By Becky Walz,
There were several scoring prospects during Friday’s game for the Decorah football team (2-5, 0-2); however, Marion (3-4, 1-1) prevailed in the final period, 14-13.
“This was another tough game with an ending that could have gone either way,” said Coach Pat Trewin. “The first half ended 0-0, but we know we did not play our best in the first half. Marion kept fighting and made a couple of big plays. They have a couple of players who can score on the big play, and we knew we would have to score, or those big plays could hurt us. Even though they moved the ball on us some, we limited the big plays to just a few. We could not reach the endzone enough with ours. Later in the game we had a couple mistakes that stopped chances to score.”
There were several scoring prospects during Friday’s game for the Decorah football team (2-5, 0-2); however, Marion (3-4, 1-1) prevailed in the final period, 14-13.
“This was another tough game with an ending that could have gone either way,” said Coach Pat Trewin. “The first half ended 0-0, but we know we did not play our best in the first half. Marion kept fighting and made a couple of big plays. They have a couple of players who can score on the big play, and we knew we would have to score, or those big plays could hurt us. Even though they moved the ball on us some, we limited the big plays to just a few. We could not reach the endzone enough with ours. Later in the game we had a couple mistakes that stopped chances to score.”
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A look back
Following a scoreless first half, the two squads battled for control of the pigskin and the lead in the second. Decorah came under fire to start the third quarter, beginning at their own 30-yard line. Marching down the field it took the Vikes 10 plays to reach the endzone and put the first points on the board. The Wolves started their own possession near midfield and needed just four plays to hit an open man for a 42-yard reception TD and knot the score 7-7.
In the fourth, a blocked Marion punt by Brady Bohner, gave Decorah a short field as the Vikes started the drive on the Marion 24. A quick pass from Brady Stille to Casey Brickley for an 11-yard gain had the Vikes on the move in the red zone. The drive stalled when the Vikes fumbled the ball on a fourth and 1, giving Marion the ball on its own 16-yard line. The Wolves then decided to air it out with a pass that was intercepted by Kaiden Quandahl at the 28-yard line and ran back to the 23 before getting tackles. Decorah used the turnover to put the ball in the end zone on an Erik Hjelle four-yard carry. After a penalty on the PAT, Decorah attempted a two-point conversion pass which fell incomplete and the Vikes a 13-7 advantage. Marion quickly went to work as the Wolves was off to the races on an 80-yard run to the far endzone to take the slim lead, 14-13. The Vikings had one final chance at victory with 10 seconds remaining on a 37-yard field goal that fell short.
Stat lines
The Vikings moved the ball a total of 298 yards, with 197 coming on the ground while Marion had 149 rushing yards and 254 total.
“Brady Stille had another very good game at quarterback and Ben Wymer had some runs and catches that led to scores. Our blocking improved as the game went along and our efforts were such that we had a chance to win right until the very end. We are proud of our growth throughout the season, and we know we can do better still,” noted Coach Trewin.
Stille was 9-for-14 in passing for 107 yards. Wymer was Decorah’s leading receiver with four receptions for 48 yards in addition to 15 carries for another 48 yards of rushing. Casey Brickley caught two passes for 21 yards, while Brady Benzing and Kelley Gates tallied 19 yards receiving. Stille led the rushing stats with 68 yards on 20 carries. Baker had eight carries for 44 yards while Hjelle had five touches for 30 yards.
On defense, Benzing had five solo and three assisted tackles, while William Hahn had six solo stops and one assist. Stille was in on four solo and one assisted tackles.
Up next
Decorah will be at Memorial Stadium in Waterloo Friday, Oct. 14, at 7:30 p.m., to take on Waterloo East.
“We play Waterloo East this week and they have some very big players and are capable of big plays. We will concentrate on our fundamentals and try to get that first district win,” concluded Coach Trewin.
1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q F
Decorah 0 0 7 6 13
Marion 0 0 7 7 14
Scoring sequence
1st Quarter
None
2nd Quarter
None
3rd Quarter
Decorah – Jaden Baker 19-yd. run (Erik Hjelle PAT)
Marion – 42-yd. pass (PAT)
4th Quarter
Decorah – Hjelle 1-yd. run (2-pt. pass failed)
Marion – 80-yd. run (PAT)
Game stats
Total yards: Decorah 298; Marion 254
Passing (comp/att/yds): Brady Stille (9-14, 108 yds.)
Rushing (att/yds): Stille (20-68); Ben Wymer (15-48); Jaden Baker (8-44, 1 TD); Erik Hjelle (5-30, 1 TD)
Receiving (att/yds/TD): Wymer (4-48); Casey Brickley (2-21); Brady Benzing (2-19); Kelley Gates (1-19)
Tackles (solo-assist): Benzing (5-3); William Hahn (6-1); Stille (4-1); Kasey Krauskopf (2-1); Brady Bohner (1-3); Hjelle (1-0); Dakota Johnson (0-3); Andrew Rhodes (0-3); Quandahl (0-2); Fisher Tweten (0-2); Baker (0-1)
Interceptions (no/return yds): Kaiden Quandahl (1-5)
Punts (att/yds): Quandahl (1-29)
Kick-offs (att/yds): Hjelle (3-121)
Kick-off returns (att/yds): Wymer (3-54)
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