By ALEXANDER SIMONE

Staff writer

Marion football has shown an ability to create turnovers through two games, with an interception and fumble recovery in the first half of each game.

Those two forced turnovers were enough to keep Marion close through most of Friday’s game at Douglass. The visitors were unable to make up enough ground on their 14-0 first-half deficit, though.

The Warriors managed to pull within one score in the third quarter. The team’s luck looked like it was changing midway through the quarter as Seth Lanning repeatedly worked his connection with receivers Will Aleven and Braedon Mercer.

The Warriors proved on back-to-back drives they could move the ball, first with an 80-yard drive that yielded no points, then with a 40-yard drive for a touchdown.

The team’s play of the night may have been late in the quarter, when coach Shaun Craft went for it on fourth-and-one. Lanning looked to the end zone, delivering a 20-yard strike to Ian Ingles for a touchdown, and the team followed it with a two-point conversion.

The fourth quarter showed promise with the Warriors limiting the Bulldogs’ offense at first, but Marion proved unable to stifle Douglass’ running attack after a pair of Marion fumbles. The home team ended up with three touchdowns in the quarter, giving Douglass the 34-8 win.

Hillsboro also had a difficult go Friday, losing a 44-39 scoring fest at Hesston. The Trojans played Hesston close, outscoring the Swathers 19-12 in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a 12-point first half deficit.

The Trojans’ skill positions proved they were capable of formidable play, with quarterback Matthew Potucek unleashing a pair of 30-yard and 59-yard passes for touchdowns.

Jamari Harris added two scores of his own, one on a 63-yard scamper, and the other a 10-yard run to the end zone.

Goessel snagged its first win of the season with a 32-14 win over Herington. The Bluebirds jumped out to a 20-6 halftime lead, and kept that momentum going the second half.

Goessel gave up multiple trips to the red zone thanks to turnovers or penalties, but Herington was largely unable to crack the Bluebird defense.

After forcing a turnover on downs, Goessel drove from its own 5 yard line thanks to solid running and dominant offensive line play. The Bluebirds notched five first downs and used several minutes off the clock, ending with a Kale Funk touchdown run from five yards out. It secured the Bluebirds a 32-6 lead, and even a late Herington score was unable to change the outcome.

Peabody-Burns’ luck improved from last week, but the Warriors still were thwarted in search of their first score of the season. Peabody-Burns this time lost 22-0 to Central Christian.

Contributions to this story were made by Delbert Peters.