Marion Center Pulls Away In Fourth Quarter, Defeats Purchase Line 34-6
Tagged under: District 6, Gameday Hub, News, pfn
Isaac Markle | October 17, 2026
Purchase Line warms up prior to matchup against Marion Center on Oct. 16, 2026 (above)
On a mudded-up Friday night, the Marion Center Stingers paid a visit to the Purchase Line Red Dragons. Through three quarters, it looked to be a tight defensive match, but the Stingers were finally able to put points on the board in the final quarter, heading home with their sixth win of the season in the books, 34-6.
Purchase Line started with the ball, and despite their efforts driving them into Marion Center territory, they were stifled on a fourth down inside the red zone. The defense, though, was able to make a statement with a stop of their own.
This became the story of the first half, as the offenses failed to score until Purchase Line sophomore quarterback Nolan Engle found the end zone in the second quarter, sneaking the ball in from two yards out to make it 6-0, though his attempt to run it back on the two-point conversion fell short.
The Dragons carried their six-point lead into the locker room at halftime, feeling confident about their efforts following their recent defensive letdowns that led to games against Homer-Center and River Valley escaping them. However, the Stingers were looking to flip the script, and they came to life early on as a blocked punt from Purchase Line kicker Matt Johnston allowed quarterback Troy Slovinsky to run in the team’s first score of the night to make it a tie game.
Although they were pinned deep by another Johnston punt later on in the quarter, Marion Center put together their most efficient drive of the night, finishing it off with a go-ahead touchdown run by senior running back Trent Slovinsky, making it 13-6 with 11 minutes left.
Another turnover, this time an interception by Trent Slovinsky, allowed Troy Slovinsky to run in his second of the half, making it 20-7.
A third turnover by the Dragons inside of the final seven minutes allowed Trent Slovinsky to run it in once again, as the Slovinsky brothers continued to lay down the law on a disgruntled Purchase Line team, making it 27-6.
The 5-2 Stingers, with mud all over their jerseys, punctuated a stellar final-quarter performance with one last touchdown, and they were able to ride out of Commodore with another dominant victory under their belt. Meanwhile, Purchase Line took a third straight loss following a 3-2 start, still having yet to claim a victory in October. Next week, they will host Portage on what will be their Senior Night and final home game of the regular season, and Marion Center will visit River Valley in what may be one of their toughest challenges this month.
