Fumbles haunt Aynor in loss to Region VIII-AA rival Marion

A pair of third-quarter fumbles and the antics of Marion scatback Ja Narick Reed were too much for Aynor to overcome in a Region VIII-AA battle Friday night.

The visiting Swamp Foxes broke open a tight, low-scoring game with three quick touchdowns in the third quarter to down the Blue Jackets 32-14.

Reed, a darting 5-foot-7, 165-pound senior, rolled up 154 yards rushing on 17 carries with three touchdowns, two during the decisive third-quarter stretch as Marion improved to 5-1, 2-0 in the region.

“He’ll do in a rush,” Marion coach Leonard Johnson joked of Reed. “He’s really matured as a good running back. We were a little sloppy in the first half but we just kept pounding and pounding. Our defense played one whale of a game to slow them down the way we did.”

The Blue Jackets had controlled the first half and held an 8-6 lead with 7:59 left in the third quarter after forcing Marion to turn the ball over on downs. But on the next play, quarterback Caleb Jenerette fumbled the snap and Marion’s Tyson Cusack recovered at the Aynor 25.

Three plays later, Reed scored on a determined 10-yard run to give the Swamp Foxes their first lead at 12-8.

Aynor fumbled again on the ensuing kickoff with Marion recovering at the Aynor 29. Three plays later, Swamp Fox quarterback Yamasi Buey completed his only pass of the game when Dahndray Foxworth got behind the Aynor defense for a 20-yard touchdown catch. Reed ran in the two-point conversion for a 20-8 Marion lead.

“We’ve learned how to take advantage of other people’s mistakes and that comes with maturity,’’ said Johnson. “We’ve got a lot of seniors on the team, and a couple years ago that wouldn’t have happened.”

Aynor coach Jody Jenerette elected to go for the first down on fourth-and-6 from his own 28-yard line on the Blue Jackets’ next possession. Blake Gore was dropped for a yard loss and Marion had another short field to work with, taking over on the Aynor 27.

On the first play, Reed broke free up the middle for a 27-yard touchdown run and suddenly the Swamp Foxes led 26-8 with 2:15 left in the third quarter. Marion had scored three touchdowns in a stretch of 5:36.

“We can’t put the ball on the dirt at Aynor High School, we say it all the time,” Jenerette said. “We did it once on a kickoff return and then we put it on the dirt on a bobbled handoff that wasn’t even supposed to be a handoff. Just frustrating. Our defense played great, they can’t play much better than they played. We’re just not very good on offense right now. Aynor football is about offense and we’re just not scoring the football.”

Aynor pulled within 26-14 when Jenerette hit Gore with a 20-yard touchdown pass with 5:13 left in the game.

But Reed responded with another touchdown run, this one a 38-yard scamper, to close the scoring with 3:58 left to play.

The Blue Jackets started fast when Brayden Nobles returned the opening kickoff 67 yards for a first down at the Marion 18. Aynor moved to a first and goal at the 5-yard line but turned the ball over on downs at the 3.

On their next possession, Aynor moved 60 yards in 8 plays capped by Jenerette’s 20-yard run. Jenerette ran in the two-point conversion to give the Blue Jackets an 8-0 lead on the last play of the first quarter.

Marion pulled to 8-6 at halftime on Buey’s 19-yard run with 2:25 left in the first half.

This story was originally published October 10, 2015 at 12:23 AM with the headline "Fumbles haunt Aynor in loss to Region VIII-AA rival Marion."