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The Hilton Head Island High School running back topped 100 yards for the second consecutive week, leading the Seahawks to a 28-10 victory against Bluffton at Bobcat Stadium in the third annual Bridge Bowl.
Green, who gained only 506 yards in the team's first eight games, rushed for 157 Friday night on just 16 carries after totaling 139 last week against Battery Creek. And more importantly for the senior, he added a pair of touchdowns against the Bobcats after being held out of the end zone a week ago.
"Marcus is really, really coming into his own," Hilton Head High coach Tim Singleton said. "That's the Marcus we know. He's physical, he's fast, he's humble. And I'm proud that he's starting to have the success I knew he could have all year."
Hilton Head High's seventh consecutive win completed its undefeated Region 8-AAA season.
But unlike the previous four league victories, this one wasn't pretty. And Bluffton certainly didn't make it easy.
The Bobcats forced five turnovers in the game, including three inside their own 10-yard line -- all three of which came in the second half.
"I was proud of our defense," Bluffton coach Jeremy West said. "We got some big turnovers."
And each one kept the Bobcats in the game, which was both teams' regular-season finale.
Linebacker Ethan Green hopped on a fumble after Seahawks quarterback Dominque Driessen's pitch never made it to Green with Hilton Head High on the Bluffton 4-yard line. The turnover set up a Jordan Rodriguez field goal to cut the deficit to 21-10 in the fourth quarter.
"We didn't play particularly well," Singleton said. "We had too many turnovers tonight that kept them in it. ... It was discouraging."
But the Hilton Head High defense didn't allow Bluffton to creep any closer. The Seahawks (8-2, 5-0 Region 8-AAA) continued their recent streak of dominant defensive play, with the exception of a couple runs from Bluffton running back Timmy Smith.
Smith gave the Bobcats their only touchdown with a 59-yard run in the second half and added a 71-yard run down to the 3-yard line to set up Rodriguez's field goal. He finished with 193 rushing yards, and he did it from an entirely new look in the Bobcats' offense -- the wing-T.
West, who has run the style of offense everywhere he's previously coached, installed the offense at Bluffton just this week.
"I was most proud of that," West said. "To pick that offense up in three days and get the timing down, that gave us a chance to stay in it."
Seahawks running back Lawrence Jenkins' 35-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, however, put things out of reach.
Jenkins' run provided the Seahawks with one of their many big plays on the night. Jaquan Cohen returned a punt 40 yards for a first-half score. And Clifford Morrow's 57-yard reception from Driessen set up Green's 4-yard touchdown in the opening quarter. Driessen passed for a career-high 250 yards in the game.
The Seahawks will return to action next Friday night, when they will host South Aiken in the first round of the Class 3-A playoffs.
"Now it's for all the marbles," Singleton said. "... This is what we play for all season, to get to this point. Now we've just got to execute."
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Total |
| Hilton Head High | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 28 |
| Bluffton | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 10 |
First Quarter
HHH--Marcus Green 4 run (Matt Olivetti kick), 1:17.
Second Quarter
HHH--Jaquan Cohen 40 punt return (Olivetti kick), 7:58.
Third Quarter
HHH--Marcus Green 2 run (Olivetti kick), 9:55.
BLF--Timmy Smith 59 run (Jordan Rodriguez kick), 6:35.
Fourth Quarter
BLF--Rodriguez 32 FG, 8:21.
HHH--Lawrence Jenkins 35 run (Olivetti kick), 5:51.
| HHH | BLF | |
| First downs | 18 | 9 |
| Rush | 10 | 6 |
| Pass | 6 | 0 |
| Pen. | 2 | 3 |
| Rushes-yards | 28-246 | 42-236 |
| Comp-Att-Int | 15-25-2 | 2-14-1 |
| Passing yards | 250 | 10 |
| Return yards | 120 | 52 |
| Punts | 3-36 | 7-32.8 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 4-3 | 0-0 |
| Penalties-Yards | 12-124 | 12-102 |
| Third-down conv. | 3-8 | 3-14 |
| Fourth-down conv. | 0-0 | 1-1 |
| Time of Possession | 21:53 | 26:07 |
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Hilton Head High, Marcus Green 17-157, Lawrence Jenkins 5-46, Dominque Driessen 5-34, Ben Fraser 1-9. Bluffton, Timmy Smith 28-193, Zack Frazier 12-47, Jordan Rodriguez 1-(minus 2), Desmond Jenkins 1-(minus 2).
PASSING--Hilton Head High, Driessen 15-25-250-2. Bluffton, Ryan Combs 2-14-10-1
RECEIVING--Hilton Head High, Jaquan Cohen 4-59, Victor Frazier 4-41, Clifford Morrow 3-80, Khiry Washington 2-34, Green 1-21, Jenkins 1-15. Bluffton, Rodriguez 1-10, Smith 1-0.
MISSED FIELD GOALS--None.
