Drew Maddox racked up a career-high 142 yards rushing, and Matt Sprowls threw his first career touchdown as the Marion Warriors shrugged off a sluggish first half Friday to defeat Nickerson, 28-7.
Marion, 2-1, was tied 7-7 at halftime. While the running game was strong once again, 285 yards on 46 carries, it was the air attack that got Marion on the board.
Senior Mitch Cady, who also had two tackles and a fumble recovery, made a leaping catch in the end zone on a pass from Sprowls with six minutes left in the first quarter to put Marion up, 7-0. Sprowls finished 1-of-4 on the day for 18 yards.
The Warrior defense allowed just 238 total yards, all on the ground, and forced five turnovers, but did have one lapse when a Nickerson running back Hector Rodriguez broke through with a 56-yard touchdown run to tie the game at seven.
Whatever MHS head coach Grant Thierolf told his team at halftime, must have worked.
“We really just eliminated some of the mistakes that we made in the first half,” Thierolf said. “We left 14 to 21 points on the field in the first half and we just tightened up a little after halftime.”
The third quarter is when Maddox took over. The senior, who had a 95-yard kick-off return the week before, had the big play again for the Warriors with a 37-yard score on the ground with 6:31 to go in the third. That was enough for the MHS defense, although full back Sheldon Boone scored a touchdown for the third straight game, plunging in from 1-yard out with 2:13 left in the third.
“Drew has gotten better each week and he and Sheldon form a nice inside-outside combination,” Thierolf said.
Neither offense would find the end zone the rest of the game, but the Warrior defense decided to score its second touchdown of the season. Defensive end Eric Vogel scooped up a fumble in the fourth quarter and rumbled 63 yards for the final score of the game. Marion led 28-7 with 8:24 to go in the game and won by the same score.
Maddox was the team’s leading rusher followed by Boone who had 90 yards on 18 carries, Les Riggs gained 24 yards, Sprowls 14, and Randy Regnier and Colten Johnson each had three. Cady had the only catch of the game for 18 yards.
Abe Eldridge and Connor Thierolf caused two forced fumbles, and each had 10 total tackles with six solo while Tylor Neil added nine, Johnson eight, and Lee Vogel seven. Four different Warriors recovered fumbles.
The Warriors are back home Friday for a homecoming game against league foe Sterling.
“We just need to keep working this week and get better at everything that we do,” Coach Thierolf said. “Sterling is a little quicker than Nickerson and we need to make certain that we are in the right place on every play.”