Last Updated on 12/1/2008

Published on 8/24/2008

By R.G. Greene

rgreene@gtowntimes.com

Many of the names have changed on Carvers Bay's roster. There are different faces in the team picture and even some new coaches.

What has remained the same, as Marion learned on Friday, is the Bears ability to lock their opponent down.

Playing in soggy conditions that demanded an old-school defensive approach, Carvers Bay fit the bill, limiting Marion to just 67 total yards and opening the 2008 football season with an 18-6 win.

"We've always tried to emphasize defense first," Bears coach Nate Thompson said. "Overall, we have a lot of inexperience on our team this year. The defense has jelled a little quicker than the offense. They're going to have to carry the load for us in the early part of the season."

Said tackle Kwame Geathers, one of four returning defensive starters, "It was up to us to get the job done. We didn't want to give them anything."

Led by a mammoth defensive line that averaged close to 255 pounds per player, Carvers Bay reached its second consecutive Class A Division I championship game a season ago.

The five-man front doesn't quite have the same size this year, but with Geathers (6-foot-6, 320) and noseguard Tevin Greene (6-foot-0, 335), there remains plenty of bulk. There's also plenty of speed with ends like Jeremy Turner (6-foot-2, 180) applying pressure from the corner.

The blend of size and quickness was too much for Marion to handle. The Swamp Foxes were held to minus 8 yards rushing, and quarterback Justin Brock was sacked three times - twice by Turner - and harassed throughout the night.

"It's a good combination," Geathers said. "We have some big guys and (others who are) quicker. We help each other out and work together well."

A Carvers Bay running back has eclipsed the 2,000-yard barrier in each of the past three years - Malcolm Elder in 2005 and '06 and Johnathan Holmes last season - but the Bears used more of a tandem approach on Friday.

Alternating series, Clayton Geathers and Davious Chestnut combined for 155 yards and three scores on the ground.

Chestnut found the end zone first, capping a 12-play, 66-yard drive by scoring from two yards out and giving the Bears a 6-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Geathers added scoring runs of 12 and 13 yards in the second half and finished as the game's leading rusher, carrying 18 times for 100 yards.

With the weather a factor, the Bears stuck with the basics, choosing to run between the tackles for most of the night.

However, both of Geathers' touchdowns came on reverses.

"(Offensive coordinator) Binky Rankin set those up well," Thompson said. "It was the first game for both he and (defensive coordinator) Quinton McCollum. They were under the gun, but they came through."

Turnovers played a part in both of Carvers Bay's scores in the second half.

Karim Gamble recovered a fumble on a punt to set up Geathers' first TD - which put the Bears ahead 12-6 with 1:14 left in the third quarter - and Carlton Linnen's interception led to the final score.

"You always want to win the turnover battle," Thompson said. "Special teams were an area of concern for us coming into the game. Karim made a big play. It changed the momentum in the game."

Brock's one-yard touchdown run tied the game at 6-6 midway through the third quarter and late in the fourth Marion had one last chance to draw even.

Trailing by six, Brock found Justin Gause for a 58-yard gain on a screen pass to set up a first-and-goal from the Carvers Bay nine-yard line.

But two subsequent running plays failed to move the ball and, on third down, Turner dropped Brock for a 14-yard loss. Facing a fourth-and-23, Brock's desperation pass fell incomplete and the Swamp Foxes never threatened again.

"We stopped them when we needed to," Thompson said. "They made a nice play to get down there close, but our defense was able to recover."

CARVERS BAY 18, MARION 6

Marion 0 0 6 0 - 6

Carvers Bay 6 0 6 6 - 18

C - Davious Chestnut 2-run (kick failed)

M - Justin Brock 1-run (kick failed)

C - Clayton Geathers 12-run (run failed)

C - Geathers 13-run (kick failed)