If the pattern for Marion's football season holds, Maquoketa might be in for a rough night when it faces the Indians next week at home.

After being crushed by Decorah 34-7 two weeks ago, Marion rebounded last week by annihilating Anamosa 58-0.

The Indians were manhandled again Friday night at Thomas Park, this time 42-14 by a tough bunch from Washington, Iowa.

They could be seeking redemption next time out.

If they play like they did against the Demons, on the other hand, Marion may be the one in trouble.

Coach Tony Perkins could find nothing good to say to say about his team's performance Friday night.

Were there any positives, he was asked?

“No,” the always-honest veteran coach said. “We'll flush this game and move on.

“We have a lot of problems. We have a lot of work to do."

Their offense was stagnant, the defense porous and the kick coverage invisible.

The Indians (2-2) managed only 64 rushing yards on 41 attempts against a three-man Demon defensive line and blitzing linebackers.

Quarterback Trevor Hardman, working mostly out of the shotgun, spent most of the night scrambling.

Although rangy 6-foot-4 receiver Quinn Cannoy was open almost every play, Hardman could connect only five times for 107 yards. Both, however, went for Marion's only touchdowns.

“He needs to be more confident in his passing,” Perkins pointed out.

And Marion's defense simply could not contain Washington's ground attack, giving up 231 yards.

Big but shifty Demon running back Alex Coker gained 99 yards in 14 carries with two touchdowns. But he also scored on a 90-yard kickoff return and a 55-yard punt return.

“We just got outmuscled,” said Cannoy, who also plays cornerback. “They did pretty much did whatever they wanted to on offense. They opened up big holes, and we couldn't stop them.

“They just popped us in the mouth.”

Marion, which edged Washington last year 13-10, was fully aware it was in for a tussle.

At 3-1, the Demons only loss this season was a 14-7 heartbreaker to Class 3A No. 3 Pella. They shook that off with a 59-23 pounding of Fairfield last week.

“They're a good team,” Perkins acknowledged. “Decorah's a good team, too. I wouldn't want to compare the two.”

Cannoy said Washington is “just as physical if not more so” than No. 5 Decorah.

“We take pride in our ground game,” he said, “and they handled us there. And we couldn't tackle 'em.”

Fortunately, the game didn't count in the district standings. The Indians are still undefeated in the district with five games to play.

WASHINGTON, IOWA 42, MARION 14

WASH     MAR

First downs                 9              8
Rushes-yards            29-231      41-64
Passing yards             35            160
Comp-Att-Int           3-8-0        9-15-0
Fumbles-lost              0-0           2-0
Punts-avg                2-37.5       6-29.3
Penalties-yards          4-20          4-20

Washington 7 14 14 7 - 42
Marion        0 14   0 0 - 14

W - Carl Sivels 42 run (Mason Quigley kick)
W – Alex Coker 47 run (Quigley kick)
M - Quinn Cannoy 34 pass from Trevor Hardman (Ben Kroemer kick)
W – Coker 90 kick-off return (Quigley kick)
M - Cannoy 39 pass from Hardman (Kroemer kick)
W – Coker 4 run (Quigley kick)
W - Coker 55 punt return (Quigley kick)
W – Tanner Knupp 3 run (Quigley kick)

Individual statistics

Rushing
W- Coker 14-99, Daryn Sebelius 9-55, Sivels 3-71.
M- Colton Mowry 18-64.

Passing
W- Sebelius 3-8-0-35
M- Hardman 9-15-0-160.

Receiving
W- Knupp 2-24.
M- Cannoy 5-107, Logan Fuller 3-48, Austin Brown 1-5.