Marion loses to Lyndon in regional playoffs

Adam Janzen rushes for a 21-yard gain in the second quarter, setting up a 31-yard touchdown pass from Jacob Baldwin to Mason Pedersen on the next play that gave Marion a 20-14 lead over Lyndon. Janzen was Marion?s leading rusher, carrying the ball 24 times for 237 yards and four touchdowns in Marion?s 61-40 regional loss. Janae Rempel / Free PressThe Marion football team?s playoff run ended with a 61-40 loss to visiting Lyndon Friday in a Class 2-1A regional game.

Were the gridiron a stage, Lyndon?s Dawson Swinehart stole the show.

The senior quarterback carried the ball 22 times for 259 yards and five touchdowns and added 165 yards and two touchdowns on 8-for-11 passing. Swinehart accounted for all but 89 of Lyndon?s 513 yards of total offense. He was also a force on defense, and was tasked with kicking and punting duties as well.

That?s not to say Marion was without playmakers of its own, though.

The Warrior offense kept stride, putting up 444 total yards. Led by the powerful running of Adam Janzen, Marion tallied 277 rushing yards. Janzen accounted for 237 of those yards and had four touchdowns on 24 carries. Quarterback Jacob Baldwin added 167 yards and one score on 8-for-15 passing.

?All I can say is that (Swinehart) is one heck of a football player,? coach Grant Thierolf said. ?I?m 27 years here, (and) we?ve never played against somebody that dominated a game as much as he did. We knew he was good going in, but he?s the real thing, or we made him the real thing tonight. I don?t know which, but he?s good.

?We just never could get a stop defensively, and it?s a credit to them because they made plays continually all night long. Offensively, when you score 40 points, you think that?s good enough to win, but we needed to score 62.?

In terms of scoring, Marion matched the Tigers early on, and held the advantage twice before Lyndon used four consecutive scoring drives to secure the lead for good.

With Marion forced to punt on the game?s opening drive, Lyndon scored on its first possession. Swinehart capped the seven-play, 62-yard drive with a 27-yard touchdown run and added the extra-point kick for a 7-0 lead with 6:12 left in the opening period.

Just 19 seconds later, Marion got on the board when Janzen broke free for a 71-yard touchdown run on first down. The two-point conversion attempt failed, bringing Marion within 7-6.

An illegal shift penalty on Lyndon negated what would have been another Swinehart touchdown four plays later, and the Warrior defense forced a turnover on downs.

Marion?s next drive lasted into the second quarter. A 23-yard pass from Baldwin to Pedersen set up a 10-yard Janzen touchdown run, and after Baldwin?s two-point conversion, the Warriors led, 14-7.

The lead was short-lived, as the Tigers were in the end zone in two plays, both Swinehart runs. The 35-yard score and extra-point kick tied the game at 14.

Marion reclaimed the lead just three plays later. After two Janzen runs, Baldwin hit Pedersen for a 31-yard touchdown strike. The two-point conversion failed, for a 20-14 Warrior advantage.

But Lyndon again scored in two plays, this time on a 67-yard pass from Swinehart to Nick Ratzloff. Swinehart?s kick put Lyndon in front, 21-20.

The Warriors fumbled the ball away on first down, allowing Lyndon to extend the lead to 27-20 on a 22-yard touchdown scamper by Daniel Burgess.

Following a Marion three-and-out, Swinehart struck again, this time capping an eight-play, 60-yard drive with an 11-yard touchdown run. His extra-point kick made it 34-20, a margin that held to halftime.

Lyndon added to its lead three plays into the third quarter when Swinehart sped through the defense for a 38-yard score. His extra-point kick made it 41-20.

Between Baldwin and Janzen, Marion covered 69 yards in five plays and cashed in on a 43-yard touchdown run by Janzen. The two-point conversion failed, for a 41-26 score.

The Tigers responded with a 50-yard touchdown pass from Swinehart to Ratzloff five plays in, and the extra-point kick made it 48-26.

Once again, Marion had an answer, using a 71-yard pass from Baldwin to Brad Stone to advance to the Tiger 3-yard line. Baldwin was in the end zone on the next play and added the two-point conversion to bring Marion within 48-34 with 6:16 left in the third quarter.

Lyndon again looked to its quarterback, who carried the ball twice for another score. Running behind his blockers, Swinehart scored from 71 yards out for a 55-34 margin after the kick.

Again Marion continued to battle, this time capping a 10-play, 58-yard drive with a 3-yard score by Janzen. The two-point conversion failed, narrowing the gap to 55-40, which held to the end of the third quarter.

Marion?s defense forced a punt, but the Warriors turned the ball over on downs. Again, Marion forced a punt, but the Warriors? drive was cut short when Josh Payne intercepted Baldwin?s first-down pass and ran it back for a Tiger score. The extra-point kick failed, bringing it to the final, 61-40, margin with 4:10 left in the game.

A fumble on the ensuing kickoff put the ball back in the hands of the Tigers, allowing them to run out the clock.

?Our kids played hard to the end, didn?t surprise me a bit,? Thierolf said. ?We?re not necessarily built to get into a shootout, but I thought our kids gave ourselves chances to hang around, and we just couldn?t get that one stop when we needed it.?

For eight seniors, this was their final appearance in a Warrior football uniform.

?It?s a great group of kids,? Thierolf said. ?A fun, fun group of seniors to work with.?

With the loss, Marion concludes the season with an overall record of 6-4.

Looking back over the season, Thierolf said he saw constant improvement from his athletes.

?It was a very enjoyable year because I thought our kids, by-and-large, improved every week,? he said. ?Being a young team, you see that improvement, sometimes on a daily basis, but definitely on a weekly basis. I thought our kids did improve by the week and really were resilient in what they did.?

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