Marion clips Lyons in opener, 21-6

Marion High School football team began their season with a 21-6 win at Lyons, and breathed a collective sigh of relief when the final horn sounded. After one truly forgettable first half, the Warriors trailed Lyons 6-0 after numerous bad penalties allowed the Lions to sustain a drive into the red zone. The Warriors forced an apparent stop–the third apparent stop of the drive, and fourth of the half–and looked to have held the hosts to a field goal when holder Brennan Clark turned a low snap sow's ear into a silk purse touchdown run around the right side of the Marion field goal defense. Lyons missed the point after.

Marion regrouped during halftime and smacked Lyons in the mouth during the first series of the third quarter, driving 74 yards in 13 plays to score the go-ahead touchdown. The drive consumed six minutes of clock time, all of the Lions momentum, and most of the hosts' energy; Mitchell Leppke capped it with an 11-yard bolt through the middle. Marion continued to be unwelcome guests, as Luke Gordon and Eric Vogel obliterated a screen pass, throwing junior quarterback Jake Craig for a sack which forced a Lyons 3-and-out. Marion blasted another score into the Lyons end zone with 1:41 left in the third on a 10 yard TD run by Sheldon Boone, taking a 13-6 lead. Marc Washington capped the scoring with 4:03 left in the fourth, using a burst of speed around the right flank to get into the open field, and, accelerating through the Lyons secondary, outrunning all pursuers for a 79-yard score.

An interception by Tylor Neil of a pass tipped by Drew Maddox effectively nailed it shut with 3:43 to go.

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