The Marion Indians clasped hands and walked silently off the field at Thomas Park Friday night after being mauled by top-ranked Decorah, 35-0, at home.

There wasn't much to say, except the obvious.

"They're a great team," Marion senior Ethan Herren remarked after the Indians had reached their buses. "It was a battle in the trenches all night. They were low, they were stronger and they were faster.

"They wanted it more," he said.

Last week, the Indians scored 70 points against Mount Pleasant. This week, they finished with a meager 68 yards of total offense.

"They just took it at us. Flat-out, they're a better team," said Marion Coach Tony Perkins.

Five Marion players are questionable for next week's home game against Anamosa after being injured against the Vikings. That includes quarterback Trevor Hardman, who was nearly sliced in two on a blind-side tackle by all-state linebacker Josey Jewell.

"They beat us up pretty good," said Perkins. "It wasn't anything we did differently (from last week). They're just on a different plane."

Marion jumped to No. 4 in the Des Moines Register Clss 3A poll this week and was listed No. 5 in the AP rankings after clubbing Mount Pleasant, 70-7. That lopsided victory made an impression on Decorah.

"I'll tell you, coming down here today I was very, very concerned about it," said Decorah Coach Bill Post. "Because when you score 70 points on anybody, that's a lot of points."

The Indians dug an early 14-0 hole for themselves Friday before an overflow crowd and never escaped. It began on their very first possession, when punter Trev Biery could not handle a low snap and surrendered the ball on the 18-yard line.

Two plays later, Jewell bulled into the end zone for a 7-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead with just 4 1/2 minutes gone in the game.

Marion got the ball a second time and had to punt again. Biery kicked the ball to midfield, but Jewell broke loose for a 22-yard return to the 28. The Vikings scored six plays later on a 2-yard run by quarterback Jacob Kvale and it was 14-0 with 4:56 left in the opening quarter.

"That short field against the No. 1 team in the state, that just kills you," said Herren.

The knockout punch came late in the second quarter when Hardman dropped back to pass and was belted from behind by Jewell, a 6-foot-2, 207-pound football machine who has Division I written all over him. Andrew Hovden recovered the fumble and raced 64 yards for a touchdown that made it 21-0 and finished Hardman for the night.

It took Hardman several minutes to get off the turf before he wobbled with assistance to the sideline. He left the stadium sitting upright in a cart and was examined by a doctor, but did not need to go to a hospital for X-rays. Hardman took off his shoulder pads and watched the second half from the sideline, a safe distance from Jewell.

"My back is pretty sore," Hardman said after the game. "I kind of thought someone was coming, but I tried to stay in there to get the ball off. I just didn't get it off in time."

Hardman was impressed with Decorah's defense, which swarmed all over the Indians.

"They're quick," he said. "We have some work to do.

"They're not 35-to-zero better than us," he maintained. "We need to pick it up and we need to come out next week and come back strong.

"I'll be back for next week," he vowed.

Brian Kinney replaced Hardman at quarterback, but it was already 21-0 and the die was cast.

Marion ran the ball 40 times for 33 yards against Decorah's stubborn defense. The Indians completed 7 of 15 passes for 35 yards for a puny total offense of 68 yards.

Perkins was surprised by how completely the Vikings stopped his running game, which features 6-8, 350-pound Zach Borens at right tackle and 6-3, 300-pound Mitch Ross at left tackle. Size didn't matter, because Decorah was too quick, too fast and too good.

"I knew they were good," said Perkins. "I didn't think they would manhandle us like they did."

Borens, who injured an ankle against Mount Pleasant last week, played about half the game, but the results were the same whether he was on the field or not.

Jewell lived up to his billing as an all-state linebacker and punishing running back.

"Yeah, he's a physical guy," said Post. "He knows how to play the game. He knows when to go and how to do things. He's a tough guy, he's a mean guy.

"Sometimes he's a little iffy to coach and get him to do what you want him to do," Post said with a smile. "He'll do what you ask him to do, but sometimes you have to get after him a little bit. But he's a nice guy."

He wasn't very nice to the Indians with his lethal tackling.

"Today was a good team victory," said Jewell. "Everybody had full effort. All-in today. It was a hot day, but everybody pulled through it. Our defense played one of the better games we've played. It was good, I thought."

Perkins was impressed with Jewell.

"He's the real deal," the coach said. "Even if he makes a bad read, he can still get back and make the play."

Decorah made it 28-0 with eight minutes left in the third quarter on a 31-yard touchdown pass from Kvale to Drew Schwartz. The Vikings took a 35-0 lead with 10:30 left in the game on a 2-yard touchdown run by Gavin Nimrod, igniting a running clock for the rest of the night due to the IHSAA 35-point mercy rule.

The best news for Marion fans came with three minutes left when it was announced that slices of pizza were being sold for just $1 and all sandwiches were now half-price -- assuming Marion fans still had an appetite at that point.

Decorah finished with only 201 yards of total offense, but it was more than enough to rule this battle of top-5 clubs.

DECORAH 35, MARION 0

DEC     MAR
irst Downs     11       8
Rushing         30-148   40-33
Passing         4-6-0    7-15-0
Passing yards   53       35
Punts           3-27.7   6-31.2
Penalties       6-55     4-30
Fumbles/Lost    0/0      1/1

Decorah     14  7  7  7 - 35
Marion       0  0  0  0 -  0

Scoring Plays

DEC - Josey Jewell 7 run (Joshua Lee kick)
DEC - Jacob Kvale 2 run (Lee kick)
DEC - Andrew Hovden 64 fumble return (Lee kick)
DEC - Drew Schwartz 31 pass from Kvale (Lee kick)
DEC - Gavin Nimrod 2 run (Lee kick)

Individual Statistics

Rushing

Decorah

Holt Johansen 7-52, Gavin Nimrod 7-39, Josey Jewell 6-33, Dustin Smith
3-24, Mikhail Suvorov 1-5, Drew Schwartz 2-1, Bryce Pierce 1-minus 2,
Jacob Kvale 3-minus 4.

Marion

Tyler Gunderson 6-35, Colton Mowry 9-13, Jeremy Schnieders 1-10, Nick
Connolly 7-8, Brian Kinney 2-5, Logan Fuller 2-3, Trev Biery 4-2, Cameron
Mohwinkle 1-1, Brandon Hornback 2-1, Team 1-minus 7, Trevor Hardman
5-minus 38.

Passing

Decorah

Jacob Kvale 4-6-0, 53 yards

Marion

Trevor Hardman 6-13-0, 33 yards
Brian Kinney 1-2-0, 2 yards

Receiving

Decorah

Drew Schwartz 1-31, Josey Jewell 1-12, Michael Peter 1-10, Holt Johansen 1-0.

Marion

Nick Connolly 2-16, Andrew Davis 2-10, Tyler Gunderson 1-7, Ethan Herren
1-2, Brandon Hornback 1-0.

Sophomore Game: Marion 14, Decorah 6 (OT)