(Marion) — In a back-and-forth affair, the San Antonio Cole Cougars came from behind and held on to defeat the Marion Bulldogs, 41-34 on Senior Night at Veterans Stadium in Marion.
The teams traded scores all through the first half. Marion scored first on the game’s opening drive when senior quarterback Bo Stahl capped off a 75-yard drive with a nine-yard touchdown run to put Marion ahead, 7-0 in the first quarter.
The Cougars responded when quarterback Jackson Freds found paydirt on a 28-yard run to knot the score at 7 with about four minutes left in the first. And then on the next play from scrimmage, Stahl would put Marion back out in front on a dazzling 75-yard scoring run to make the score 14-7.
With a little over 90 seconds left in the first quarter, Freds and the Cougars tied the game when the junior signal-caller connected with receiver Brennan Skaggs to make the score 14-14. The Cougars took back the lead on their third 75-yard drive of the half, this time on a 37-yard scoring scamper by Christian Sanchez less than a minute into the second quarter.
Another touchdown pass by Freds tied the game at 21 and then Stahl would score his third touchdown of the half on yet another 75-yard Marion drive with a 6-yard TD run to put Marion back out in front, 28-21. The Bulldogs would be stopped on their final drive to end the first half.
In the third quarter, the rains came down in Marion but the back-and-forth play continued. Freds found Taiwo Antunrase for a 41-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 28. Christian Sanchez then scored on a 24-yard rushing TD to put Marion out in front, 34-28. And Freds scored his second rushing touchdown of the night on a 60-yard run through the Marion defense to put Cole up for the first time at 35-34.
Freds added a four-yard score in the fourth quarter to give the Cougars a 41-34 lead. Marion had a chance late in the quarter to drive down the field and tie the ballgame, but the Bulldogs lost a fumble and Cole recovered allowing their offense to run out the clock.
The loss by the Bulldogs dropped their District 13-3A record to 2-3 while the Cougars improved to 4-1. Cole is in a tie for second place in the district with Blanco. Randolph is in first place at 5-1.
Marion is in fourth place and can still clinch the fourth and final playoff spot in the district with a win next week. The Bulldogs will close out the regular season next Friday in Luling to take on the 0-5 Eagles. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Luling High School.