Marshall allowed 16 unanswered points to close the game Friday, but the Mavericks managed to weather through a fourth-quarter fumble that led to a touchdown and a last-second mini "Hail Mary" completion to hang on for a key win over Texas High.

Marshall's 36-30 victory keeps its playoff destiny in its own hands. Should the Mavericks (5-3, 3-1) win their remaining two regular season games, it would clinch second place in District 13-4A, with a win next week against Sulphur Springs sealing a post-season berth.

Courtney Case/News Messenger (ENLARGE)

Marshall's Brandon Fitzgerald dodges a tackle from Texas High's Dorian Hooks during a District 13-4A football game Friday night at Maverick Stadium.

"We should have never been in that bind but sometimes that happens and sometimes you have to battle back when you get that kind of adversity," said Marshall head coach Thedrick Harris, whose team led 36-14 with 4:26 left in the third.

A surprise onside kick that the Tigers recovered set up a short field for Texas High, leading to a scoring drive, and a fumble later in the fourth led to another scoring drive to keep the game close.

Marshall also elected to take three knees and a safety at the end of the game, then kicking the ball back to the Tigers with less than 20 seconds left, instead of trying to pick up a first down to run the clock out.

"We knew right there at the end we needed to take that safety and then let it play out," Harris said.

Despite having no time outs remaining, Texas High completed a 14-yard pass to the sideline with three seconds left, and then connected on a 38-yard heave from Nathan Sorenson to Joseph Thurman to the 2-yard line as time expired, but Thurman fell to the ground after making the catch.

Harris said he would need to examine film of the final play in order to see exactly what transpired.

"What they're taught to do is bat the ball down (in that situation) and not to go for the interception," the coach said. "We took a time out and put the guys in that we wanted on the field, but somehow he came down with it and luckily, it was short of the end zone and the game was over."

In addition to the late fumble, the coach also said he wasn't happy with a few of the penalties the Mavs committed in the second half.

After committing no penalties the week before against Longview, the Mavericks had two pass interference calls made on them in the fourth, the last of which gave the Tigers a first down on a 3rd-and-11.

Roderick Davis came up with a key interception at the 5-yard line later in the drive, however, bringing the potential game-tying march to a halt.

"We haven't been plagued by penalties all year long and we had some crucial penalties there towards the end," Harris said.

"Those are things that I and the coaching staff will have to address."

On Davis' interception, Harris said: "He did a great job of picking that up. That was a big boost for our defense. He was right there in man coverage and he broke on the ball. It was a battle for the ball and he just took it away from (Thurman)."

The Mavericks continued to move the ball rather easily on offense, with Jamal Anderson and J.C. Haigwood each eclipsing the 100-yard rushing mark and quarterback Brandon Fitzgerald completing all four of his pass attempts for 66 yards and a touchdown.

In the end, Marshall avenged a loss from last season and set itself up well heading into late October.

"Even though we had those hiccups in the second half, our kids were able to bounce back and overcome them and hang on for the victory,"Harris said.