Marion has a blast in the rain against Mason City

MARION — So what’s it like to play an entire football game in a veritable downpour?

“Oh, my gosh, it was so much fun,” Kaiden Griffith said.

Yeah, especially when you are winning and winning comfortably, which Griffith and his Marion Wolves did Friday night, 38-0, over Mason City on soggy Senior Night. Thank goodness for the artificial surface at the new Marion Stadium because you can only imagine what this game would have looked like on the grass at old Thomas Park.

A mudder and then some.

“We came out here, and pregame it wasn’t raining,” said Griffith, the standout wide receiver-defensive back-punt returner. “So we weren’t really expecting anything. Then it started raining, and passing the ball was (very difficult). We got used to things, and started running the ball the rest of the game.”

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Photos: Mason City vs. Marion football

Marion (6-2) changed its plan mid-flight, so to speak, and simply pounded Mason City (2-6), rushing 42 times for 262 yards. That included touchdown scurries by running back Trey Franck (4 yards), quarterback Kaleb Diers (52 yards) and receiver Darius Rouson (16 yards) in that order.

Griffith caught a 6-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter, which was fitting considering his long punt return set his team up at the 6. Diers completed only 2 of 9 passes for 11 yards.

He didn’t need to throw.

“If you look there at the first quarter, we had a couple of guys open for touchdown passes, and the ball just went right through some arms,” said Marion Coach Michael Joyner. “So we had to adjust a little bit. Our passing game wasn’t a big part of our night tonight. However, we wanted to (continue) going in the shotgun (formation) because we felt like our snaps and our quarterback exchange would be a little better because of that.

“We actually went split backs in the gun, which we haven’t practiced that one play all year. But we knew we could do it because we’ve got smart guys who remember the basics of our offense. You don’t have to worry when that happens.”

The Wolves stacked the box defensively and completely shut down Mason City. The Riverhawks accumulated all of 9 yards and one first down, those things happening on the final series in the last two minutes.

Linebacker Adam Rose intercepted a pass deep in Mason City territory on MC’s initial offensive possession, which set up Franck’s touchdown run. Marion also recorded a pair of safeties: one when running back Ayden Mosley was tackled in the end zone in the first quarter and another when an errant shotgun snap got past Mason City quarterback Brayden Miller and went deep into the end zone.

“We just ate them up at the line of scrimmage,” Rose said. “We just held them nice over the top, had a good defensive plan this week. All credit to the coaches, honestly.”

Kicker Grayson Kirsch was the unsung hero of this game for Marion, making all four of his extra-point attempts and field goals of 30 and 33 yards in the driving rain. Joyner is a math teacher and believes this victory will get Marion to the Class 4A playoffs, unless a series of unusual events occurs next week in the regular season’s final games for the big schools in the state.

That would be the school’s first playoff appearance since 2013.

“We’re just focused on next week right now,” Rose said of next Friday’s game at Waverly-Shell Rock. “But it’d mean a ton. Us boys, we’ve been playing together since fifth grade, we’re a tight-knit team, and we’re a good group of guys.”

Marion 38, Mason City 0

AT MARION STADIUM

Mason City 0 0 0 0-0

Marion 12 7 16 3-38

Game Statistics

First Downs - Mason City 1, Marion 13. Rushes-Yards - Mason City 18-0, Marion 42-262. Passing (Completions-Attempts-Interceptions-Yards) - Mason City 6-19-2-9, Marion 2-9-0-11. Total Yards - Mason City 9, Marion 273. Punts-Average - Mason City 6-37.0, Marion 5-36.8. Penalties-Yards - Mason City 5-42, Marion 4-40. Fumbles-Lost - Mason City 3-1, Marion 8-1.

Individual Statistics

Rushing - Mason City: Ayden Mosley 13-8, Brayden Miller 2-5, Dane Hanson 2-2, Team 1-(minus) 15, Marion: Trey Franck 17-145, Kaleb Diers 14-60, Hunter Horak 5-22, Darius Rouson 2-21, Klayton Rompot 3-13, Team 1-(minus) 6.

Passing - Mason City: Brayden Miller 6-19-2-9. Marion: Kaleb Diers 2-9-0-11.

Receiving - Mason City: Ty Sanchez-Evans 2-17, Drew Hobart 2-(minus) 3, Jarrel Lee 2-(minus) 5. Marion: Kaiden Griffith 1-6, Trey Franck 1-5.

Comments: (319)-398-8258, jeff.johnson@thegazette.com