Despite a slow start, the Marion football team earned a 40-3 win at Remington Friday.
Coach Grant Thierolf said his team never played with the intensity he’d like to see, but couldn’t complain about putting the team’s fourth win in the books.
“I don’t know what it was,” Thierolf said of the lackluster start. “We just finally started playing a little bit better. They had the resolve. They just needed to figure out what was going on and just be aggressively making plays instead of waiting for them to come to them.”
Marion’s first drive ended in a turnover deep in Bronco territory, but the Warriors found the end zone on their second drive. Senior Kolton Brewer, stepping for the injured Corbin Wheeler, scored the first touchdown of his career on a 6-yard carry to cap a four-play, 53-yard drive. Chase Stringer added the two-point conversion to give Marion an 8-0 lead.
Remington sent a 41-yard field goal through the uprights on the eighth play of its ensuing drive. Marion’s 8-3 lead held through the end of the quarter.
Marion scored three touchdowns in the second quarter, aided by a key interception by linebacker Tyler Palic, who returned to the field for the first time since Week 1.
“I thought Kolton and Evann (Heidebrecht) did a nice job of substituting in for Corbin (in the backfield),” Thierolf said. “I don’t want to say we don’t skip a beat, because Corbin has been very good for us back there, but it’s nice to have a senior and a junior there who can run the ball hard and do a lot of good things.”
In the Warriors’ first scoring drive of the second quarter, Jack Schneider and Stringer rattled off rushes of 15 and 22 yards, respectively. Heidebrecht found the end zone on a 23-yard carry that made it 14-3 with 8:01 left in the half.
The Broncos threatened to score, covering 70 yards in eight plays to advance to the Warrior 10-yard line. But Palic intercepted a Remington pass and returned it 46 yards. Stringer connected with Zachary Stuchlik for a 30-yard completion on second down, putting Marion on the Bronco 2. Heidebrecht rushed for the touchdown on the next play, increasing Marion’s lead to 20-3.
“From that point on, (Remington) didn’t move the ball well against our varsity defense,” Thierolf said of Palic’s interception. “That was a huge play because it was a flip-the-field type thing. (It) just kind of took the wind out of them a little bit and probably gave us a little bit more energy. ”
Following a Remington three-and-out, Marion scored one more one touchdown before halftime when Schneider capped a four-play, 41-yard drive with a 23-yard touchdown run, bringing the halftime score to 26-3.
Marion concluded its scoring in the third quarter.
The Warriors ate up 4:54 on a scoring drive to open the third quarter, grinding out yardage on the ground without attempting a pass. Schneider capped the 11-play, 64-yard drive with a 10-yard touchdown run. Brewer’s two-point conversion made it 34-3.
After a Bronco punt, Marion scored again, this time on a 30-yard run by Schneider, set up by a 60-yard run by Stringer. With 2:23 left in the third quarter, Marion led, 40-3.
A running clock went into effect in the fourth quarter, and Thierolf began to send in substitutions.
“I don’t know if our focus was great,” Thierolf said. “It was just one of those games where we didn’t play our best but we still came out with a win, and that’s always good.”
Schneider rushed for 176 yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries, while Stringer contributed 111 rushing yards on 11 carries.
Coming—Marion (4-0) will host Sterling for homecoming Friday.
