Marion Football

How many touchdowns did he score? Storla lost count

Colton Storla spun the wrong way on a "398 Dipsy-Do" pass pattern in practice Monday, but Marion Coach Tony Perkins just smiled and joked about it.

That's what happens when you score seven touchdowns in a ballgame. The coach cuts you some slack.

Storla rushed for seven TDs for the Indians in their 58-35 victory over Anamosa last Friday. That tied Carey Bender's school record for the most touchdowns in one game, set in 1989, and broke Bender's mark for most rushing TDs in one game (5).

When Bender scored his seven touchdowns, he ran for five TDs and caught passes for two other scores. Bender is a football legend at Marion, with his picture on the wall and everything, so matching one of his feats is special.

"Yeah, it's pretty exciting, because I actually know the guy," Storla said after practice.

The whole night was exciting last Friday. It was Storla's 18th birthday, and friends in the crowd at Thomas Park Field sang "Happy Birthday" after every touchdown.

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Storla steams into record book with 7 TDs

Senior Colton Storla gave himself and Marion football fans a birthday to remember.

Storla had a career night on his 18th birthday at Thomas Park Field, tying a Marion school record for touchdowns in a game with seven.

Storla and the rest of the Indian backfield ran for a combined 520 yards as they beat Anamosa in a 3A District 5 game, 58-35, Friday night.

Marion (3-1, 1-1) got back on the winning track after a disappointing 7-0 loss to Western Dubuque last Friday.

“It was more important that we improved (from last week) then it was for us to get to .500 (in the district),” Marion Coach Tony Perkins said.

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Marion blanked by Western Dubuque, 7-0

EPWORTH - There were two ways to look at Western Dubuque's 7-0 win over Marion Friday night.

It was either a case of two lackluster teams unable to muster much offensive firepower. Or it was a rock-em sock-em defensive battle, full of big-time hits in the backfield and pileups in the middle of the line.

Losing Marion Coach Tony Perkins opted for the latter view.

"It was a great high school football game," he said. "And Western Dubuque is a very good football team."

Former Dyersville Beckman and Dubuque Hempstead coach Bob Timmerman, who has a state championship on his record and is still an active volunteer freshman coach after more than 50 years in the business, agreed with Perkins.

"A lot of fans don't like these kinds of games," he said from the Mediacom television booth while doing color commentary on the game. "But I love them. Not a lot of passing, which I never cared for. Pretty much the same basic run-oriented offenses like I used to run.

"And they were really hitting on both sides."

The fact remains that the offensive stats weren't much to write home about.

The only points came with 38 seconds left in the first quarter when cool-as-a-cucumber Bobcat quarterback Nick Tuttle tossed a 10-yard pass to Corey Harris and kicker Sam Burds booted the extra point.

Western Dubuque didn't mount a serious scoring threat before or after the touchdown. In fact, the contest was mostly played on 20 yards on either side of midfield.

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Storla plans to play, broken knuckle or not

Marion tailback Colton Storla trained religiously for the 2011 high school football season, only to sustain a painful injury in the opening game against Mount Vernon two weeks ago.

He doesn't plan to let it slow him down anymore.

Storla injured his left hand when he was hit by a face mask during a 14-10 victory over Mount Vernon, then played sparingly in a 28-14 triumph over Benton Community last week.

"I may have broken a knuckle in this one," he said Thursday, offering his hand for inspection. "They said it wasn't (broken), but it's still pretty tender."

Storla, a 5-foot-9, 225-pound senior, rushed for 1,250 yards last season, but he's been limited to only 136 yards on 28 carries this year in two games.

Storla said his hand was "huge" from the swelling after he got hurt against Mount Vernon. The swelling went down with treatment, then he got hit on the hand again.

Most of the swelling had subsided again by Thursday, and Storla said he's determined to play Friday night when the Indians visit Western Dubuque for a Class 3A district game.

"I'm coming out strong tomorrow," he vowed.

Marion Coach Tony Perkins said Storla has an appointment Friday with a medical specialist, but as far as Storla is concerned, he's healthy enough to play. "I am," he insisted.

Storla said he'll wear a protective pad to cover his hand. He's anxious to get back on the field and regain his form from 2010.

Storla averaged 125 yards per game and 6.25 yards per carry last year, but is averaging 68 yards per game and 4.9 per carry this season.