The Gazette-Enterprise

MARION — Even William Wallace would be a bit skittish about heading into battle with the odds that the Marion Bulldogs (1-7, 0-3) face tonight at Veterans Stadium.
As if having an enrollment roughly half the size of La Vernia wasn’t a big enough disadvantage, Marion will also be forced to play without three starters who recently sustained season-ending injuries.
“I could probably come closer to telling you how many (players) aren’t hurt,” head coach Glenn Davis said Wednesday. “Sean Hesler is out for the rest of the season. Ryan Laubach, a two-way starter is out for the rest of the year with a broken leg and Michael Woodward, a senior who was starting offensive lineman and playing a lot on defense, is out with a knee injury.”
Hesler, of course, is the team’s starting quarterback, meaning that backup Derek Pierce will step in and try to guide the Bulldogs past a solid La Vernia defense.
“They’re a five-man front with two linebackers — a good old 50 defense,” Davis said. “And they run a man to man in the secondary.
“You’ve either got to do a really, really good job of pass blocking or you’ve got to take the run game right at them.”
Offensively, Daivs said that the Bears (5-3, 2-1) will look to move the ball on the ground, utilizing mobile quarterback Seth Grubb (90 carries, 770 yards, seven touchdowns) and running back Josh Kubena (121 carries, 560 yards and sox touchdowns).
“They’re definitely more run-oriented this year,” Davis said. “They’re going to run two tight ends and run out of a full house backfield set a lot of the time and try to power run.”
Through the air, Grubb has completed 35 of his 104 pass attempts for 445 yards, with four touchdowns and six interceptions on the year. His leading receiver is Aaron Grubb, who has 225 yards and five touchdowns on 16 catches.
And just in case Marion needed another reason to be wary of the Bears, La Vernia comes into tonight’s game fresh off of a 21-13 loss to Sam Houston that dropped them out of first place in the District 27-3A standings.
With so many things going against the Bulldogs, Davis said it’s important that his team get off to a good start in order to build some confidence.
“Anything that we can have happen good to us Friday night early in the game will certainly boost our spirits and allow us to play better,” he said.
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

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