Marion Football

Wahlert hands Marion 7th loss in row

Despite a dismal 1-7 season, Marion Coach Tony Perkins does not have one bad thing to say about his team.

“I love these kids,” he said Friday night after yet another disappointing loss, this time 28-14 on Senior Night at home to Dubuque Wahlert.

“I still believe they’re a good football team. They don’t believe it. And that’s the hard thing, to get them to believe in themselves.”

As has been the case all year for the hard-luck Indians, they once again gave the game away. Two first-half fumbles deep in their own territory led to Wahlert scores.

The Golden Eagles scored again early in the third quarter after yet another Marion fumble. And they came right back to go up 24-8 following a 33-yard punt return gave them a starting point at Marion’s 38.

“That’s been the way it’s been in our other games,” Perkins pointed out. “We hurt ourselves.

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Saints host Regina in premier battle

All of the Class 4A football teams in the Metro area refused to play Xavier when the Saints dropped to Class 3A this year, so the Saints had to get creative and find some willing partners.

They succeeded beyond anyone's wildest imagination.

Xavier will host Iowa City Regina Friday night at Saints Field in an intriguing showdown of state powers.

The Saints reached the Class 4A finals in 2012 and 2013 before the advent of district play in Eastern Iowa allowed them to drop safely into their proper enrollment bracket in Class 3A. The Regals, meanwhile, are the premier program in Class 1A and have won four straight state titles under Coach Marv Cook.

Regina saw its 56-game winning streak come to an end against Solon - a Class 3A club - in the season opener this year, but the Regals have won six straight games since then and are averaging 43.4 points per game.

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Marion falls to Western Dubuque, 28-6

MARION - Western Dubuque jumped out to a 14-0 lead at halftime and held on for a 28-6 win over Marion Friday night at Thomas Park.

The Indians (1-6, 0-4 in Class 3A District 4) were unable to get a passing game going. They were held to 17 yards through the air.

Quarterback Gage Kray did connect with Hayden Meister on a 16-yard TD pass, but he completed only two other passes the rest of the night. He did not sound down-beat after the game, however.

"I love this game," said Kray. "It is lots of fun to play with my guys - Friday Night Lights - and this is the best.

"I've been playing football since the flag football days when I was a 4-year-old and these games on Friday night are great."

Marion Coach Tony Perkins isn't about to give up on his team, despite the record. His passion showed in the locker room.

"We continue to fight-fight-fight," he said. "I hate to lose but you played your guts out. I'm proud of your effort and you played hard and never gave up!"

Kory Walsh carried the ball 22 times for 86 yards for Marion. Nick Kramer gained 54 yards on six carries for the Indians.

Western Dubuque raised its records to 5-2 overall and 4-0 in the district.

WESTERN DUBUQUE 28, MARION 6

WD    MARION

FIRST DOWNS         15       10

RUSHES-YARDS        38-209   49-178

PASSING-YARDS       118       17

COMP/ATT/INT        11-16-1   3-11-1

FUMBLES-LOST        3-2      2-0

PUNTS-AVERAGE       4-36.0   6-27.6

PENALTIES-YARDS     6-51     6-30

WESTERN DUBUQUE    0  14  7  7 - 28

MARION             0   0  6  0 -  6

Scoring Plays

WD - ALEX WERNIMONT 5 RUN (JORDAN PERRY KICK)

WD - NOLAN BAUMHOVER 8 RUN (PERRY KICK)

WD - BAUMHOVER 1 RUN (PERRY KICK)

M - HAYDEN MEISTER 16 PASS FROM GAGE KRAY(PASS FAILED)

WD - BEN BURDS 6 RUN (PERRY KICK)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING

MARION - GAGE KRAY  8-minus 4), KORY WALSH 22-86, HAYDEN MEISTER 7-23, JACK SERBOUSEK 2-11, DONTAVIOUS YOUNG 2-7, NICK KRAMER 6-54.

WESTERN DUBUQUE - BEN BURDS 14-88, ALEX WERNIMONT 7-36, NOLAN BAUMHOVER 13-65.

PASSING

MARION - GAGE KRAY 3-11-1, 17.

WESTERN DUBUQUE - NOLAN BAUMHOVER 11-16-1, 118.

RECEIVING

MARION - HAYDEN MEISTER 2-13, RYAN WHALEN 1-4.

WESTERN DUBUQUE - RYAN YODER 1-11, ANDREW MEYER 3-17, MITCHELL KRAMER 2-31, BRANDON HOGAN  1-34.

No.1 Warriors, No.1 Saints face new foes

The Washington Warriors and Xavier Saints are facing new challenges and new opponents with the advent of district competition for all the Metro football teams this year.

Both squads have fared very well so far and are ranked No. 1 in their respective classes, but more new challenges await both clubs Friday night in home games.

The Warriors entertain Ottumwa in a Class 4A district battle at Kingston Stadium and the Saints host Western Dubuque in a Class 3A district contest at Saints Field.

In other games Friday night, the Marion Indians will be hunting for their second victory of the season at Maquoketa and the Cedar Valley Huskies host Midland of Wyoming at LaSalle Middle School.

OTTUMWA at WASHINGTON

Kingston Stadium, 7:15 p.m.

Records:

Ottumwa 4-1 overall, 1-0 4A District 6
Washington 5-0 overall, 1-0 4A District 6

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