By ALEXANDER SIMONE

Staff writer

The final week of regular season play was a turbulent one for Marion County schools, as three never had the chance to take the field, and Hillsboro missed out on a big win.

Reasons for the cancellation, affecting Marion, Centre, and Goessel, varied from COVID-19 concerns to academic ineligibility.

Peabody-Burns likely was the school who enjoyed the most success Friday, winning its game to secure a 5-3 record for the first time with coach Kody Tegtmeier at the helm.

Trojans lose big at Hutch-Trinity

Hillsboro took a hard defeat to end its regular season Friday against Hutchinson’s Trinity Catholic High School. The Trojans lost 41-14 in a game that would have made them district champions.

They took an early 7-0 lead on a 13-yard touchdown catch by Frank Wichert, but Hutch-Trinity dominated the rest of the game.

The Celtics struck back quickly, built a 20-7 lead by midway through the second quarter, and added another touchdown before halftime.

The Trojans scored once in the fourth quarter, but the game already was out of reach.

When opposing teams scored fewer than 20 points Hillsboro was 4-0, but the Trojans were 0-3 when opponents scored more than 30 points. Hillsboro also won one game by forfeit.

Peabody-Burns ends in winning style

Peabody-Burns won its final regular season with an exciting 48-42 overtime thriller at Norwich.

The Warriors ended on a hot streak, racking up 49.7 points a game during a span where they won 5 games and lost 1.

Peabody-Burns’ first two games, when the team was shut out against Little River and Central Christian, were the only ones the Warriors did not score at least 14 points.

Peabody-Burns has proved it can win as long as it scores more than two touchdowns. The Warriors scored at least 38 points in each of their five victories but scored 14 or less in their three losses.

Even when the other team scored, Peabody-Burns proved victorious as long as the team scored 38 points. Opponents scored 30 or more points in three of Peabody-Burns’ five victories, but Peabody-Burns stuck it out each time.

Marion wins 2nd game, by forfeit

Marion football was awarded its second victory last week, though probably not in the way the Warriors would have preferred.

The team’s game at Lyons was forfeited by the home team because of injuries and academic ineligibility of its players.

Marion’s win over Sterling and Lyons’ forfeit boosted Marion’s chances for playoff contention. The Warriors’ record is 2-6, which makes them District Five’s fourth seed in tournament play.

It’s enough to get them in Class 2A’s playoff bracket, but means the Warriors must face 7-1 Garden Plain on Friday.

Centre game canceled because of injuries

Centre’s regular season finale was another casualty of the team’s injury issues, as the Cougars’ game Friday against Hartford was canceled.

It was the third time this season Centre canceled a game with several players injured.

Goessel game canceled for COVID

Goessel football team canceled its football game Friday as a precaution for COVID-19 concerns.

The Bluebirds finished second in their district despite missing two games, going 3-3 overall and 2-1 in district play. The record is good enough for a playoff berth, as Goessel will host Kinsley on Friday.

Reporter Delbert Peters contributed to this story.