Black Bears shutout Warriors
The Marion High School Warriors were soundly trounced by the Sterling High School Black Bears 34-0 Friday night at Sterling College's Smisor Stadium in a game that may well have been decided before the ball ever was snapped.
Steady winds upward of 25 miles an hour buffeted the team captains as they met for the opening coin toss. Marion won the toss and deferred to the second half, and the Black Bears chose to kick off with the wind.
When Marion faltered on its first drive at the Warrior 31, Sterling chose to have all 11 men rush Warrior punter Austin Hager, knowing the wind would stunt a successful kick and give them excellent field position even without a return.
The gambit worked to perfection as Black Bears overwhelmed the Warrior line, blocked Hager's punt, and recovered the ball at the Marion 7.
Two plays later, Sterling's Derek Thompson scored a touchdown on a four-yard run, and with the PAT the Black Bears quickly claimed a 7-0 lead.
Sterling extended its lead to 13-0 after partially blocking Marion's next punt using another 11-man rush and taking over at the Marion 38. A Warrior penalty for a late hit after a completed pass set the Black Bears up at the Marion 11, and Thompson scored his second of three touchdowns on the night at the 4:22 mark of the first quarter.
"We got on them a little bit early by choosing to kick with the wind and it paid off for us," said Sterling head coach Keith Patterson.
"The short field was the whole difference," Marion head coach Grant Thierolf agreed.
Warrior defensive back Justin Heidebrecht squashed Sterling's third scoring threat of the quarter by intercepting a pass and returning it to the Marion 38, the Warrior's best starting field position of the game.
Any Warrior hopes of boosting their sluggish offense in the second quarter moving with the wind, however, were quashed when they failed to make a first down and had to punt only 45 seconds into the period. They would not see the ball again for nearly eight minutes.
Sterling's most impressive drive of the night started at its own 39. The Black Bears converted on three consecutive third down situations, the most damaging when quarterback Ricard Stromberg slipped out of a collapsing pocket and dashed for 25 yards to the Marion 26. On fourth down and one at the Marion 5 the Warriors got a momentary reprieve when an illegal procedure penalty backed Sterling up to the 10-yard line. But Stromberg deftly pitched the ball to Thompson, who scampered around the right end to the end zone and a 19-0 Black Bear advantage with only 3:55 remaining in the half.
Marion's offense showed signs of life in its next possession, with Hager shouldering most of the load as they gained their only first downs of the half moving from their own 31 to the Sterling 30 before surrendering the ball on downs.
"Austin Hager is a tough kid and emerging as a leader for us," said Marion head coach Grant Thierolf, "but we have to establish some other weapons in order for us to move the ball effectively."
Forced to play from behind, Marion had no option other than to receive the second half kickoff, which again gave Sterling the wind advantage.
The Warrior offense went three and out, and the wind immediately factored into the game once again on fourth down at the Marion 30.
Sterling used its 11-man rush yet again, and a hurried Hager punted the ball almost straight up in the air. The ball, caught in the gusting wind, carried backward over Hager's head, struck the ground near the 15, and caromed toward the end zone. The ensuing scramble for the ball resulted in a Marion recovery in the end zone, a two-point safety, and a 21-0 Sterling lead.
It would take the Black Bears less than a minute to add to that total.
Marion place kicker Tobias Brauer's strong leg drove the ensuing kickoff knifing through the wind from the Marion 20, with Sterling's Stromberg backpedaling to his own 40 to gather it in. Stromberg darted and danced through the Warrior return team back to the Marion 41.
Thompson gained nine yards on a bruising run up the middle to the Marion 32, and on the next play bolted through the left side of the Marion defense and outraced everyone to the end zone. The extra point gave Sterling a 28-0 lead just three minutes into the third quarter.
On the Warriors' next possession, the Black Bears' Taylor Galyon stepped in front of a Mitchell Leppke pass at the Marion 43 and returned it down the right sideline to the Marion 4. Steven Fankhauser's one-yard touchdown plunge capped the scoring by extending the Sterling lead to 34-0.
"We got behind the eight ball early with our decision to defer the choice to the second half," said Thierolf. "Sterling pinned us deep in our own territory for the whole first quarter and did not let us establish any rhythm or tempo."
Thierolf acknowledged the deficiencies the Warriors suffered on special teams. "We made enough mistakes in the kicking game to last us a whole season. Those are coaching mistakes and we will take care of them this week."
Wide receiver John Barr III was singled out by Thierolf as making a strong contribution in the game. "He is spending a lot of time after practice working with coach (Shaun) Craft on catching the ball and it is paying off for him and us."
Thierolf noted that his young inexperienced squad has to bring more to the field than skill and physicality. "We never matched Sterling's effort or enthusiasm the whole night, and this is a team that has to win the game in those two areas in order to have a chance each Friday night."
The Marion offense gained a total of 127 yards on 49 plays, with 94 yards on the ground and 33 through the air. Hager carried the ball 19 times for 71 yards. Leppke was 3-12 passing, with two interceptions.
The Warrior defense yielded 215 yards of total offense to the Black Bears, with Thompson accounting for 130 yards on 22 carries. Brad Klenda led Marion in defensive stops with six, with Hager, Emmanuel Jackson, Derek Riggs, Brett Billings, and Barr III close behind. Heidebrecht collected Marion's only turnover.
The Warriors will host Haven at 7 p.m. Friday for the annual homecoming contest, looking to even their record at 2-2.
