Marion looks for regular-season and postseason wins

They love football at Marion High School. Proof comes with one look at the practice field.A whopping 108 kids in grades 9 through 12 decided they wanted to play this season. That means you've got something good going on with your program. "The most we've ever had," beamed assistant coach Larry Perkins.Hey, everyone loves a winner, and Marion's been just that under Perkins' son, Tony. The Indians are 80-26 since Perkins was hired at his alma mater in 1999. That includes five Class 3A district championships and four runner-up finishes.That's a lot of success."We really believe that the kids have bought into the system," said Tony Perkins, whose energy and enthusiasm for the sport and his school are shown by the Marion logo tattoo on one forearm and a football on the other. "They truly love the game of football and they work hard in the offseason. If you have those things all come together, you're going to have a strong team, you're going to have an athletic team. Then you add the desire that comes out in each and every one of them."Around these parts, Marion has become the team to beat. These guys know it."People ask me all the time about the football team," said senior wide receiver Dusty Albaugh. "Ever since I was little, I've bled red and gold. It's like being a Hawkeye. I'll always be a Hawkeye. I think as a program, we know every week we have to prepare for a team's best game because we know they (really) want to beat us. I love that feeling. I love it when people give us their best game. That makes us better."We're people's target. I like to hear that."But there's also something these Indians don't like to hear, and that's their postseason record.Marion is 1-6 in the playoffs since '99. That '1' came last season when it whacked West Delaware in a substate game.The Indians promptly lost their first game of the season in the first round to Decorah. Yes, the word "frustration" works in this case."A lot of people mark us as a one-and-done team," Albaugh admitted. "Last year, we just missed a few plays. I'd love to prove them wrong. Make them say 'Oh, OK. They're not a one-and-done team.' Hopefully this is that year."Perkins points to the opponents Marion has lost to. In 2007, Keokuk and Iowa Hawkeye quarterback James Vandenberg went on to win the state title as an example.Marion's district is always paired with a district filled with perennial powers such as Decorah and New Hampton in the playoffs.   "I think it's just the fact that we've gotten into games where, for instance, the Keokuk game. They won a state championship. We played right with them," Perkins said. "We've been up against some good teams. The year Western Dubuque won it, we beat them."It's just one of those things where no one knows how to put their finger on it, or we'd fix it. Since we can't do that, we're not going to worry about it. We're going to try and play as good of football as we can all season long. And when the season comes to an end, it comes to an end."Marion lost a lot of firepower from last season's outstanding team. The skill positions should be all right with guys like Albaugh and junior running back Colton Storla returning, but the line is inexperienced.Despite that, you get the feeling these Indians will win. They always do.Maybe this season that'll include in the postseason, too."It's always disappointing. It really is," Perkins said. "You work for that conference championship, which we've gotten. You work for that first round of the playoffs, that second round of the playoffs. We've stumbled a few times. Last year, we got a big win over West Delaware."That's something that you never expect or you hope it will be there. You just keep working and know it'll be there some day. When it is, it'll make it that much more special."