VAN HORNE - Marion’s offensive line opened up car-sized holes on Friday night and the Indians set the dial on cruise control.

Marion rushers scored eight touchdowns on their way to a 63-0 victory against Benton Community in Van Horne.

Marion (5-1, 3-0) amassed 384 yards of total rushing from several different backs throughout the night. Trev Biery, Andrew Davis and Colton Mowry all had more than 50 yards on the ground and each had at least one score.

Biery is the Indians' primary workhorse and he resumed his bulldozing activities from a week ago as he rushed for 166 yards and four touchdowns.

Part of the success Marion experienced on the ground can be attributed to these solid backs, but a lot of credit should go to its offensive line. There were many runs throughout the night when a Marion running back would coast through the line and into the end zone untouched.

“They are getting better every week,” said Marion Coach Tony Perkins. “The biggest thing is that we are finishing blocks now. I think the last couple weeks we have been able to finish the block all the way to the whistle. We really proved that tonight. And the bus in there, Trev Biery, is really running the ball hard.”

The Indians had a serious size advantage compared to the Bobcat defense, and it doesn’t hurt when your tailback is bigger than the opponent’s defensive linemen.

“Our size definitely gives us an advantage, but we still work as hard as we possibly can every single day,” said Marion offensive lineman Zach Borens.

“Our mentality is just to dominate anybody in front of you, and no matter who they are you beat them. And we have the best backs in the world.”

Senior speedster Andrew Davis also got comfortable with the end zone, scoring two touchdowns. He caught a 39-yard score from quarterback Trevor Hardman early in the opening quarter.

Then, in a true indication of what the game was going to be like for Benton, the Bobcats immediately fumbled the kickoff giving Marion the ball at the 25-yard line. Biery proceeded to punch it in from 16 yards out, putting the Indians up 14-0 after two minutes of play.

Davis added another touchdown in the second quarter, running it in from 32 yards out. Mowry also got in on the action, scoring a 5-yard touchdown in the first quarter and a 13-yarder in the third quarter. Senior tailback Daquan Bradley slammed the gate shut with a 1-yard touchdown in the final minute to make the score 63-0.

On the other side of the ball, the Marion defense was stout. The Bobcats (1-5, 1-2) ran a wing-T formation the majority of the night, but that wasn’t fooling the Indians. They held Benton to 79 total yards and one pass completion. The first Bobcat first down came halfway through the second quarter.

“Our defense has really done a nice job of swarming to the ball these last couple weeks as well,” said Perkins.

Marion hosts Solon next Friday night.

MARION 63, BENTON 0

MAR        BEN
First Downs          17        6
Rushes-Yards         42-384    29-45
Passing              2-3-0     1-6-1
Passing Yards        62        34
Punts                1-32      6-29
Fumbles/Lost         1-0       2-1
Penalties            7-55      3-30

Marion     28   14   14   7 - 63
Benton      0    0    0   0 -  0

SCORING PLAYS

MAR: Andrew Davis 39 pass from Trevor Hardman (Dalton Ott kick)
MAR: Trev Biery 16 run (Ott kick)
MAR: Biery 12 run (Ott kick)
MAR: Colton Mowry 5 run (Ott kick)
MAR: Davis 32 run (Ott kick)
MAR: Biery 47 run (Ott kick)
MAR: Biery 1 run (Ott kick)
MAR: Mowry 13 run (Ben Kroemer kick)
MAR: Daquan Bradley 1 run (Kroemer kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATS

Rushing
Marion: Trev Biery 13-166, Andrew Davis 6-80, Colton Mowry 8-50, Austin Ashley 1-27, Nick Connolly 4-20, Daquan Bradley 4-17, Trevor Hardman 3-12, Ethan Herren 2-9, Brandon Hornback 1-3
Benton: Jake Peterson 11-27, Matt Gessner 10-17, Noah Fisher 4-1, Keaton Betterton 4-0

Passing
Marion: Trevor Hardman 2-3-0, 62 yards
Benton: Noah Fisher 0-5-1 0 yards, Cam Touro 1-1-0 34 yards

Receiving
Marion: Andrew Davis 2-62
Benton: TJ Larson 1-34