Marion hopes to have big season behind big man Borens

MARION - Zach Borens is a big kid.Not in the "I eat 10 cheesesburger for lunch, therefore I'm big" sort of way. The Marion Indians senior right tackle is legitimately huge."6-foot-8 and 340 pounds," Borens said."He's a man," Marion Coach Tony Perkins said. "I've never had anybody his size."As you can imagine, that kind of size gets the attention of college coaches, and Borens has had overtures from Iowa, Iowa State, Wisconsin and some FCS and NCAA Division II schools. Sorry, Hawkeye fans, but if he goes the major college route, his dream isn't Kinnick Stadium.It's Camp Randall Stadium. Borens was born and raised in Wisconsin, spending the majority of his life in Sun Prairie, a suburb of Madison, before moving to Marion with his family for his sophomore year.He's the prototypical Badgers lineman size wise, that's for sure.“Mostly comes from my dad's side. My dad is 6-foot-5, a big guy. Grandpa is a big guy, my uncle a pretty big guy," Borens said. "Wisconsin is the dream. That's what I dedicate everything I do for. To make it there. My future, that's what I want to do.”“Zach Borens is a Division I player," Perkins said. "The big three around here – Iowa, Iowa State and Wisconsin – have contacted me about him. And all of the I-AA schools have contacted me, too. It'll be up to film.”Borens hopes this season's film includes lots of victories. Marion lost its final four games in 2011 and finished 4-5 and out of the Class 3A postseason.Call it an unlucky 13th season at Marion for Perkins, who said a small senior class of eight played a role in the uncharacteristic off year. A new weight-training program that began in March and a roster of 50-plus players has the Indians thinking big.Zach Borens big."Last season was unacceptable," said senior running back-linebacker Trev Biery. "I don't want to bash the senior class, but I don't think we had very good leadership, to be honest. We weren't really a team, didn't really work together, I guess you could say. But last year is last year."

“In a nutshell, it was eight seniors instead of our usual 20 or so," Perkins said. "We had some great kids in our senior class, no question. But it's tough to get that leadership, those (other) kids to follow eight kids. And they didn't do it."Borens anchors an experienced offensive line that should open holes for backs like Biery and help protect new quarterback Tyler Gunderson. Perkins said he thinks he's got three D-I players on his team in Borens, Ethen Herren (who has an offer from North Dakota) and 6-foot-6 wide receiver/defensive back Andrew Davis."The way we've taught things has been changed this year," Perkins said. "Mainly technically. We're more precise, down to the step. What we're doing offensively, and what we're doing defensively. Paying more attention rather than ... you get kind of complacent when you're 7-2, 8-1 or 9-0. You can get complacent, and we did. It won't happen again.”

Team: Marion

Coach: Tony Perkins (14th season)

Last year's record: 4-5

Key losses: RB Colton Storla, LB Jake McDonald, QB Cale Cannoy, DB Hunter Banes, LB Taylor Rogers.

Key returners:L Zach Borens, L Justin Dolley, TE-LB Ethan Herren, SE-DB Andrew Davis, L Mitch Ross, QB-DB Tyler Gunderson, RB-LB Trev Biery, L Kyle Grandon, L Tristen Beghtol, TE-DE Isaac Frazier, G-LB Brandon Hornback, LB Khaleal Walker.

Key to making playoffs:Getting senior leadership that was missing last season.

Game to watch:How about that Week 2, non-district game against Decorah, last season's Class 3A state runner-up?

Schedule:

August 24 - at Mount Pleasant

August 31 - Decorah

September 7 - Anamosa

September 14 - Washington (Iowa)

September 21 - at Maquoketa

September 28 - at Benton Community

October 5 - Solon

October 12 - Clear Creek-Amana

October 19 - at DeWitt CentralHere is a video interview with Borens and a full roster:

2012 Marion Football Roster