Marion and Goessel win at home as Hillsboro grabs victory on the road

By MINDY KEPFIELD

Staff writer

All five county teams grabbed victories this past weekend. two at home and three on the road.

Marion bested Haven 20-18, at its homecoming as Goessel beat Argonia-Attica, 44-36.

In away games, Hillsboro beating Sterling, 42-18, and Centre and Peabody-Burns besting Little River and Tescott, respectively in 52-6 routs.

Marion

Marion held off Haven at homecoming despite the absence of head coach Shaun Craft, whose wife, Jenny, is battling COVID-19.

Neither Marion athletic director Jason Hett nor coach Jordan Metro would comment on Craft’s absence but prayers have been requested for the family on social media.

“He was not on the sideline for personal reasons,” Metro said, adding the team dedicated the winning game to coach Craft. “I am super proud of these guys. We are a young team but they fought through everything. They could have easily folded it up after Haven scored that last touchdown, but they believed and continued to fight through.  They showed a ton of character.”

Jack Lanning was the top performer for Marion, rushing more than 100 yards

The Warrior quarterback got the team off to a swift start scoring a 35-yard touchdown in the first quarter and hurling a scoring pass in the second.

Haven rallied in the second half with Brant Sipe completing a touchdown pass to Blaze Hogan for a 12-12 tie.

Sipe hurled another scoring pass, this time to Karter Cooprider to give Haven a 18-12 lead.

Lanning saved Marion’s night, running in a touchdown on 45 yards. The Warrior quarterback followed up with a two-point conversion the only successful one of the game.

“The game had a lot of momentum changes, both for us and against us,” Metro said. “The kids just kept fighting and never gave up, even down by six with less than two minutes to play.”

Marion still made its share of “mental mistakes,” Metro said.

Miscues in pass coverage set up scoring drives for Haven as the Warriors dropped several chances to put points on the board, he said.

“Performance-wise, it definitely wasn’t our best game, offensively or defensively,” Metro said. “Sometimes you have those games, and just have to find a way to get a win anyway you can.” 

Craft’s calming presence on the sidelines was missed, Metro said, but the Warriors had enough grit to keep battling.

“They never quit.  No matter how the game was going, they continued to play as a team,” Metro said.  “I hope we continue to build on that this season.”

Marion will face Trinity Catholic High School at 7 p.m. Friday in Hutchinson.

Hillsboro

A 42-18 victory over Sterling has helped Hillsboro recover its confidence on the road.

The victory followed a 14-8 loss Sept. 17 to Smoky Valley.

“We’re a pretty solid team once we get going,” coach Demetrius Cox said.

Matthew Potucek led Hillsboro on offense hurling three scoring passes, with nine completions, and 10 attempts on 197 yards.

“Potucek did a wonderful job with passing,” Cox said.

Trojan Jamari Harris was first for Hillboro in rushing with 64 yards and two touchdowns. Potucek and Tristan Rathbone rushed for 32 and 17 yards.

Potucek, Rathbone, and Corbin Marple, and Jake Thiessen were tops in statistics for Hillsboro’s defense.

Rathbone led with seven tackles and 11 assists. Potucek and Thiessen made five tackles and seven assists, and Marple six tackles, three assists, and two sacks.

“A lot of guys played pretty big on defense,” Cox said. “I am excited with how Jake Thiessen played.”

A touchdown on a 14-yard run by Harris got the Trojans off to a good start.

“It set the tone, that we were going to be able to do things that we thought we couldn’t,” Cox said.

Potucek hurled touchdown passes 13, 16, and 56 yards to Frank Wichert and Duncan Duell in the second quarter. Harris scored on a 16-yard run for the Trojans to pad a 35-10 lead.

Potucek snatched a victory for Hillsboro on a 73-yard return for a touchdown after Sterling fumbled on a punt kicked by teammate Frank Wichert.

Cox says the team still struggles to defend passes and stop inside runs.

“The biggest message from this is that we need to be consistent and take it one game at a time,” Cox said.

Hillsboro will host Haven at 7 p.m. Friday.

Goessel

Goessel came from behind to win with two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to beat Attica-Argonia.

Attica-Argonia scored the only touchdown on a one-yard run by Xander Newberry.

Goessel’s Grant Bryant connected with Skyler Wuest on a 16-yard scoring pass and Jake Wiens ran in a two-point conversion to give Goessel an 8-6 lead early in the second quarter.

The Titans Colter McDaniel hurled a 21-yard touchdown pass to Connor Harnden to recover Attica-Argonia’s lead, but Goessel Jake Weins used his speed to score on a 74-yard run and Bryant ran in the conversion.

Three minutes later, Bryant connected with Caleb Burkholder on 20-yard touchdown pass, and Wiens ran in the extra points giving Goessel a 24-12 lead at half-time.

The Titans scored in the third quarter, but Kacen Smith took the kick-off 50 yards and Bryant ran in the extra points to give the Bluebirds a 32-20 lead.

Attica-Argonia’s Harnden scored on a 10-yard run late in the third and Newberry ran in a touchdown early in the fourth to give the Titans a 36-32 lead.

Wiens hurled a 47-yard scoring pass to give Goessel a two-point lead.

The Bluebird defense held the Titans out of the end zone and Wiens broke free again, scoring on a 40-yard run to give the Bluebirds the win, 44-36.

Wiens rushed for 151 yards and passed 47 yards. Defensively, Caiden Duerksen, Wuest and Burkholder were credited with 10 tackles apiece.

This was the first game of the District 5 division and Goessel now sports a record of 1-0 in district play and 2-2 overall.

Goessel will face Moundridge at home Friday.

Peabody-Burns

Peabody Burns defeated host Tescott 52-6 Friday.

“All the credit goes to an undersized but tough, physical Tescott team,” coach Kody Tegtmeier said. “They came out on the opening drive and punched us in the mouth. They drove the ball straight down the field which helped us wake up a bit.”

We came in to the game being a bit over confident, and got a little wake-up call early. 

Tegtmeier said the Warriors went into Friday’s game “a little overconfidence.”

Peabody-Burns held Tescott out of the end zone on their first possession after regaining their focus, he said.

Thomas Smith and Noal Reynolds led the team on offense and Colton Gossen was tops in tackles for defense.

Peabody Burns will face South Barber Friday.

Centre

Centre defeated Rural Vista 52-6 Friday in Hope.

Luke Hudson, Gentri Holub and Quentin Bina all scored for the Cougars in the first quarter.

Hudson ran in a 41-yard punt return and scored again with a 12-yard run.

Holub scored again for Centre in the second quarter on a 39-yard pass.

Bina ran in two more for the Cougars on 11 and 23-yard runs.

Centre will play Melvern Friday at home.

Delbert Peters contributed to this report. Jordan Metro's name was misreported in some earlier editions.