Turnovers cost Demon freshmen in seven-point loss to Marion

Two Washington fumbles turned into Marion touchdowns, and that proved costly as the Indians defeated the Demons 30-23 in Friday?s freshman football game at Case Field.

?Turnovers cost us this week,? Washington head coach Jay Zieglowsky said. ?We gave up two scores after turnovers. That really hurt.?

Marion scored on its first possession of the game, and then after the Demons fumbled, the Indians added another touchdown to take a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. Washington quarterback Jack Giardino scored a 19-yard touchdown run to trim Marion?s lead to 14-8 at the half, but the Demons fumbled on their first possession of the third quarter and the Indians punched it in to take a 22-8 lead.

?That really killed us,? Zieglowsky said.

The Demons answered with a touchdown drive, but Marion scored again to take a 30-15 lead. Washington came back with another score ? Giardino?s third rushing touchdown of the game ? to trim the lead to 30-23. The Demons got the ball one last time at their own 5-yard line, but couldn?t make anything happen.

Washington had more total yards than Marion in the contest, out-gaining the Indians 341-318. But turnovers cost the Demons a chance at the victory.

Giardino rushed for 131 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries, and Christian Mejia ran for 53 yards on 15 attempts. Ethan Hansen rushed for 46 yards, and Bryce Rickey ran for 15 yards.

Giardino was 6-for-9 passing for 71 yards. Michael Ellingson, who came in after Giardino rolled his ankle late in the game, was 1-for-2 for 22 yards.

Hansen caught four passes for 77 yards, and Dakota Suchan caught a 24-yard pass.

Giardino and Rickey made 10 tackles apiece to lead the Demon defense, and Hansen added nine tackles. Mejia and Darius Stogner both made six stops, and Mejia also intercepted two passes. Ellingson, Suchan and Tanner Renoux each made four tackles, and Jose Tapia made three stops.

Washington fell to 1-3 on the season, but its last two losses have come by a total of eight points.

?We just keep getting a little better and a little better every week, and that?s the important thing to me,? Zieglowsky said. ?I?m really excited about practice this week because we keep getting better and better. I think the most important thing is these guys are starting to see their capabilities and believe in themselves.?