(Jourdanton) — The Marion Bulldogs are back in the Class 3A Division I area round after defeating Jourdanton for the second time in three years.
The Bulldogs took down the Indians, 28-22, in Jourdanton on Friday night in the bi-district round. The win was the second straight for Marion over Jourdanton in the bi-district round after falling to the Indians in the first round two years ago.
Marion started the scoring in the first quarter when senior quarterback Kade Pape outran the Jourdanton defense for a 96-yard touchdown run. The TD happened one play after Bulldog defensive back Dillon Mora ended an Indian drive with an interception.
The Bulldogs would end the next Jourdanton drive on a turnover on downs, leading to another Pape touchdown run in the second quarter. Pape took the ball past the goal line from 36 yards out to put Marion in front, 14-0, a little over a minute into the quarter. The Indians would score their first touchdown later to cut the lead down to 14-8 at the half.
In the third quarter, Marion would recover a loose ball on the second half kickoff and Pape would score his third touchdown of the night to cap a 31-yard drive. The Bulldog signal caller ran the ball in from three yards out to give the Bulldogs a 21-8 lead.
Just past the midway point in the third, a Jourdanton touchdown pulled the Indians to within 21-16, but Marion would respond on the next play from scrimmage. Following a kickoff out of bounds by Jourdanton, Marion running back Tanner Otis found a crease and sprinted 70 yards to paydirt to put the Bulldogs up, 28-16 with 5:45 left in the quarter.
A Jourdanton touchdown with a little over three minutes left to go in the fourth quarter made the score 28-22. The Bulldogs drove into Indian territory on their next drive, but would be stopped two yards short of a first down on fourth down at the Jourdanton 19-yard line with under a minute left. On the next play, Marion safety Emerson Blevins intercepted a Jourdanton pass and the Bulldogs would kneel out the clock to end the game.
Pape finished with 164 yards rushing on 11 carries and three touchdowns. He also threw for 117 yards. Otis carried the ball 15 times for 186 yards and a score. Marion outgained Jourdanton in total yards, 478-367.
Defensively, linebacker Blake Birdwell led Marion with 10 tackles. Blake’s cousin, Bauer Birdwell, had a sack and two tackles from his defensive line position. Linebacker Hayden Robbins had eight tackles, including one for a loss. And linebacker Ian Nevarez registered five tackles, two for loss, and an interception.
Marion advances to the area round next week, where they will meet Edna. The game will take place next Friday at 7 p.m. in Cuero. We will have the game and all of Marion’s remaining playoff games on KWED and streaming at SeguinToday.com.