Daniel Ashby is a no-frills type of football player. He’s not a flashy or flamboyant standout, he just likes to play defense and deliver big hits.

He did plenty of that in Chilhowie’s season opener.

Ashby made a team-high 10 tackles and also caused a fumble, leading the Warriors to a 14-0 win over Smyth County rival Marion on Friday night.

Chilhowie limited Marion to just 152 yards of total offense, but the Warriors still found themselves in a fight. The game was scoreless at halftime and both teams failed to get much going offensively.

Chilhowie finally broke through with 1:55 left in the third quarter as Brett Johnson broke off a 24-yard touchdown run.

"Our defense was just holding them," Ashby said. "[When Johnson scored] that was a load off all our shoulders."

The Warriors had looked far from polished in preseason scrimmages against Honaker and Tazewell.

"Our defense has been pretty inconsistent," Ashby said. "We’ve just been working and working in practice to get better. We’ve gotten better. A lot better."

Senior lineman Hunter Testerman added eight tackles, including two for loss, while Reid Sturgill and Aaron Conley intercepted pass to lead the D.

The 5-foot-9, 200-pound Ashby was seemingly everywhere. The senior linebacker is one of six returning starters on defense this season for Chilhowie and is one of the cornerstones of the unit.

"He picked up where he left off last year," said Chilhowie coach Larry Russell. "We knew he was going to be mainstay this year. I told him before the ballgame, I said No. 31 lead this defense. This is what you’re here for."

Johnson (17 carries, 86 yards) and Conley (14 carries for 58 yards) led the way for Chilhowie on the ground. Both were bottled up for most of the first half, but each scored in the second half. Johnson, who transferred from Chilhowie to Marion prior to the season, was shaken up in the third quarter after absorbing a big hit.

Meanwhile, quarterback Rhett Sturgill was solid under center in directing the two scoring drives. The Warriors sealed it with a 14-play, 66-yard drive that took 6 minutes, 54 seconds off the clock in the fourth quarter and culminated in Conley’s score.

On both touchdown drives, Chilhowie drew Marion offsides for a key 5-yard pick up.

"We’ve worked all week and our linemen were focused on going on two [on the snap count]," said Sturgill, who passed for 98 yards. "We just got behind our big linemen and let Johnson and Conley take us all the way."

It was a frustrating night for Marion, which was hurt by three turnovers.

"That was a dang good ballgame," said Marion coach Michael Briscoe. "There was a lot of good hits. … We can’t have mistakes against a good football team like Chilhowie. I think they are going to go real far this year."

The future is also bright for Marion, which relied on several underclassmen. Sophomore running back Ethan Richardson was the Scarlet Hurricanes’ top offensive threat.

"There were times tonight we only had one senior on offense," Briscoe said. "That’s not an excuse. We’re going to be playing some young kids. They’re growing up fast and they’re going to be OK."