Marion County football game of the week: Takeaways from Belleview at North Marion

In a game that saw its share of the unusual, including a touchdown on a muffed punt return, a score on what actually was fifth down and a fight that forced the contest to be called with 25.8 seconds remaining, the North Marion football team defeated visiting Belleview, 26-13, on Friday night.

The win showed that North Marion is right there in the discussion with Vanguard and Trinity Catholic as the county’s best team, while upstart BHS continued to demonstrate how far it has come since losing 84-0 to the Colts in 2019.

Here are five takeaways from the contest.

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Junior quarterback AJ Cussins had his best night of the young season for the Colts (3-0), unofficially completing 19-of-31 passes for 337 yards with two touchdowns and an interception (which came off a tip from one of his own receivers).

He found 6-foot-4, 210-pound 3-star Georgia Southern commitment Elija Walton four times for 162 yards with touchdowns of 42 and 75 yards. Walton also had a 43-yard reception, meaning a 2-yarder in the fourth quarter dropped his average on the night from 53.3 ypc to 40.5 ypc.

“We got the ball to our guys, and they made plays,” NMHS coach Greg Carr said.

Colts get after the quarterback

Belleview quarterback Ernest Flythe is one of the county’s best, but he had difficulty finding time to throw before having to deal with North Marion’s fierce pass rush.

Unofficially, Andrew Zock finished with three sacks (one week after recording four at Dunnellon) and Antwuan Hampton added two-and-a-half to lead the way, and other players like Arkese Heath, Dallas Richardson, Sariah Aviando and Jaleigh Patterson also got to Flythe at various times.

“The guys worked really hard,” Carr said. “Andrew Zock, Antwaun Hampton, Sariah… it’s a good group that has been playing good football all year.”

Good and bad with special teams

The Rattlers (2-1) will have a lot to talk about when reviewing film of the kicking game.

The good?

Junior punter/kicker Aiden Kaczmarski knocked through field goals of 32 and 37 yards, as well as his lone extra point attempt of the contest. He also forced a touchback on a kickoff and drilled a 46-yard punt in the fourth quarter while standing in the back of the end zone.

Belleview’s special teams also blocked an extra point and a field goal attempt.

The bad?

Well, it starts with the blocked field goal in the third quarter, where Kareem Walker scooped up the ball and returned it 81 yards seemingly for a touchdown only to have the score called back for a blocking in the back penalty that happened behind him.

The first two punts of the game by NMHS were muffed by BHS returners. Patterson took the first one 24 yards for a score, and the Colts also recovered the second one.

“We can’t do that,” said Rattlers’ coach Brian Lane, whose team also got a 59-yard interception return from Jaheem Shannon. “Those are bad points. We gave those away, and you can’t do that against a good team like North Marion.”

Fifth down?

Belleview got its lone touchdown early in the fourth quarter on a 6-yard pass from Flythe to Devonte Welcome. Flythe did a nice job on the play running right to avoid pressure and throwing the ball just before crossing the line of scrimmage to Welcome, who made a difficult catch in the end zone while in traffic.

The only problem is that it should have been North Marion’s ball.

BHS had first-and-goal from the Colts’ 9 late in the third and got a run for no yards from Flythe, a 3-yard run by Eric McLaughlin and then an incomplete pass to end the quarter.

The fourth opened with another incomplete pass and the ball seemingly belonged to North Marion’s offense. However, the Rattlers got another down and made the most of it.

Consequences for fight at end of the game?

North Marion’s JJ Johnson ran in from a yard out in the final minute to give the game its final margin. But that wasn’t the end of it.

Following a tackle on BHS’s ensuing possession, a fight broke out involving players from both teams. After speaking with representatives from each school, the officials decided to call the contest with 25.8 seconds left.

To avoid any further potential issues, Lane sent his team to the bus and soon after, Carr sent his to the locker room. There was no postgame handshake line.

Lane and Carr both said they regretted how the game ended, and NMHS senior receiver Chris Foster tweeted out afterwards “This is not what football is about. This is Not North Marion Football. Don’t feed into the hype.”

The possibility, perhaps likelihood, is that each team will have to deal with suspensions handed out by the FHSAA as a result of the fracas.

This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: High school football: North Marion gets best of Belleview