By Sean McNamara
WESTON – The North Marion Huskies were firing on all cylinders Friday on the road at Lewis County, scoring multiple times in each of the fourth quarters en route to a 57-7 Big 10 Conference win over the Minutemen.
North Marion (7-1) came into the game at No. 4 in the Class AA WVSSAC playoff rankings and outgained the 16th-ranked Minutemen (3-4) 440-162 while winning the turnover battle 3-0.
Through eight games, North Marion is holding opponents to 8.4 points and 156.6 yards per game, with Lewis County’s lone touchdown Friday coming on an Owen Acord run against the Huskies’ JV defense.
“Our defense – we love it,” safety Parker Kincell said. “We don’t want to give up anything and we don’t want anyone scoring. When people score, we take that to heart. We don’t want anyone in our end zone.”
Propelling that defense Friday was a pair of interceptions from junior Landon Frey – giving him five on the season – as well as a fumble recovery by Cody Clevenger, six tackles for loss and a safety recorded in the third quarter.
Lewis County quarterback Bryant Zielinski completed 2-of-11 passes and two interceptions, with his longest pass coming to John Cullen on a 36-yard completion.
Trenton Bush and Acord led the way rushing for Lewis County with 47 and 41 yards, respectively, but the North Marion defense made things difficult all night.
“Defense is great,” Frey said. “Those guys (up front) are applying pressure to the quarterback, but I have to give credit to our (defensive back) position coach, TJ Starsick. He does a really good job of teaching technique. He’s really helped me a lot.”
Offensively, North Marion was balanced and efficient, running the ball for 273 yards and passing for 167 with eight total touchdowns scored by seven different Huskies.
Kincell, Isaiah Sigley, Aaron Hoffman, Casey Minor and Cyrus Collins all ran for touchdowns with Kincell and Sigley leading the way with 94 yards and 76 yards on the ground, respectively.
“We were really focusing on the run, because the last couple of weeks we’ve been a little shaky there,” Kincell said. “We just wanted to really focus on the run, get a hat on a hat and get moving forward.”
Through the air Minor connected on 14-of-17 passes for 167 yards and three touchdowns, finding five different receivers in the process. Brock Martin posted a team-high 70 yards on four receptions while Frey caught four passes for 41 yards and Kincell caught three for 36 yards.
Frey caught two of Minor’s touchdown strikes from 10 and 14 yards while Brock Martin added a 24-yard score.
“Casey did a really good job of stepping up in the pocket tonight and finding me when I was open,” Frey said. “He was hitting the deep ball like he should, which was good.”
Rounding out the scoring for North Marion was Savannah Walls, who connected on 7-of-8 PAT attempts.
As Lewis County looks to get back into the playoff hunt in Class AA, it will prepare for a road trip next week to Philip Barbour, which fell to 3-3 Friday following a loss to River (Ohio).
North Marion has a bye in Week 9 before it heads to Mineral County to take on a Frankfort squad that currently sits at 6-1 following a Week 8 bye.
NORTH MARION 57, LEWIS COUNTY 7
Team Statistics
NM;LC
First Downs;15;12
Rushing Yards;273;128
Passing Yards;167;34
Total Yards;440;162
Passing; 14-17-0;2-11-2
Fumbles;1;4
Fumbles Lost;0;1
Penalties;6-50;1-14
Individual Statistics
Rushing: NM: Parker Kincell 7-94 1 TD, Isaiah Sigley 2-76 1 TD, Casey Minor 8-48 1 TD, Cyrus Collins 1-25 1 TD, Trevor Mullett 2-20, Aaron Hoffman 8-11 1 TD, Christian Polis 1-5, Robert White 1-4, TEAM 2-(-10). Totals: 31-273. LC: Owen Acord 12-41 1 TD, Trenton Bush 12-47, Brayden Carder 15-32, Bryant Zielinski 2-8. Totals: 41-128.
Passing: NM: Casey Minor 14-17-0 167 3 TD. Bryan Zielinski 2-11-2 34 yards.
Receiving: NM: Brock Martin 4-70 1 TD, Landon Frey 4-41 2 TD, Parker Kincell 3-36, Isaiah Sigley 1-13, Dylan Higgins 2-7. LC: John Cullen 1-36, Trenton Bush 1-(-2).
NM: 14;13;16;14;;57
LC:0;0;0;7;;7
First Quarter
NM – Aaron Hoffman 4-yard run (Savannah Walls kick)
NM – Landon Frey 10-yard pass from Casey Minor (Walls kick)
Second Quarter
NM – Minor 1-yard run (Walls kick)
NM – Frey 13-yard pass from Minor (kick failed)
Third Quarter
NM – Safety
NM – Brock Martin 24-yard pass from Minor (Walls kick)
NM – Parker Kincell 60-yard run (Walls kick)
Fourth Quarter
NM – Isaiah Sigley 11-yard run (Walls kick)
LC – Owen Acord 1-yard run (Owen Acord kick)
NM – Cyrus Collins 25-yard run (Walls kick)
