As he stuffed dirty jerseys into the wash tub back at the Marion High School locker room Friday night, Coach Tony Perkins praised a defense that had just whitewashed Vinton-Shellsburg 27-0 a short bus ride across town at Thomas Park Field.

"They are a very, very physical football team," he said of the visiting Vikings. "And to be able to shut them down like we did makes me very, very proud."

The Indians held their opponents to just two first downs, one in each half, and they never let them close to the goal line. The visitors could muster but one pass completion for a measly five yards and only 71 yards rushing.

"The defense is playing just outstanding right now," Perkins said. "They're keeping their assignments, and they're flying to the ball.

"They're just fun to watch. Defense is our team's strength. If we make mistakes on offense, the defense picks us up."

As he's been all season, senior middle linebacker Jake McDonald was rock solid. "He makes things happen," said his coach.

McDonald, a fullback on offense who also caught a 17-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter, recorded 12 solo tackles and four assists.

"Our run defense was just phenomenal tonight," McDonald said as he helped Perkins gather up soiled uniforms. "The defensive line filled the gaps and held the line of scrimmage.

"That made it easy for the linebackers to get in for tackles. And our pass defense was awesome."

Mighty mite 5-foot-8 defensive back Hunter Banes hauled in his fifth pass interception of the year, which leads the state in Class 3A.

"It's all about the pass rush," Banes said as he too was helping with laundry duty. "The line gets their quarterback to hurry up and freak out. All I have to do is wait for a ball to come right at me. It's pretty easy."

Banes also collected four solo tackles and two assists, and defensive end Taylor Rogers picked up five tackles and a sack 10 yards deep in the backfield.

Workhorse Marion tailback Colton Storla, who had seven touchdowns and 265 yards rushing last week, picked up where he left off with three more scores and another 278 yards on 29 carries.

The 5-foot-9, 225-pound senior now has 13 touchdowns and 886 yards on the ground, on track to top last year's totals of 15 TDs and 1,250 yards rushing.

"For him to get that many yards, the offensive line must be doing something well," Perkins pointed out. "And they're just getting better and better every week.

"The six kids that play in the line are all juniors. They're pretty green, but they continue to improve."

Storla started off the scoring with a 7-yard run in the first quarter, then ran for the 2-point conversion.

Early in the next quarter, he galloped 67 yards to dig Marion out of a hole near its own goal line. McDonald followed with his touchdown reception from quarterback Cale Connoy.

The team's outstanding punter and a ball-seeking missile as a defensive back, Cannoy was 6 of 10 passing (with one pass dropped) for 97 yards. "Cale throwing the ball like that helps our running game and makes us a much better team," Perkins said.

Cannoy threw 38 yards to Tyler Gunderson with under two minutes left in the first half, and Storla soon walked in again from seven yards to put the Indians ahead 20-0 at the midway point.

Before retiring for the night late in the game, Storla ripped off a 46-yard run in the third quarter, had yet another 7-yard score called back on a penalty and finished up with a stiff-arm 41-yard TD dash.

At one point, when Cannoy cramped up after a 19-yard scamper of his own, Storla even took direct snaps from center.

Viking Coach Pat Farley was disconsolate after a loss that puts his team at 2-3 overall and 0-3 in district play.

"We just didn't play very good football," he said. "We couldn't block and couldn't tackle. And the offense didn't help out at all.

"We've got four starters out with injuries and some others banged up, but that's not an excuse. When you're hurting, you either come together and get competitive, or you don't.

"Tonight we didn't compete. And I don't know why."

It could have been the team they were facing, now 4-1 for the season and 2-1 in district play.

"We're playing outstanding football right now," said Perkins, as he tossed another load into the locker room washing machine.

MARION 27, VINTON-SHELLSBURG 0

MAR         V-S

First downs            13          2
Rushing                49-342      30-71
Passing                6-10-1      1-8-1
Passing Yards          97          5
Penalties              2-20        5-45
Punting                4-37.5      8-37.5

Individual Statistics

Rushing

Marion - Colton Storla 29-278, Cale Cannoy 4-33, Nick Connolly 4-23, Trev Biery 5-7, Jake McDonald 2-2.
Vinton-Shellsburg - Gunner Tranel 11-62, Daniel Ervin 6-19, Kelyn Rickels 4-14.

Passing

Marion - Cale Connoy 6-10-1, 97 yards. Vinton-Shellsburg - Lincoln Riffey 1-7-0, 5 yards, Kelyn Rickels 0-1-1, 0 yards.

Receiving

Marion - Ethan Herren 3-31, Jake McDonald 2-28, Tyler Gunderson 1-38.
Vinton-Shellsburg - Kelyn Rickels 1-5.