Trojans wallop Warriors
A perfect evening for football greeted fans filing into Tabor College's Reimer Stadium for Friday's high school football game between Marion and Hillsboro.
If they were observant, they might have noticed a maroon-and-gold storm brewing along the western sideline.
Hurricane Trojan slammed into Warrior nation seconds after the opening kickoff, when Hillsboro's Aaron Stepanek bolted untouched for a 96-yard kickoff return touchdown.
By the time the torrent had abated, Marion had been thoroughly swamped by wave after wave of Hillsboro drives and defensive stands, as the Trojans swept to a 38-0 victory.
"The simple fact is that at this point, they're just a better football team than we are," said Marion head coach Grant Thierolf.
A comparison of offensive yardage totals bears out Thierolf's conclusion. Hillsboro piled up 309 total yards in the game, while limiting Marion to only 70. The Trojans scored on all five of their first-half possessions.
On their first drive following Stepanek's return, the Warriors gained some momentum when quarterback Mitchell Leppke converted on a risky fourth-and-1 play at the Marion 35.
Four plays later, Leppke again dived through the line on fourth-and-1 for a first down, but the play was nullified by an illegal motion penalty, and the Warriors were forced to punt.
Hillsboro promptly marched 50 yards in nine plays, aided by a controversial pass interference penalty against the Warriors. Trojan Michael Suderman capped the drive with a 12-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Spencer Brown.
The Trojans wasted little time scoring their third touchdown of the quarter on the next possession, as Lucas Hamm dashed 45 yards for the score.
Warrior Nick Klenda gave Hillsboro its worst field position of the half when he nailed a 41-yard punt that came to rest at the Trojan 19. However, Hillsboro wasn't fazed in the least.
Mixing runs and passes, the Trojans moved the ball to the Marion 16, where Brown hooked up with Suderman again for a 16-yard scoring strike. Hillsboro's Tyler Kaufman tacked on his fourth extra point of the game to increase the Trojan lead to 28-0 with 7:32 still remaining in the first half.
The Trojans forced a Leppke fumble on Marion's next possession and recovered it at the Marion 38.
Four plays later, running back Jacob Yoder slipped through the middle of the Warrior defensive line and trotted 31 yards down the right sideline for Hillsboro's fifth touchdown.
Hillsboro would tack on more points in the waning seconds of the half with a 31-yard Kaufman field goal, giving the Trojans the 38-point advantage they would hold for the remainder of the contest.
The Warriors came out stronger in the second half, but were unable to capitalize on two scoring opportunities.
Marion opened the second half with possession of the ball on its own 35-yard line. Relying heavily on runs by Austin Hager, and aided by two Trojan unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, the Warriors had their best drive of the contest, moving all the way to the Trojan 6-yard line.
Stepanek snuffed out the Warrior scoring threat on the next play by intercepting a Leppke pass.
Marion had one more opportunity to tally some points in the fourth quarter. On fourth-and-25 at the Marion 45, an errant Hillsboro snap sailed over the Trojan punter's head, and Marion took possession at the Hillsboro 21.
Intent on preserving the shutout, Hillsboro reinserted its defensive starters, and the Trojans sacked Leppke on fourth-and-15 to end the Warrior threat.
Thierolf noted that the Trojans benefited greatly from the edge in experience they had over the Warriors.
"A lot of their kids have started for three years," he observed. "They were older, they were more experienced, and that makes a big difference."
One bright spot for the Warriors was the return of senior Jason Hett from the broken finger he suffered in the season opener against Halstead.
"It was heartening to have him back — he's such a great kid and such a good leader for us," said Thierolf. "We'll work him in right away on defense, and he could be a threat for us on offense as well."
The Warriors' next opponent in district play is Remington, which will enter the contest with a 6-1 record.
"They're going to be a tough game for us," Thierolf said. "They've had a lot of success the past couple of years, they've got some good experience, and they have some good athletes."
Marion's seniors will be honored during Friday's contest at Warrior Stadium. Game time is 7 p.m.
