Warriors derail Railer homecoming
It's easy to imagine the thoughts of Herington's athletic director at the conclusion of his team's game with Marion Friday
Even though Marion won big, this was an entertaining game and the Railers had their moments. Herington received the opening kick off. The Railers don't pass much and Marion packed in tight to stop the run. In a play very similar to Council Grove's lone score the week before, Herington's Mitch Johnson took advantage of the defensive aggressiveness. Once he broke through the line he was gone, and the Railers were up 6-0. One play, one touchdown. The extra point kick was unsuccessful as Jimmy Shipman overpowered the Railers line and got the block.
While the Railers celebrated their good fortune, the Marion squad showed no hint of panic. The Warriors responded with a beautiful drive that mixed the pass and run to keep Herington off balance. Quarterback Clayton Chamberland tied the game with a three-yard run. The PAT kick was unsuccessful.
At this point the blueprint was established and wouldn't change for the rest of the evening. Marion mixed passing and running to keep the chains moving. Herington couldn't pass or run consistently but did on occasion take advantage of the Warriors' aggressive defense to gain yards on misdirection plays. Both defenses hit hard. Marion's wouldn't break, Herington's did. The Warriors appeared to be just a notch faster, stronger, and more fundamentally sound.
Herington threw everything they had at Steven Boone and was able to hold him under 100 yards for the game. They couldn't keep him out of the end zone though, as he went in from the one late in the first quarter. The kick again failed, leaving Marion up 12-6.
The Warrior defense dominated the second quarter and senior Alan Vogel led the way. In one play that pretty well characterized his game, Vogel charged through the line and tackled the quarterback, runningback, and the ball before the handoff could be made. Neil Waner continues to play sideline to sideline, and it paid benefits when he scooped up a Railer fumble right in front of the Herington bench and took it 47 yards for Marion's only score of the quarter. The Warriors went for two and didn't make it. The half ended with Marion leading 18-6.
The third quarter belonged to Marion's offense, although the defense did make a strong statement with a goal line stand to ensure that the Railers wouldn't get back into the game.
The Warriors scored on a seven-yard Jason Matz run and a 16-yard pass from Chamberland to Joel Versch. The extra point woes continued, but the score stood at 30-6 and the contest was decided. The teams traded possessions throughout the fourth quarter but neither could score.
In another positive note for the future, the Marion JV players (the "Killer B's") entered the game against Herington's varsity defense and were able to move the ball, get first downs, and run out the clock.
Coach Grant Thierolf was satisfied with his team's defense. "We have got to stop giving up big plays, but we did a pretty good job of stopping Herington after the first play from scrimmage," he said.
Herington was no pushover and had a winning record coming into the game. Nevertheless, the Warrior offense was sharp, particularly the passing game. Chamberland found his favorite receiver Joel Versch four times for 67 yards and a touchdown, but also linked up with Matz once for 28 yards. The offense has been aided the last couple of weeks by the emergence of Tyler Stubenhofer who pulled in three passes for 37 yards and appears to have a knack for making catches at crucial times.
The offensive line again played well and although Boone didn't get as many yards as usual, his lead blocks were essential to Jason Matz who led the Warriors with 129 yards on 17 carries. Matz, in particular, seemed motivated by the homecoming activities, as he also lead the team with 13 tackles.
Commenting on his offense, Thierolf praised the passing game. "We threw the ball much better. Clayton did a nice job of reading the defense and getting the ball to the correct receiver. Joel and Tyler caught the ball well and provided some balance to our offense. Our offensive line continues to play well and we feel good going into district play next week."
The Warriors open district play on the road against Wichita Independent. This could be a dangerous game as Independent appears to be a team on the rise. The Warriors will need to continue their solid play and can't afford to let down, but should be favored to bring home a win.
TEAM STATS
1st 2nd 3rd 4th Tot
Marion 12 6 12 0 30
Herington 6 0 0 0 6
Marion Herington
First downs 17 8
Rushing, yds. 47-280 33-1751
Passes 11 4
Comp.-Att.-Int. 8-142-0 3-28-0
Total yards 362 203
Punts-avg. 2-25.5 3-35.7
Passes Int. 0 0
Fumbles Lost 1 3
Touchdowns: Clayton Chamberland, 3-yard run, kick failed. Steven Boone, 1-yard run, kick failed. Neil Waner, 47-yard fumble return, kick failed. Jason Matz, 7-yard run, pass failed. Joel Versch, 16-yard pass from Chamberland, pass failed.
INDIVIDUAL STATS
Rushing: Boone, 18-56. Matz, 17-129. Chamberland, 6-19. Casey Nelson, 4-11. Kevin Costello, 2-50.
Passing: Chamberland, 8-11-142.
Receiving: Versch, 4-67. Matz, 1-28. Tyler Stubenhofer, 3-37.
Punting: Tyler Smith, 2-51-25.5.
Leading Tacklers — Stubenhofer, 1. Enos, 3-2. Matz, 8-53. Jake Adkins, 1-1. Boone, 4-4. Jimmy Shipman, 2-1. Eric Smith, 3-5. Alan Vogel, 5-1. Neil Waner, 2-6. Tyler Smith, 0-2. Versch, 2-2. Matt Rhodes, 2-1. Tyson Heidebrecht, 0-1. Jake Smith, 1-1. Calvin Riggs, 1-1.
SCORES OF INTEREST (Marion opponents in Bold)
Beloit 21, SE Saline 7
Minneapolis 14, Russell 7
Sacred Heart 52, Chase County 0
Conway Springs 59, Bluestem 0
Wichita Independent 30, Council Grove 7
Eureka 35, Caney Valley 0
Area Scores:
Centre 61, Wakefield 30
Hillsboro 35, Sterling 0
Peabody-Burns 49, Remington 0
