Giants outrun JCHS

Marion’s teams are nicknamed the Giants.
Flashes might be more appropriate.
It wasn’t Marion’s size, but rather its speed that gave the Patriots fits Friday.
The Giants used their deceptive Wing-T offense to rack up more than 500 yards on the ground as they handed Jay County High School a 56-19, season-ending loss in the quarterfinal round of the Class 4A Sectional 12 Tournament.
Marion’s Marcus Marble out-gained the entire Patriot rushing attack on his 11 carries, and three other Giants ran for more than 50 yards.
“Speed kills. They say that. It’s the truth,” said JCHS coach Steve Boozier. “Speed got us. They executed it well.
“It was a speed game, and we weren’t up to that speed level tonight.”
Marion (5-5), which advances to play fourth-ranked Leo (10-0) in the semifinal round, displayed its running ability on the opening play when Lawrence Betts took the ball up the middle for 20 yards. It was rarely slowed down on the night as it scored touchdowns on each of its first seven possessions before finally being forced to punt after sending in its junior varsity unit early in the fourth quarter.
Three plays after Betts’ opening run, Marble broke off a 45-yarder and then scored from 3 yards out on the following play.
He added a 5-yard scoring run later in the period and a 47-yarder for a one-play Giants scoring drive in the third quarter.
“We had a good night,” said Marion coach Randy Sehy, who got 181 yards form Marble on his 11 attempts. “Marcus was able to get loose a couple of times and our fullbacks had a good night. I thought our offensive line played. They made some nice holes and our backs really took advantage of it.”
Will Collins followed Marble with 10 carries for 96 yards, including a 27-yard scoring run in the third quarter, as the Giants racked up 505 yards on the ground and averaged more than 12 yards per attempt.
Quarterback Kevin Davis carried the ball just four times, but one of those was a 42-yard touchdown run as he finished with 79 yards. He also tossed a 12-yard TD pass to Enrique Cruz.
And Shannon Fouce made the most of his lone rushing attempt, going the distance for a 52-yard TD early in the second half.
The Patriots (5-5) responded to the first Marion scoring drive thanks mostly to a 70-yard kickoff return by Cade Price that immediately put them in the red zone. They eventually scored on a 1-yard run by Clark Snyder, but missed the extra-point try.
And then the Giants proceeded to score four consecutive touchdowns.
“We went back to not being consistent,” said Boozier. “We were moving the ball … but just had a few breakdowns here and there. …
“They moved back and forth between the 5-2 and the 5-3. I think that caused a little bit of confusion. But I think for the most part they just were faster than we were. That’s what it came down to.”
Price was key to all three Jay County scoring drives.
After his long kickoff return set up the Patriots’ first score, he opened their first drive of the second half with a 45-yard run over the left side that led to a second short TD run by Snyder. And he had the two longest plays of the final JCHS scoring drive of the season, including the 13-yard touchdown run that put him over 100 yards for the night.
The junior finished with 116 yards on 16 carries and had over 200 all-purpose yards.
“He’s an iron man — offensively, defensively, special teams,” said Boozier. “He just keeps getting better and better, and bigger and stronger. … I think he’s going to be a great player as a senior.”
Snyder followed Price with 35 yards on the ground, and Lucas Wiemer picked up 21 yards.
Jay County has lost four straight sectional games since winning the 2007 title, including a 47-33 defeat at Marion in 2008.
However, their 5-5 record put an end to a string of three straight losing seasons. They were 5-2 before losing their final three games of the year and had wins over Blackford, Bowman Academy, Muncie Southside and Winchester.
They also picked up a forfeit victory over Delta.
“I think we’re making progress,” said Boozier, whose team was 2-8 in 2010. “I think we’re making steps in the right direction. Last year, outside of two games I really don’t think any of them were competitive. … I don’t think you can say that this year.
“I think we have things to build on.”[[In-content Ad]]