MURFREESBORO – The Mount Ida Lions jumped out to a 29-8 lead in the first half and never looked back as they rolled to a 50-20 victory over the Murfreesboro Rattlers.
Mount Ida relied heavily on their tried and true ground game, amassing 362 yards on the ground on 51 carries. All six of their offensive touchdowns came on the ground.
Cade Helms led the Lions ground game with 19 carries for 141 yards, three touchdowns and a two point conversion. Jonathan Legrange had 17 carries and 97 yards on the night.
Sophomore quarterback Cade Jackson had eight carries for 78 yards and three scores. He also recovered a Murfreesboro fumble for another touchdown.
Gage Dyer had three carries for 15 yards, Bryson Huff had a carry for 29 yards, Tyler Hamilton had a carry for four yards, Bridger Farmer had a carry for two yards, and Ethan Winkley had a carry.
The Lions through one pass for a completion with Austin McAdoo getting the catch for 25 yards.
Murfreesboro ran a more balanced offense with the team rushing for 176 yards and throwing for another 102 yards.
Gavin Gardner led the Rattlers with 23 carries for 104 yards and a touchdown. Ryan Roberts had seven carries for 40 yards and Tyler Tomlinson had six carries for 27 yards and a touchdown. Cameron Snowden had four carries for five yards.
Roberts was 15-27 in the air for 102 yards, a touchdown and a two point conversion.
J.C. Motley was the leading receiver with nine catches for 52 yards. Troy Stone had four catches for 31 yards, Snowden had a catch for 14 yards and Tomlinson had a five yard touchdown reception.
Murfreesboro opened the game with the ball on the Rattler 36. They made progress down field, but turned the ball over on downs on the Lion 36.
Mount Ida didn’t waste any time, marching down field to score in five plays. Cade Helms carried the ball into Rattler territory on the 41. Jonathan Legrange and Helms swapped carries to move the ball to the 18. A personal fould called against the Rattlers placed the ball on the Rattler nine and Cade Jackson called his own number on the next play for the score. Tyler Allenbrand’s PAT was good and the Lions held a seven point lead with 5:31 to go in the first.
The Rattler offense got things going in their second drive, moving the ball 61 yards in eight plays for a touchdown. Ryan Roberts and J.C. Motley connected on a pair of passes to move the ball to the Lion 47. The Rattlers turned to their ground game with Gavin Gardner moving the ball to the Lion 39 before breaking loose for the first Mufreesboro score of the night. Roberts and Troy Stone corroborated on the two point conversion to give the Rattlers a narrow 8-6 lead with 3:39 to go in the first quarter.
The Rattler lead was short lived with Mount Ida driving 59 yards on seven plays to score on a five yard run by Helms. Helms carried the two point conversion in as well to give the Lions a 15-8 lead with 1:42 to go in the first.
The Lion defense tightened up in the next drive, forcing the Rattlers to punt on a fourth and seven from their own 48. The snap on the punt went over the punter’s head and Cade Jackson scooped the ball up and went the distance for the third Lion touchdown of the night. Allenbrand’s PAT was good to give the Lions a 22-8 lead.
Mount Ida’s final first half touchdown came on an 11 yard run by Jackson at the 4:41 mark of the second quarter. Allenbrand’s PAT was good to give the Lions a 29-8 lead.
Murfreesboro finished the first half strong driving the ball 58 yards in 12 plays to score on a one yard run by Gardner. The two point conversion failed, but the Rattlers had cut the Lion lead to 29-14.
The Lions opened the second half with a nine play drive that ended with a one yard touchdown run by Helms. Allenbrand hit the PAT to give the Lions a 36-14 lead.
The Rattlers moved the ball just inside Lion territory on their first drive of the half, but a sack by Gunner Gilbert and two personal fouls called against Murfreesboro pushed the Rattlers to their own 30 yard line, forcing them to punt.
Jackson scored another touchdown for Mount Ida, this time from five yards out with 4:31 to go in the third. Allenbrand hit the PAT to give the Lions a 42-14 lead.
The final Mount Ida score of the night came on a five yard run by Helms. Allenbrand hit the PAT to give the Lions a 50-14 lead, enacting the sportsmanship rule.
Murfreesboro would score again thanks to a 13 play drive that ended with a five yard run by Tyler Tomlinson.
Mount Ida moves to 5-0 on the season and 2-0 in conference play. They will host Spring Hill Friday for Homecoming. Kickoff will be at 7 p.m.
Murfreesboro drops to 2-3 on the season and 1-1 in conference play. They are scheduled to travel to Mountain Pine with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m.
