SPORTS

Blue Racers rally to defeat Attack

Denny McPherson
Reporter

MARION – The Marion Blue Racers dominated the scoreboard in the second half to the tune of 17-4 and defeated the St. Louis Attack 33-29 in indoor football action Saturday night.

The Marion Blue Racers and the St. Louis Attack collided on Saturday, April 18, 2015 at the Marion Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Matthew Hatcher/ The Marion Star.

The victory in the Marion Veterans Memorial Coliseum gives Marion a 2-1 record while St. Louis fell to 2-2.

Jason Noll snapped a 26-26 tie early in the final stanza with a 25-yard field goal for St. Louis, but the rest of the way, it was all Marion.

Les Obie tossed eight yards to Maurice Douse for a touchdown and despite failing on the PAT, the Blue Racers were up 32-29.

A defensive stop on St. Louis' next possession, which in X-League rules awards a point, put Marion up 33-29.

The Racers then ran out the fourth-quarter clock to gain the win. A critical play was a 14-yard pass from Obie to Lynell Suggs on fourth-and-nine with just under a minute remaining. That sealed the decision with the Attack out of timeouts.

The X-League, in which the Blue Racers are competing for the first time this season, features many gimmicks to award bonus points.

Many came into play in the opening half, after which St. Louis led 25-16.

A sprint to the end zone by one player from each team from 30 yards away is held before the official start of the contest and the winner of the race gets two points. On Saturday, that was the Attack.

Marion rebounded on its first possession to grab a 6-2 edge. A 28-yard pass from Obie to Ryan Pahos was good for a touchdown. Marion misfired on a PAT pass.

St. Louis came right back with a three-yard TD run by Daryl Grady to go up 8-6. A PAT kick failed.

Obie fumbled the ball away on Marion's next possession, and the Attack earned a point for a defensive stop to increase its lead to 9-6.

Marion did the same on the Attack's ensuing try with the ball to trail 9-7, which was the sore at the end of one quarter.

Marion then drove to the Attack one-yard line and had a first down but could not score to award St. Louis a point and a 10-7 lead.

The Blue Racers then tied the game at 10. St. Louis intentionally grounded a pass from the end zone for a Marion safety, and the Racers got a point for that "defensive stop."

Another St. Louis hold for a point and an A.J. Burley one-yard TD run put the Attack up again. Noll booted the PAT for an 18-10 advantage.

Marion responded with a 13-yard scoring pass from Obie to Douse, but one once again a PAT pass failed and the hosts were still down at 18-16.

That play came with 18 seconds left in the half. Eleven seconds later, the Attack was in the end zone again on a 20-yard TD hookup from Mike McMullen to Chris Headd. Noll split the uprights and St. Louis carried a 25-16 lead into halftime.

Marion rallied to tie the game at 26 by the end of the third period.

The Racers were awarded a point after a defensive stop to begin the period, and then then were given eight more as Obie threw 28 yards to Pahos for a TD and the extra-point yardage to Douse for a two-point PAT.

The teams then traded defensive points in the later stages of the period.

For more on the game, stay tuned to www.marionstar.com and pick up a copy of Monday's print edition of the Star.

dmcphers@nncogannett.com

740-375-5158

Twitter: @starsportsdenny