Marion drops 36-12 game at Remington

Cole Cherryholmes picked apart the Warriors secondary Friday night, throwing three touchdown passes and running for a fourth.

Remington came out firing, throwing an incompletion deep down the right side of the field on the first play, then looking deep down the left sideline for a 53-yard completion only moments after the opening kick.

?The Warriors stood tall, forcing a punt, but were unable to convert a third-and-short on offense. Marion punted, and four plays later, Jake Thiessen finished off a 32-yard catch-and-run for a 6-0 lead. The Broncos went back to Thiessen for the 2-point conversion and led 8-0 with 7:32 to play in the first quarter.

?Marion went three-and-out on its second series, and Remington used a 19-yard gain on a screen pass to set up a 1-yard run by Cherryholmes with 1:05 left in the quarter.? Thiessen caught the 2-point conversion pass for a 16-0 lead.

The Warriors picked up their initial first down of the night when Drew Maddox burst 10 yards up the middle to open the next series. The quarter ended on a run by Sheldon Boone, and the teams switched sides.

But Marion's fortunes were no better in the second quarter, which began with Wayne Bennett reaching to intercept a pass–the game's first turnover.

Bennett capped the ensuing drive with an 11-yard gain on a screen pass with 9:10 to go. The 2-point conversion attempt failed, but the Broncos led 22-0.

Maddox notched Marion's first score 3:06 later, sprinting untouched 15 yards behind solid blocking at 6:04. Marion's 2-point try misfired, making the score 22-6.

The Warriors caught their first break of the night when Cherryholmes fumbled the second snap of Remington's next possession, and Brett Billings crashed into the Broncos backfield to recover the loose ball.

Marc Washington, star of a junior varsity contest earlier in the week, put a charge into the Marion crowd with his first carry with the varsity. On fourth-and-2 at the Remington 12, he took a counter handoff and raced toward an opening along the left side of the line.? But Broncos defensive lineman Jordan Nolan reached out and caught just enough of the speedy sophomore's shoelaces to send him stumbling to the turf short of the first down line.

Following the turnover on downs, Remington self-destructed momentarily, committing back-to-back penalties that both wiped out a first down run and set up a third-and-27.

Marion muffed the ensuing punt, but the Broncos were unable to get a grip on the bouncing ball. Boone carried three times before the half ended, chalking up 31 yards in 50 seconds. But the quarter ended with Marion down by 16.

After halftime, Marion lost two fumbles in three plays, allowing Remington 14 points in the first 3:30 of the third quarter. Bennett blasted into the end zone from 6 yards out at the 11:20 mark and Cherryholmes connected with Kyle Berg fors a 17 yard score with 8:30 to go in the frame.

The Warriors put together? a play-for-pride touchdown drive that covered 80 yards in 16 plays and was capped when Boone carved his way into the end zone from several inches out with 19 seconds left. Boone also had the key plays of the drive, a 25-yard off-tackle burst on the second play of the series immediately followed by a 10 yard carry that put Marion first-and-10 at midfield. Mitchell Leppke added a tough 12-yard run that converted a third-and-12 at the Bronco 28 and threaded an 9-yard completion to Justin Heidebrecht to set up the score.

Leading 36-12, the Remington defense stiffened up in the fourth quarter and Marion was not able to close the gap.?

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