1979 Flyer football season was one to remember

When Ken Meyer landed his first head-coaching job prior to the kickoff of the 1978 football season, he fully understood the baggage of expectations within a Marion Local program which had been blessed with exceptional coaching prior to his arrival.

After losing his first three games in his rookie campaign, Meyer refused to let the shadows of former head coaches Jim Judy, Mike McKirnan and Jim Lippincott loom over him, so he went out and guided the Flyers to seven straight wins and the Midwest Athletic Conference title, all while gathering a heaping pile of momentum heading into his second season. With plenty of starters back on both sides of the ball, Meyer realized he had the ingredients in place to enjoy a memorable year in 1979, but things were shaken up when they opened at home with a 14-7 setback to the Versailles Tigers.

"Winning seven straight games to close the season before certainly gave us a remarkable foundation on which to build in 1979, but we also knew we would have our hands full opening with Al Hetrick and the Tigers," Meyer pointed out. "That game was a great teaching moment for our staff and we turned to our senior captains - Jim Fleck, Kevin Drees and Greg Homan - to help us move on. It was a tough loss, but we knew there was still a lot of football to play and we had a lot to accomplish from that point forward."

It was an excruciating week in Flyer camp moving into week two, but they swiftly unleashed their frustrations and thumped Lehman 32-0. The Flyers followed that up with a monumental 7-0 victory in Lima Stadium over Lima Central Catholic, a contest that wasn't decided until junior running back Roy Thobe punched his way into the end zone with less than eight minutes to play in the game.

"Beating LCC was notable because they were a bigger school with a lot of very dynamic talent, especially on offense," said Thobe, who is currently the head coach for the Fairborn Skyhawks. "We ran sweeps on them all night, so toward the end we saw there was an opening to run a sucker-trap. They fell for it and I took off and got tackled at the 10-yard line. We scored a few moments later and ended up picking up a huge win."

With three non-league games in the dust, it was time for the blue and gold to embark on their Midwest Athletic Conference schedule, which even though the league was just seven years old, was a brutal gauntlet. The first order of business was to head into Minster, where the Flyers left little doubt in the battle as they tallied their third shutout in a row with a 24-0 pummeling of the Wildcats. It was on to Miami East the following week for another non-league tilt, and they upended the Vikings by a final of 21-7. In order for Meyer's boys to raise their second straight sole MAC trophy, they realized the path primarily went through Coldwater and St. Henry, the two teams with whom they were tangled in a first-place tie in the conference heading into the second half of the regular season.

"We were on a roll by the time the second half of the year came around, but we knew Coldwater and St. Henry would challenge us," Meyer recalled. "They were both very good teams but we had so much confidence in our defense. They were stellar and it showed in those two games. Losing wasn't an option for our kids and they held that attitude every time they took the field. Stan Wilker was our defensive coordinator and his 5-2 scheme with stunts was a lot of fun and allowed us to gamble a little more on offense."

Up first were the Cavaliers, who invaded Maria Stein in Week 6 only to be sent back home on the losing end of a 20-0 Marion Local defensive gem.

The Flyers returned to Maria Stein in Week 7 when they entertained Class AA Hamilton Township, who surrendered to Marion Local's fifth shutout of the season at 24-0. With three games remaining, the Flyers were 6-1 and seemed destined to top their record from 1978.

Awaiting them however was state-ranked St. Henry, who entered the contest at 7-0 overall. Although fans expected a struggle from beginning to end, it was merely just another day at the office for Meyer's boys as they pounded out 283 yards of offense with Mart Ranly leading the barrage with 133 yards on eight carries as the Flyers prevailed, 27-4. Ironically Thobe, a punter, was responsible for all of St. Henry's points on a pair of safeties when a snap sailed over his head and the other when he intentionally stepped out of the end zone rather than release a punt that would have potentially given the Redskins favorable field position.

"We really clicked offensively and especially defensively against Coldwater and St. Henry," Thobe commented. "There was a lot of hype about both of those games heading in, but our defense rose to the occasion just as they had all season. Winning games like that are a lot of fun and they give us memories to look back on so many years later. We were a very tight community and the success that we had was enjoyed by everyone."

The Flyers shut the season down by bombing Parkway 47-0, before applying the finishing touches in New Bremen with a 29-21 victory in a meeting at which the Flyers held a 29-7 cushion at intermission. Despite the unfavorable start, the Flyers didn't miss a beat as they rattled off nine straight wins and six shutouts to establish themselves as one of the premier defensive units to ever take the field in the Midwest Athletic Conference, allowing an astounding 3.9 points per game. Although they failed to advance to the postseason (only the top team in each region moved on to week 11), it was a campaign which confirmed the Marion Local program as one of the best in the MAC and Meyer as one of the young fresh coaches with a bright future ahead of him.

"I was looking through some of the old computer points standings a couple of years ago and it is a shame they only took the top team out of each region back then," Meyer said. "If the same system were in place that we have today, Marion Local would have eight more playoff appearances, and I know this particular team would have done some damage in the playoffs. They were an outstanding group with a defense whose mentality was that no one was going to score on them. When you have a great combination of kids like we had, who are all on the same page, it sure does make coaching them a lot of fun and makes for some wonderful memories in the process."