What We Saw: Marlboro County 40, Conway 16

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>CONWAY |</strong> A season ago, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1271463' first='Justin' last='Purvis']</strong> was often considered the biggest threat Marlboro County opponents would see. They game-planned accordingly, and the Bulldogs sort of slugged through a three-win season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Now, Purvis can star without being the only star.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Marlboro County senior put up a monster effort in his newly built team's 40-16 win at Conway on Friday. He took four end-around carries for 141 yards and two long touchdown runs while also catching nine passes for 98 yards.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was among the highlights for a team designed have plenty of them.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“There's not too much you can hold us on,” Purvis (pictured) said. “If you try to stop the run, we're going to throw it. If you try to stop the throw, we're going to run it. We're an equaled-out team, and we've got a great coaching staff that worked with us all summer. We've got guys who can go. There's no stopping us.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The biggest chance of that happening against the Tigers was Marlboro County itself. The Bulldogs were flagged 23 times for 176 yards, with 16 of those infractions coming before halftime.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>But here's how little it eventually mattered.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Between the eight-minute mark of the second quarter and the four-minute mark of the third, Purvis and Co. went on a 28-point run that turned what was a 12-10 game upside down.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>He had a 52-yard touchdown run, followed up by a two-yard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='370006' first='Nydarion' last='Blackwell']</strong> 2-yard score just before halftime. Then, after Purvis broke off a 79-yard scoring run, linebacker <strong>Kelly Marcus</strong> picked up a <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1399640' first='Noah' last='Legg']</strong> fumble in the Conway backfield and returned it 38 yards for another touchdown.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was absolute shock and awe for the Tigers, who prior to that stretch had been stringing together quality drives and playing fantastic defense against the star-studded Marlboro County squad.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Eventually, the Bulldogs just ran away with it.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“This is what you can expect from us throughout the year,” Purvis said. “A lot of team wouldn't have expected this from us after some of the years we had. But with this new coaching staff and the guys we have, this is what you can expect from our offense.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>OTHER MARLBORO COUNTY STANDOUTS&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Blackwell was 16-of-19 for 256 yards before coming out of the game midway through the third quarter. He also had a pair of short rushing touchdowns. Playing behind 6-foot-6, 380-pound center <strong>Hunter Shaw</strong>, Blackwell faced only minimal pressure while he was in the game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Because of it, he started the game by completing his first 10 pass attempts and spread the ball around to four different receivers: Purvis, <strong>Tremayne Asheford</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='902991' first='Donavan' last='Pauling-Outlaw']</strong> and tight end <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1271551' first='Damon' last='Short']</strong> (61-yard touchdown reception).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Much like Purvis, Pauling-Outlaw was again used both as a ball carrier and receiver. He finished the night with five receptions for 65 yards and a two-point conversion and had two carries for another nine yards.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The bulk of the workload while the game was in question, though, fell on <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1360219' first='Josiah' last='Robinson']</strong> - who had eight first-half carries for 70 yards. He also came out early and did not have a touch in the second half.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Defensively, ECU commit <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='823896' first='Josiah' last='Dwyer']</strong> had a pair of tackles for loss, and Marcus - who had the third-quarter fumble return for a touchdown - had another fumble return that he returned for a score negated by a penalty on the return.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>CONWAY STANDOUTS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Receiver<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='1025782' first='Jordan' last='Jenkins']</strong> had a five-catch, 51-yard evening. That included a second-quarter touchdown (16 yards) that gave Conway its final lead. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jkwon Brantley</strong> finished with the Tigers' other touchdown late in the game. In addition to that score, had 12 carries for 66 yards in the loss.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Dual-purpose senior <strong>Chris Quick</strong> was used in a variety of ways. He returned kickoffs and punts in addition to playing receiver (two receptions, 11 yards) and tailback back (seven carries, 55 yards).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->