Staff writer
“Happy birthday to Drew.”
Drew Maddox’s gift to himself was two rushing touchdowns, 112 yards on the ground, and a blowout victory for Marion.
“I wanted to make sure we got a win tonight,” he said. “It was a good birthday present.”
The speedster scored Marion’s first touchdown en route to a 56-14 win over Herington on Friday.
With Maddox’s return from an injury he suffered against Hoisington two weeks ago, the Warrior running game became more dynamic. As a team, Marion rushed for 459 yards.
Maddox had been the clear-cut, number two option behind Sheldon Boone before he sat out at Ellinwood. Colten Johnson had been receiving a few carries here and there, but he shined with an increased workload last week.
Now the Warriors have a Cerberus in the backfield — a three-headed monster where all three jaws can take a bite out of opposing defenses.
Boone, Johnson, and Maddox all scored on Friday, with Boone and Maddox each getting two touchdowns. Boone was the leading ball carrier with 143 yards and Johnson added 72 yards.
The triumvirate performs in sync, complementing each other’s skill much like the trident attack the New York Giants employed last year with Brandon Jacobs, Ahmad Bradshaw, and Derrick Ward.
“Sheldon is a very good runner on the inside,” Maddox said. “Colten has speed and power. I just try to get outside and try to outrun everybody.”
Adding a new variable to the equation, the Warriors are throwing the ball a lot more. Even with second-string junior quarterback Dillon Richmond starting in place of Matt Sprowls, who was out with the flu, the Warriors threw four passes and had one long completion to Nick Klenda. Head coach Grant Thierolf has begrudgingly loosened the reins on the passing game to open up the run.
“We have to do it; it keeps people from bringing everybody up tight against us,” Thierolf said. “We have great athletes at wide receiver and we try to get them the ball.”
Thierolf expressed a confidence in either one of his quarterbacks to perform under pressure and said that he would have no qualms playing Richmond again.
Thierolf was also pleased with Maddox’s performance. He said that Maddox looked especially good after he got into the flow of the game.
Maddox said that he overcame nerves and fatigue in his comeback effort. He said the extra time off helped increase his speed.
“I was extremely nervous,” he said. “It felt like it was my first football game all over again.”
Rushing Stats
Boone — 19-143; 2 tds
Maddox — 9-112; 2 tds
Johnson — 7-72; 1 td
Dillon Willdon — 3-48; 1 td
Mitch Cady — 2-29; 1 td
Passing
Richmond — 1-4; 25 yards
receiving
Klenda — 1-25
Defense
Cady — interception
Carlson — interception
Abe Eldridge — fumble recovery
Klenda — sack
Eric Vogel — 15-yard fumble return for TD