Warriors stunned by Dragons
Sports reporter
This wasn't what Marion High School football fans had in mind.
The capacity crowd at Warrior Stadium was ready for the team's first ever Mid-Central Activities Association home game.
By the time the teams left the field, and the lights were turned off, MHS found itself on the losing end to Halstead, 17-12.
Warrior head coach Grant Thierolf said the team was beat at every aspect of the game, something he blamed on himself.
"Simply we got out-coached tonight," he said. "We flat got out-coached."
In the first half the Warriors could get nothing going, completing no passes. Casey Nelson's run of 11 yards was the team's longest play of the half. He finished with 17 carries for 72 yards.
Halstead ran, and ran, and ran on Marion. The Dragons amassed 254 yards on the ground.
When it had to, Halstead executed its kicking game with a 35-yard field goal just seconds before the end of the first half.
The lone bright spot in the game came when Nelson returned the opening second-half kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown.
The extra point was blocked, but Marion trailed only 10-6.
The Warriors' offense continued to stall, but the defense began to step up its play.
Senior Dale Vogel (11 tackles, sack), junior Adam Depler (14 tackles), and senior Drew Looper (11 tackles), shut down the Dragons' running game for much of the second half.
When it looked like Marion had Halstead stopped on fourth down late in the third quarter, the Dragons used some luck to keep the drive alive.
Quarterback Austin Ratzlaff fumbled the snap, but picked it up and ran for a first down to the Warrior 36.
Ratzlaff later threw a six-yard touchdown pass to give Halstead a 17-6 lead.
The teams would trade punts for the next few possessions until Marion got its running game together. Junior quarterback Josh Kelsey recorded a 17-yard run. On the next play Nelson picked up a first down on the ground.
The Warriors drove down to the three-yard line where Kelsey ran for a touchdown with 2:14 to play.
An onside kick by Jeff Richmond sailed out of bounds. But Marion had one last shot.
The Dragons had 3-and-14 at their own 45 with just over a minute left. Marion needed a stop and force a punt for one last chance.
Dragon running back Justin Calvin busted through the line for a 54-yard gain down to the Warrior one.
Marion stopped Halstead and got the ball back, but a last second heave by Kelsey was knocked down, as Marion fell to 1-1.
"Obviously we're not practicing with enough intensity," Thierolf said.
Look for that to change as Marion travels Friday to Sterling to take on the 0-2 Black Bears.
