‘Proud of these guys’: Tolar cruises past Marlin, advances to Class 2A D1 State Semifinals
For the third straight season, Marlin and Tolar met in the playoffs and continued their postseason rivalry.
Marlin won the 2021 matchup and Tolar bounced back with an emphatic 71-18 victory in 2022. Tolar defeated the Bulldogs for a consecutive time, securing a 42-19 victory to advance in the Texas high school football playoffs on Thursday at Midlothian ISD Multi-Purpose Stadium.
“I’m super proud of these guys,” Tolar head coach Jeremy Mullins. “They played tough for four quarters. We had a little adversity tonight, some turnovers, a bad punt and things that we hadn’t had in the last few weeks and so was proud of the way they overcame some of that stuff.”
Mullins said his team showcased grit to contain Marlins’ offense. The Bulldogs totaled 192 yards in the contest.
“Hats off to Coach (Ruben) Torres at Marlin, getting the ball moved on us better than anyone has the last few weeks,” Mullins said. “Up front I thought we did a little better job in the second half and had some key takeaways. There were some big turnovers in that second half that kind of broke it open for us.”
Both teams failed to get on the scoreboard to start the game. Tolar, in it’s second possession, was powered to the end zone by solid runs from Garrison Nation, Peyton Brown and Isaac Blessing, who capped the drive with a 2 yard touchdown.
A 54 yard punt by Suiters pinned Tolar at its own 2 yard line. The Rattlers soon punted, but Brooks Stone, for an unknown reason, failed to kick the ball away.
The Marlin Bulldogs took over on downs and embarked on a four play, 12 yard scoring drive that culminated with a 1 yard touchdown scamper by running back Mario Hopward. The game tying PAT was fumbled, and it seemed Tolar would take a 7-6 lead into the half.
The Rattlers then embarked on a quick, efficient drive with 27 seconds left on the clock. With a second left on the clock, Isaac Blessing found wide receiver Matthew Behrens in the corner of the end zone for a 19 yard touchdown.
“It started with a big special teams play,” Mullins said. “Clayton Stembridge is a dadgum good returner for us and he found a way to get a seam and those guys on the return team did a good job. Without a lot of time left with a good return you have a chance. Matthew Behrens is a heck of a football player and Isaac threw a good ball.”
Marlin recovered an onside kick to start the second half but couldn’t move the chains. Tolar took over and Blessing broke free up the middle for a 47 yard touchdown to extend the lead to 21-6.
Marlin had its back against the wall and responded well. Wide receiver Caden Julie broke away for 91 yard touchdown, finding lots of green while outrunning the Rattler secondary.
The Rattler offense then caught fire, pulling away from the Bulldogs with two consecutive scores. First, unsportsmanlike conduct was called on the Bulldog band and Tolar capitalized with a 35 yard completion, proceeding to finish the drive with a 1 yard TD run by Blessing.
In the first half, both bands were warned for playing too close to the snap. Deaundre James, one of Marlins’ band directors, said he wasn’t sure why the penalty was called.
“The opposite band had been playing nonstop up until the third quarter,” James said. “That’s how they are trying to get them out of the game by having the band not play.”
In Tolar’s next possession, Brown rushed in 19 yards for another score to give the Rattlers a 35-13 lead. Brown also scored the next and final touchdown for the Rattlers, a 24 yarder, with 7:31 left in the fourth quarter.
Marlin’s chances of creating a comeback were slim but cut the lead with the final score of the game, an 8 yard touchdown reception by Je’mere Hartsfield.
Notable Performances
Blessing managed the offense, passing for 74 yards and a touchdown while completing four of eight passes. He made more of an impact on the ground, gaining 114 yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries.
“Isaac is a tremendous kid,” Mullins said. He’s a great leader and he’s the heartbeat of the team. He shows up every day with great energy. An all-state linebacker last year that played quarterback this year. He’d loved to play linebacker every series as well, but he knows his role is behind the center and no one better than him to be back there.”
Brown led the ground attack with 115 yards and 2 touchdown on 16 carries. Mullins said he’s a big guy that opposing defenses have trouble tackling.
“You hope in the second half that they get tired of tackling that guy over four quarters and it sure is fun having that guy back,” Mullins said.
Tolar will play either Stratford (13-0) or Hawley (11-2) in the Class 2A D1 State Semifinals with a trip to the State Championship at AT&T Stadium on the line.
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