Warriors send Black Bears into hibernation
Sports reporter
Marion High School Warriors, behind the legs of juniors Josh Kelsey and Casey Nelson, picked up a much needed 28-14 victory Friday against the Sterling Bears.
Nelson and Kelsey each scored two touchdowns, and the defense yielded just 68 yards on the ground in the victory.
"I thought we were a lot better tonight than we have been the last few weeks," said head coach Grant Thierolf after the game.
That was evident early as Marion recovered a Sterling fumble on the opening kickoff at the Black Bears' 31-yard line.
Just over a minute later Nelson scored from four yards out, to give Marion a 6-0 lead. Senior lineman Tyson Heidebrecht tacked on the extra point for a 7-0 lead.
However, that lead didn't last long. Just 16 seconds later Sterling tied the game, as Brent Schneider returned Jeff Richmond's kickoff 89 yards for the score.
Kelsey then threw an interception on the Warrior's next possession, giving the Black Bears the ball on the Warrior 30-yard line.
"We can't just show up sometimes because we're Marion," Thierolf said of playing in the Mid-Central Activities Association. "We don't have a reputation yet anywhere."
The Marion defense proved it was ready to step up by forcing another fumble.
Heidebrecht recovered the loose ball and returned it to the Warrior 44. Kelsey and Nelson took over again.
Kelsey completed an 11-yard pass to David DeForest, then scampered for an 11-yard gain on the ground.
After a fourth-down conversion and a couple of short runs, Marion found the end zone again.
Nelson took the ball at the 21 and was immediately knocked back four yards. The running back kept his balance, turned the left corner and ran the rest of the way for the score. Heidebrecht made good on the kick to give Marion a 14-7 lead with 11 seconds left in the first quarter.
After trading punts, Sterling tacked on one more touchdown with 4:52 to play in the half, with a 14-yard option score.
After a scoreless third quarter, the Warriors once again put on a second half show. With Sterling on its own 25, its running back burst through the hole, and looked to be headed for a huge gain. But Richmond made a touchdown-saving tackle.
On the next play, Sterling fumbled, and once again Heidebrecht recovered for Marion at the Sterling 20.
After Nelson took the ball down to the three, Kelsey punched it in for the go-ahead score.
Marion then got the ball back on their own 27 with just over five minutes to play.
"We just started pounding them and they gave up," Nelson said. "We just started shoving it down their throat."
Kelsey ended the drive with a four-yard touchdown with only 34 seconds to play.
"Basically our offensive line just wore the other team down," Thierolf said.
The Warriors out-gained Sterling 248 to 68 on the ground. But Marion's punting also was impressive, consistently causing the Black Bears to start deep in their own territory.
Senior Josh Smith booted one punt 53 yards inside the Sterling 20. The Black Bears fumbled on the drive, leading to the winning touchdown.
"We've known Josh has a great leg on him," Thierolf said. "Now we're not satisfied with a 30-yard punt. Which is pretty nice when you're a high school coach to say were not satisfied with a 30-yard punt."
Marion will play host Friday to the Lyons Lions. The Lions are 1-0 in the MCAA and 1-2 overall. The Warriors improved to 1-1 in the league and 2-1 overall.
