Kickoff Classic: Marquez Jones scores four times in West Florida's preseason win at Navarre

For a preseason tilt, the fans inside Bennett C. Russell Stadium were treated to the kind of excitement generally reserved for a postseason game.

In just 24 minutes of action Friday night, West Florida and host Navarre combined for 55 points in a back-and-forth affair.

The person responsible for most of those points was Marquez Jones. The senior running back reached the end zone on four occasions to lift the Jaguars to a 35-20 victory over the Raiders.

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“I just challenged the guys and told them we’re going to stay simple with what we do. We can’t get fancy, we got a bunch of young players, so we want to be able to go out and execute, and I thought we did a good job,” West Florida head coach Harry Lees said.

Jones scored on rushes of 10 and 5 yards in the first quarter. He followed that with a 57-yard touchdown reception early in the second.

After Josh Wilson ran untouched on a 12-yard sweep to claw Navarre to within 26-20, Jones immediately answered on the ensuing kickoff. He patiently picked his way past Raiders defenders before racing down the sideline for the 94-yard touchdown return.

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Jones finished with more 200 all-purpose yards.

“I haven’t played in the spring the past two years, so I just wanted to come out here and do something. … It just feels good to be back and to score that many touchdowns,” Jones said.

Here are four takeaways from Friday night:

'Just took off'

In the closing seconds of the opening quarter, Navarre scored on what would’ve been the longest play of the game on most nights.

Senior quarterback Hunter Pfiester bounced back from missing on a couple of deep shots to hit senior athlete Tyrell Marshall for a 43-yard reception.

However, Jones soon had something to say about that, though. Lining up in the backfield on a first-down play, the senior running back anticipated a blitz. Rather than pick up a linebacker charging his way, Jones darted up the field and was open when senior quarterback John Nicholas delivered the ball his way.

From there, the running back’s gifts took over, as he sped down the sideline and pulled away from defenders for the 57-yard score.

“The outside linebacker, he was blitzing. So my coach was like, ‘If he blitz, just take off running down the seams,’” Jones recalled. “That’s what I did. I caught it and just took off.”

The play was an example of how well the running back can read the defense and how dangerous and explosive he can be with the ball in his hands.

He also showed his toughness as well.

On West Florida’s first series, Jones was slow to his feet after taking a big hit from Raiders senior defensive back Jacob Weaver while pulling down a swing pass. Jones shook off the hit and was the best player on the field the rest of the way.

“He’s a phenomenal talent, and we knew he was,” Lees said. “He got hurt late last year and we really missed him. So he’s worked to get back and has had a good attitude. He took a hit early, got up and showed out.”

Special woes

Among the comments spoken to his varsity players following their time on the field, Navarre head coach Jay Walls stated, “I hope you’re disappointed, I hope you’re mad, because we had opportunities. We got to do better.”

Walls also said he was happy with his players’ effort and physicality. But if there is one area that may be a strong point of emphasis in the week leading up to this regular season opener against Pensacola Catholic, it will likely be on special teams.

The numerous mistakes on that side of the ball either resulted in points for the visitors or took points off the board for the home team. The most notable error was a penalty which wiped out a Marshall kickoff return score.

Marshall also had a gaffe, as he failed to field a kick until after the ball took a Jaguar bounce and could only return it to the Navarre 8-yard line. On the very next play, West Florida senior defensive back Trevor Knott picked off Pfiester for a 10-yard interception return score.

Mix in two bad snaps on punts – one of which resulted in a safety – a missed extra-point and Jones’ touchdown return, that unit had a long night at office.

“Believe it or not, we work on the kicking game hard,” Walls quipped with a laugh. “This is the time where you want it to happen, it doesn’t count. It’s the first opportunity for live action for our guys, and yes, there were some mistakes, but we’ll get it fixed.”

Crunch-time resistance

West Florida understands what area opponents will target.

Graduating the majority of a vaunted front-seven that was dominant for years, the Jaguars are now reliant on inexperience players in the trenches.

Navarre seemingly took advantage by using the legs of Connor Mathews. The junior running back had 13 carries for 99 yards and a touchdown.

But the Jaguars' front showed some life, thwarting a Raiders comeback in the process. Up 33-20 late in the second quarter, the visitors stopped Mathews short of first-down yardage on a fourth-and-2 play. Junior linebacker Jalien Wadley was the first player in on the tackle.

For a unit with a lot to prove this upcoming season, the stop was an encouraging sign.

"I thought that was huge, that we were able to make some stops. These kids are untested," Lees said. "They got to go out and they got to make a way for themselves. I thought they stepped up in crunch time."

Money down

If you stood anywhere near the Navarre sideline, you heard "money down" shouted by players and coaches whenever it was third down.

Some even made a money-sign gesture, ala Johnny Manziel during his time at Texas A&M.

As far as for how well the Raiders performed on the money down, they got off to a strong start, moving the chains with receptions from Marshall and senior athlete Darius Cunningham. Cunningham also got Navarre off the field in its first defensive possession with a third-down pass breakup.

From there, the home team struggled to get conversions, going 1-for-5 the rest of the night.

"We've been emphasizing that forever," Walls said. "Money down, make a big play, we want the kids to be excited about third down. Whether its offense or defense, it's a big part of winning."

Patrick Bernadeau is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached at (772) 985-9692, on Twitter @PatBernadeau or via email at pbernadeau@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Preseason Football: Marques Jones' 4 TDs carries West Florida past Navarre