff 54 yards to the White County 41-yard line. A couple of plays later, Marsh took it 27 yards for his first of three rushing scores and a 28-14 lead with 7:27 to go in the half.
White County answered, taking advantage of a North Hall fumble. Von'dre Nelson, who finished with a team-high 62 receiving yards, hauled in a 26-yard pass, and a couple of plays later, Nix scored from five yards out. The missed extra point left the score 28-20.
However, the Trojans' final drive of the half turned out to be the backbreaker. They got the ball with 1:08 left in the half, and all it took was four plays and 47 seconds. Marsh found Puryear, who shook the safety to get in the end zone, for a 27-yard TD strike with 21 seconds left in the half and a 35-20 lead.
"We saw that they were playing soft in the middle of the field, so we were like, OK, we've got plenty of times; we don't have to hit the sidelines or shoot it deep," Pender said. "Tanner did a great job of finding who we needed to find and made some really good throws. Ryals made the move on the safety to get into the end zone. That was big time."
White County and North Hall added two more scores in the second, with the Warriors converting another North Hall into points -- a Nix 1-yard run with 9:37 left.
Nix finished the night with 97 yards rushing on 24 carries. He also competed 15 of 26 attempts for 186 yards.
