Marion running back Logan Pickering has 5 TD's against Waukon

CEDAR RAPIDS - Logan Pickering had a nice 2008 football season.The Marion running back rushed for just under 800 yards as a junior and hit the end zone 14 times.It's early, but 2009 looks like it's going to be better than just nice for Pickering. Much better.He's already more than a third of the way to his touchdown total of a year ago after scoring five times Saturday in the first half of Marion's 34-13 season-opening win over Waukon at Coe College's Clark Field.The game was postponed a day and moved from Thomas Park because of flooding. Coe's FieldTurf seemed to suit the 5-foot-9, 170-pound Pickering.“I had five touchdowns last year against Oelwein. That was an overtime game, so that was exciting,” Pickering said. “I don't know. I've got to give thanks to my line. It was pretty easy. The line blocked great all day and created big holes. Especially the right tackle Trashon Thompson.”Thompson, one of two returning starters upfront for Marion, was standing nearby when Pickering said that and nodded his head in appreciation.“Very pleased with Pickering,” Marion Coach Tony Perkins said. “He had a great game.”The coach felt his team had about half a great game. Marion scored four touchdowns in the second quarter to take a 34-0 halftime lead but got shut out in the second half.Not to mention outscored.“The first half we came out and were very focused. Our energy level was up,” Perkins said. “The second half ... we're still working on our backups, our two deeps. They aren't there, yet, so we played our first string the whole first half with no backup, and we ran out of gas. We flat out got tired, we cramped up.“So we need to work on that, need to work on our seconds.” Pickering saw few carries in the second half because of cramps. He finished with 93 yards rushing on 19 attempts, scoring on a 2-yard run in the first quarter and runs of 21, 3, 2 and 3 in the second.He had a two-point conversion run after his first TD and caught four passes for 59 yards. Senior quarterback Dalton Combs, making his first varsity start, showed off a nice arm, completing 13 of 19 passes for 174 yards. He was picked off once.“The first half, we played great. We had great intensity,” Combs said. “ The second half, I just think we got tired. We've got to work on that. We'll be there the next game and finish strong.”Waukon dominated the fourth quarter when it scored its two touchdowns on runs by senior back James Volbrecht. That included a nice 40-yard scamper. Volbrecht finished with a game-high 143 yards on 15 carries.