The Marion football team suffered a 51-6 defeat to Sedgwick Friday on homecoming night.
The Cardinals came out firing on all cylinders. With the exception of a lost fumble on a kickoff return, Sedgwick scored on each of its first-quarter possessions to build a 30-0 lead by the end of the opening period. The Cardinals also scored when a snap sailed over punter Blaine Mermis’ head and out the back of the end zone for a safety at the 3:49 mark.
Marion, meanwhile, struggled to find its footing, fumbling the ball away on its game-opening possession, which led to a 25-yard scoop and score by Sedgwick’s Qayden Shepherd to start the scoring barrage.
Sedgwick added a pair of second-quarter touchdowns, the second of which following a Marion fumble, and the Cardinals enjoyed a 44-0 lead at halftime.
With a running clock in place to start the second half, Sedgwick added a third-quarter score on a 30-yard touchdown pass that made it 51-0 with about 4 minutes left in the period.
Marion got on the board with about 4:15 left in the game when Anthony Brooks ran for a 50-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion failed, bringing it to the final 51-6 spread.
Marion recorded 113 yards of offense, all rushing, led by Brooks with two carries for 58 yards and one touchdown. The Warriors converted five first downs in the game.
“We’ve seen (Sedgwick quarterback Hooper Schroeder) for three years,” coach Shaun Craft said. “We knew exactly what they had, what they were going to do, but (it’s) another thing doing it live.”
Coming—Marion (1-3, 1-4) will start district play by hosting Hillsboro Friday at 7 p.m.
