Hutchinson Trinity dominated Marion Friday night, handing the Warriors their second straight loss 49-6.
The catchitkansas.com 3A No. 2 ranked Celtics moved the ball in big chunks throughout the night scoring six unanswered touchdowns before Marion scored its only points of the game on a 34-yard pass from Dillon Richmond to Cole Lewman with 1:59 to play in the fourth quarter.
The coaches from each side said this was just another game for the Hutchinson Catholic School.
?Everyone they have played has had trouble stopping their offense,? said Marion coach Grant Thierolf. ?It not just us, it?s everybody.?
?We just went in to our game plan like we always do and tried to take what the defense will give us,? said Trinity coach Sean Racette. ?We try to mix it up a little bit and be a threat both ways.?
It took two plays before the Celtics executed a big play, a 29-yard pass from senior quarterback Derek Racette to senior running back Brandon Koenigsman to reach mid-field.
On the next play, Trinity moved to the Marion nine-yard line on a 41-yard strike from Racette to junior running back Austin Rea. Trinity took an early 7-0 lead on a nine-yard run by sophomore running back Tom Mailloux and PAT kick from Racette.
The Celtics took a 14-0 lead with another big play in the passing game, a 64-yard bomb from Racette to senior wide receiver Michael Mesh and a PAT kick by Racette with 7:23 to play in the first quarter.
Marion forced Trinity in a 4th-and-7 from at the Marion 30, but the Celtics found the end zone when Racette hit senior wide receiver Will Bothwell for a 27-yard touchdown. Racette was good on the PAT kick to give the Celtics a 21-0 lead with 9:32 to play in the first half.
Trinity scored for the second straight time on fourth down in Marion territory with 3:36 to play in the first half. On 4th-and-2, Racette recorded his first rushing touchdown with a 16-yard run at the :26 mark of the first half. His ensuing PAT kick gave the Celtics a 35-0 halftime advantage.
Scoring slowed for the Celtics in the second half, but it was still big plays that scored the two Trinity touchdowns.
With 7:06 to play in the third quarter, Racette scored his final of six touchdowns on a 20-yard pass to Mesh, his second. Racette?s PAT kick stretched the Celtic lead to 42-0.
Marion stopped the Trinity offense later in the third in what usually is considered outside of field goal range in high school football. Surprising to the still enthusiastic Marion crowd, Trinity lined for for a 54-yard field goal try from the Marion 37-yard line. Racette?s kick had the distance with yards to spare, but sailed left, giving Marion the football at its own 20-yard line.
Marion capitalized on the ensuing drive on the pass play from Richmond to Lewman.
Pulling his starters with a 42-0 lead and 5:00 on the clock, Coach Racette witnessed Trinity?s final score on a 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by freshman wide receiver Spencer Truman with 1:40 to play. Truman originally fumbled the catch but scooped it off the turf and found daylight for the long run.
Trinity?s coach said field position was the reason he didn?t sit his starters earlier.
?First of all we wanted to get the ball out of that end of the field,? said Coach Racette. ?I didn?t want to put my JV in on the back of the goal-line. I wanted to get the ball out of there so our JV could run some offense.?
Marion (4-2, 3-2) starts 3A District 9 play Friday at Remington (4-2, 3-2). The Broncos suffered their second loss to visiting Sedgwick 26-8 Friday night. Sedgwick (5-1, 4-1) will host Hutch Trinity (6-0, 5-0) Oct. 28 for the Heart of America League title.
Heart of America League results
Hutch Trinity 49, Marion 6
Sedgwick 28, Remington 6
LaCrosse 33, Inman 21
Moundridge 33, Herington 18
Plainville 36, Ell-Saline 28
Salina-Sacred Heart 38, Bennington 6
Solomon 34, Canton-Galve 18
