Marion pounds Ellinwood 50-28

Written by AO Friday, 10 October 2008 16:11

Marion made a crystal-clear statement early in Friday's (Oct. 10) victory over Ellinwood, striking paydirt 4:02 into the contest on a 12-yard end-around by Marc Washington and ramming in a 2-point conversion run by Sheldon Boone. That made it 8-0, and Marion cruised to a 50-28 win.

The Warriors scored on a 40-plus yard fumble return by Eric Vogel, an 11-yard Boone run, and a 25-yard Tylor Neil interception return, and that was just the first quarter. Boone's run and Neil's interception return came a scant 8 seconds apart on the scoreboard clock, and kicker Mats Johannessen slammed the ensuing kickoff into the right upright to end the quarter.

Marion kept up the rout, scoring on a 3-yard sneak by Mitchell Leppke and a 6-yard burst by Boone, making it 43-0 with 5:27 left in the first half. Marion caught an unlucky break, allowing Ellinwood's first score with 14 seconds left in the half. Eagles quarterback Kyle Corbett lofted a long bomb down the far sideline toward a cluster of players. The pass deflected away from Marion's Mitch Cady and into the grasp of Ethan Linden, leading to a 3-yard throw from Corbett to Alex Birney that made it 43-7. Those were the first points allowed since the third quarter of Marion's 21-14 win over Nickerson Sept. 19, breaking the Warriors streak of 133 minutes, 31 seconds without allowing a point.

If Washington and the Warriors were fazed by the end of their shutout streak, they did not look it on the kick return. Washington retreated inside his own 10-yard line to pick up a bouncing ball, and found both strong blocking and disorganized coverage when he turned upfield, racing 95 yards like a hot knife through warm butter to make it 50-7 as the half expired. The running clock kicked in to start the third quarter, and the Marion second string allowed 21 unanswered points before final horn.

Next up, Marion visits Herington.