After a 4-6 season last year, the Ell Salina Cardinal football team was looking to have a turnaround year. That chance started tonight in their first game of the year against the Marion Warriors, a team who was 2-7 last year.

Marion got off to a quick start as they scored on their first drive of the game on a run from inside the goal line. They would fail on the two-point conversion, which would make the score 6-0. Both team’s defenses would play well back and forth for a while.

Marion would score once again before the end of the half and would go into halftime leading Ell-Saline 12-0. Coming into the second half, Kade Wilson would lead a charge for the Cardinals. They would drive all the way down the field and get in the end zone for the first time on the season on a pass from Wilson to Taegen Bradley with 4:03 left in the third.

However from that point on it was all Marion, where Landon Dye would go on to have a total of 3 touchdowns in the game. Marion would go on to win 26-7 to hand Ell-Saline a loss in their first game of the season.

Marion outgained Ell-Saline 328 yards to 152. Wilson accounted for 124 yards via the air for the Cardinals. Bradley had five catches for 65 yards and a score. Joe Heichel hauled in three catches for 52 yards.