After enduring two straight subpar seasons, the Lipscomb Academy Mustangs showed that their program might be back on the upswing under new coach Scott Tillman when they defeated the Marshall County Tigers 20-7 at Preston Hopkins Field on Friday night in the Marshall County Chamber of Commerce Pigskin Preview.

With the contest lasting just one half, the Tigers were locked in a 7-7 tie with Lipscomb Academy late in the first quarter, but the Mustangs recorded touchdowns on their next two possessions to take a 20-7 lead with :10 left in the opening period while holding MCHS scoreless the rest of the way.

Quick Mustangs

Utilizing an up tempo, no huddle offense, Lipscomb Academy racked up 290 yards from scrimmage overall, which included 182 yards rushing on 24 carries. Fullback Grant Mitchell led Lipscomb Academy's ground attack with 56 yards and a touchdown on four carries, while Jackson Cooper and Deandre Tigg both toted the ball twice for 51 and 35 yards respectively.

Mustang quarterback Sy Taylor tossed one interception, but completed 6-of-10 passes for 65 yards. Lipscomb Academy backup quarterback John Merritt completed both of his passes for 43 yards.

Reid Weber paced the Mustang receiving corps with two catches for 24 yards, while Hunter Bradford added one catch for 31 yards.

Outside linebacker Nick Jorgenson paced the Tiger defense with four tackles. Steven Dangerfield, Cale Shelton, and Blair Conger registered three tackles apiece for Marshall County as well, while Chris Walker notched two tackles and an interception.

MCHS finished with 191 yards of total offense, but were hindered by two turnovers, which led to a pair of Lipscomb Academy touchdowns.

Ground game

The Tigers did most of their damage on the ground and rushed for 124 yards on 20 carries. Freshman tailback Bennielle Hill led Marshall County with 50 yards rushing on seven carries. Backup quarterback Ashton Posey also added 28 yards on three carries for Marshall County, while D'Andre Brown toted the ball five times for 27 yards.

MCHS quarterback Austin Stacey picked up 21 yards on his lone carry of the contest and completed 2-of-3 passes for 67 yards and a touchdown. Walker caught a 65-yard touchdown pass to account for the Tigers' lone score of the game.

"I don't think we were as sharp as we've been in practice, but David Lipscomb will make you look like that because they're a good ballclub. I did see some good things tonight though," said Marshall County coach Aaron Pitts. "We have some things that we have to clean up, but I think we're going to be a good ballclub. I was also really pleased with how some of the younger guys played."

The Mustangs advanced from their own 20 to the Marshall County 13 on their opening possession with the help of runs of 22 and 50 yards by Tigg and Cooper, but Taylor tossed two incompletions before Tiger linebacker Antonio Shelton tackled Luke Simpson for a four-yard loss on third down to halt the drive.

Error's damage

Although Lipscomb Academy placekicker Stone Haley missed a 33-yard field goal attempt, the Mustangs got the ball right back when MCHS' center snapped the ball over Stacey's head and Luke Mitchell pounced on the ball at the Marshall County 18.

Lipscomb Academy was able to cash in on the Tiger miscue, as Simpson scored on a five-yard touchdown run four plays later while Haley tacked on the extra point to give the Mustangs a 7-0 lead with 8:25 left in the first quarter.

After advancing to the Lipscomb Academy 49 on their next drive thanks to a 21-yard scamper by Stacey, MCHS gained only seven-yards on their next three snaps before kicker Aaron Medley missed a 59-yard field goal attempt.

The Mustangs marched to the Tiger 11 on their third offensive series, but Walker picked off a pass by Taylor in the end zone to snuff out the threat.

Big play

Walker provided Marshall County with another big play a few moments later when he caught a long down field pass by Stacey near the right sideline before shaking off a Lipscomb Academy defender en route to scoring on a 65-yard touchdown pass. Medley then converted the extra point to tie the contest at 7-7.

Lipscomb Academy quickly counterpunched and put together a five-play, 70-yard scoring drive, capped by a Mitchell nine-yard touchdown jaunt, to seize a 13-7 lead with 2:57 left in the first period.

The Mustangs recovered another Tiger fumble at the MCHS 40 before Hunter Taylor scored on a two-yard touchdown plunge five plays later. Haley then hit the extra point to make it 20-7 late in the first quarter.

Marshall County drove into Lipscomb Academy territory on each of their final two possessions, but the Mustangs stopped the Tigers on downs both times to preserve the victory.