Marietta’s Braiden Hollingsworth (18) and Daymeon Gulley combine to wrap up Warren’s Tanner Pepper (1) during Friday’s game at Don Drumm Stadium. (Photo by Mike Morrison)

It’s safe to say that first-year Marietta head football coach Mike Kupfner and his Tigers wish Friday night’s season finale against Warren was their first game of the season instead of their last.

Marietta won for the third time in four games Friday night with a convincing 42-14 win over the arch-rival Warriors on senior night at Don Drumm Stadium.

Seniors Owen Riley and Will Tornes were among 17 Tigers playing their final game in the orange and black and, like their team, both went out in grand fashion.

Riley rushed the ball 32 times for 174 yards and a pair of touchdowns while also throwing one while Tornes had a rushing touchdown and not one but two pick-sixes in the game.

“Last week against Point Pleasant we were kind of able to control the line of scrimmage and that was something we wanted to build on and continue this week,” said Kupfner, who finishes his first season as Tiger head coach with a 3-7 record. “I felt like our guys kind of embraced that and that carried over into tonight and I’m just happy that our seniors get to go out on a high note.”

Marietta’s Will Tornes (22) returns a punt during Friday’s game against Warren at Don Drumm Stadium. (Photo by Mike Morrison)

The Tigers stopped Warren on their opening drive and gave the large crowd on hand for both schools a preview of what was to come on their opening drive when they drove 74 yards on 14 plays to take the early lead.

Marietta ran the ball 13 consecutive times to move the ball deep into Warren territory where Riley executed a perfect play action pass and found a wide open Daymeon Gulley for a 26-yard touchdown and an early 7-0 Tiger lead.

The Tigers defense forced Warren into and three-and-out to quickly put the ball back into the hands of their offense.

Marietta began their second drive of the game in great field position at the Warren 46-yard line and this time took just six plays to put the ball into the end zone capped by a 20-yard run by Tornes for the touchdown.

The Tigers had the PAT blocked leaving them with a 13-0 lead.

Warren got the spark they desperately needed on the ensuing kickoff when senior Tanner Pepper returned the kickoff 52 yards all the way down to the Marietta 22-yard line.

It would take the Jason Gandee-coached Warren squad just three plays to get into the end zone with Pepper finishing what he started with a three-yard touchdown run off of a direct snap.

The point after kick by Jaxon Venham was good leaving Warren trailing by just six with just under 10 minutes to play in the half.

Marietta began their third drive of the half all the way out near mid-field thanks to a 35-yard kick-off return by Tornes and just like the two before this drive would end up with a touchdown.

The Tigers would run 12 straight running plays with Riley capping the drive with a three-yard touchdown run to get them back the seven points they allowed and give them a 20-7 lead.

Warren got the ball back with 38 seconds to play in the half and their bold move to try to get some points on the board before the end of half backfired in a big way when Tornes intercepted Warrior QB Declan Johnson and returned the interception for a 47-yard touchdown and a 20-point halftime lead.

The Tigers got the ball to begin the second half and for the only time in the game were stopped by the Warrior defense as they were forced to punt the ball away.

Warren put together its very best drive of the game on their first possession of the second half as they moved the ball from their own 29-yard line all the way down to the Marietta three-yard line.

The Marietta defense came up with four stops in a row forcing Johnson into an incomplete pass on fourth down to turn the ball back over to them on downs.

The Tigers took over possession at their own 3-yard line and put together a drive for the ages to pretty much eliminate any hopes Warren had at getting back into the game.

Marietta ran the ball 20 consecutive times to go 97 yards with Riley once again capping the drive with a 1-yard touchdown road to increase their lead to 34-7.

“It takes consistency and our mentality when we started this was just plus three every time and just keep grinding and eventually something is going to pop,” said Kupfner of the long drive that chewed up more than nine minutes of game clock. “That was a huge drive for us tonight.”

To add insult to injury, Tornes picked off Johnson for the second time on the very next Warren play from scrimmage and for the second time raced into the end zone for a touchdown.

“He’s probably our most explosive guy with the ball in his hand so we are always trying to find a way to do that,” said Kupfner of Tornes, who also threw a pass to Braiden Plaugher for a two-point conversion. “He’s been flying around all year defensively and it just seemed like tonight was the night that he was in the right place at the right time.”

Warren got a late touchdown pass from Johnson to Tanner Pepper but it would be the Tigers gaining a measure of revenge after last season’s loss to the Warriors.

All told the Tigers piled up 252 rushing yards in the game led by Riley’s big game.

Tornes also had 47 rushing yards on five carries.

Kupfner was quite pleased with the resilience his team showed down the stretch after losing their first six games of the season.

“The hard work these guys put in through the adversity is what I am the most proud of,” said Kupfner. “They worked hard all year long and never gave up and finally started seeing the results at the end.”

The game marked the final ones for Tiger seniors Yousuf Algarhy, Timmy Ryan, Lucas Miller, Riley, Kobe Alexander, Malachi Farley, Braiden Hollingsworth, Braiden Plaugher, Tornes, Leelen Nielsen, Logan Boyd, Tim Simmons, Levi Jackson, Teddy Bauer, Colton Lucas, Henry Devol and Kendrick Gast.

“Even though the record wasn’t what we wanted, these guys have kind of laid the foundation for sure,” said Kupfner. “I think they have really set us up for some great success in the future.”

The Warriors season comes to a close with a 2-8 record.

Warriors playing their last game in the Warren blue include Pepper, Eric Carr, Davin Dickel, Hayden Smith, Nehemiah Reeder, Tyler Plummer, Gavin Cox, Cale Castin, Craig Bennett Jr., Landon McCoy, Caleb Cunningham and Tyler Steele.