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First half enough time for MHS to dominate

Sports reporter

Josh Kelsey, Casey Nelson, and the Marion High School defense played as good or better of a game than they had all year Friday against Ellinwood — in the first half.

Nelson rushed for 85 yards and three touchdowns, Kelsey threw two and ran one touchdown, and the Warrior defense forced five turnovers, en route to a 48-7 halftime lead. The Warrior starters sat out the entire second half, as MHS destroyed the Eagles, 48-21.

"Our kids really came out focused," MHS head coach Grant Thierolf said. "I thought the things we didn't do well last week, we came out and did pretty well tonight."

Marion put the pressure on early, recovering an Eagle fumble on Ellinwood's 11-yard line on the second play of the game. From there it was Nelson, Nelson, Nelson, as the senior running back scored from one yard out on his third carry of the drive with nine minutes, 19 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

Marion forced an Eagle three-and-out on the next possession. Kelsey then hooked up with former Ellinwood native Russell Ploutz for 15 yards on the first play of the drive.

On first-and-10 from the Eagle 40, the Warriors dug into their backyard play book. Kelsey pitched to slot back Jason Hett who cut right, stepped back and threw to a wide open David DeForest for Marion's second touchdown. The extra point was blocked, but MHS led 13-0 with 6:53 in the quarter.

"Jason's a good athlete and Dave made a great catch and run," Thierolf said. "Sometimes you call plays and they work, and sometimes they don't."

It wasn't just that play the Warriors ran that worked. But there was one weak moment for MHS in the first half, when it allowed a 20-yard touchdown pass from Jason Wahlmeier to Josh Williams on fourth-and-14 to cut the lead to 14-7. The points were the first given up in the first quarter all year by Marion.

It didn't take long for the Warriors to get back on their feet. Just four plays later Kelsey hooked up with Hett on a 41-yard touchdown pass.

Hett got behind his defender, waited for the floating pass, and hauled it in just inches above the defender's outstretched hands.

After the teams traded punts, Ellinwood had a first-and-10 on their own 24. Defensive lineman Emmanuel Jackson rushed Wahlmeier out of the pocket, forcing an off-balance throw. Warrior linebacker Casey Nickelson tipped the pass to himself for his first career interception.

Four plays later MHS converted points once again off a turnover when Nelson scored from three yards out.

Marion forced another turnover, this time a Hett interception in Ellinwood territory on the Eagles' next drive. MHS took advantage again as Kelsey called his own number and scored from four yards out to make the score 34-7, with 3:37 left in the half.

Unfortunately for Ellinwood, the Warriors weren't done.

While attempting a fake punt in their own territory, the Eagles threw their third interception in a row, and second in a row to Hett.

This time it took only one play for Marion to score.

Kelsey lofted a perfect bomb in stride to Ploutz who scored a touchdown on the field he would have called home had he not moved to Marion.

"We really focused on Russell getting some touches tonight," Thierolf said. "I know that means a lot."

Ellinwood took over looking to end the half on a high note, but instead sank even lower.

Marion forced its fifth turnover of the half when senior Adam Depler recovered an Eagle fumble on the 35-yard line.

Nelson went 19 yards on the next play, and 16 more for another score on the second and final play of the drive.

Nelson's third touchdown of the half gave MHS a 48-7 lead.

The second half featured mainly junior varsity Warriors on the field.

The defense allowed two touchdowns, and didn't find the end zone, during a half that featured a running clock because of the 35-point difference in the score.

"We got everybody in the game. That's the fun part of it," Thierolf said. "The starters deserved to have that opportunity to stand on the sidelines and enjoy the game."

In the first half however, the defense was stingy, especially senior linebacker Michael Brookens who led the team with 10 solo tackles.

"I thought Michael was fantastic tonight," Thierolf said. "He made three quarters of our tackles in the first half. They just didn't block him, and he wouldn't be blocked. I was just so impressed with him."

Jackson recorded his fourth and fifth sacks of the season, and now leads the team in that category.

For the game the defense forced two fumbles, recorded four interceptions, had two sacks, and allowed just 199 yards of offense.

Special teams played a part in the victory as well. Seniors Jeremy Vondenkamp and Paul Sieffert kept the Eagles on their heels with the help of their feet.

Vondenkamp punted twice for an average of 32 yards per punt, and Sieffert, an exchange student from Germany, continuously kicked the ball off deep in Eagle territory.

"Paul does a nice job for us," Thierolf said. "He gets it high, he gets it deep. We are just waiting for him to get one through the end zone."

Overall it may have been the best played game of the season for Marion, despite resting the starters in the second half.

"We challenged our kids all week long to come out and play fast," Thierolf said.

With two scores in the first five minutes, Thierolf's team took him literally, and now find themselves at 5-0.

Marion will take on 5-0 Hoisington Friday at home. The winner will be in the driver's seat for the central Mid-Central Activities Association division title.

Junior varsity

The junior varsity Warrior football team picked up its second victory of the season Monday, defeating Ellinwood 20-0 at home.

Austin Hager accounded for all of Marion's touchdowns with three long runs, and Mitchell Leppke connected with Adam Trapp on a two-point conversion.

The Warriors are now 2-4.

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