Nietfeld's three TDs lift Flyers past Wildcats

MINSTER - The Marion Local Flyers brought the state's longest active winning streak to face the Minster Wildcats in the second of three regular season MAC matchups between defending state champions.

The Flyers used a punishing rushing game, timely passing and a suffocating defense to overcome two turnovers and earn a 20-7 victory.

The Flyers rushed the ball 57 times in the game for 286 yards. Aaron Nietfeld did the bulk of the work, toting the ball on 32 occasions for 158 yards and scoring all three touchdowns and the lone successful PAT run as well.

"Every week it is not who is better, it's matchups. That's why we try to be diverse on both offense and defense," explained Flyers' coach Tim Goodwin, who earned his 100th MAC win, joining longtime Coldwater coach John Reed in that accomplishment. "We look at the opponent and see where we feel we have the advantage and we try to exploit that. Aaron's a tough kid. He was out leading rusher two years ago."

"That's a really good football team and they physically just mashed us," added Minster coach Geron Stokes. "I thought our kids fought. Our big-time players didn't make plays, but that is a credit to Marion. We had zero rhythm offensively. We have to get better."

The Flyers took the opening kickoff and drove 68 yards during a drive which took over nine minutes off the clock. However, the Minster defense stiffened when its back was against the end zone, stopping the Flyers on a fourth down run at the 12-yard line.

The Wildcats could not move the ball and Marion Local continued its successful, methodical ways. This time, nine plays yielded the 46 yards the Flyers needed for the only touchdown of the first half, with Nietfeld running the ball in from two yards out. The extra point, however, was wide right.

The Flyers threatened one last time in the half, working their way down to the Minster 18-yard line before fumbling the ball away on a fourth-down run.

Marion Local dominated the first half stats, posting 150 total yards while yielding only 25 yards to the Wildcats. Minster never moved past their own 33-yard line during their three first half drives, yet their deficit was only 6-0 at the intermission.

Early in the third quarter, the Flyers' second fumble of the game gave Minster the ball just short of midfield. A 40-yard pass from Josh Nixon to Bryce Schmiesing brought the Wildcats deep into Marion Local territory and then Nixon found Jacob Dues for an 11-yard touchdown on fourth down. Jason Schultz's extra point gave Minster the momentum and a 7-6 lead.

As good champions do, the Flyers immediately rebounded. Backup quarterback Duane Leugers completed two passes and then broke free for a 40-yard run before Nietfeld finished off the drive with a nine-yard scoring run. Nietfeld also ran for the two-point conversion to restore Marion Local to a 14-7 lead.

"I was obviously very proud of our guys for responding there," added Goodwin. "We had to respond in week one against McComb in similar fashion. That's what our kids do. They're competitors."

The Flyer's drove a stake into Minster's heart on their next possession. Sticking mostly on the ground, Marion Local took six minutes off the clock before Nietfeld scored for the third time from six yards out to create the final 20-6 score. The Wildcat's tried to respond and drove to the Flyer 22-yard line, but Marion Local's defense came up big on a fourth down play to stop the last Minster threat.

The Flyer defense held Minster to just 35 yards rushing and just 114 yards through the air.

"Ryan Thobe played a real nice game as a corner," pointed out Goodwin. "We didn't blitz as much as we do sometimes. Nixon is a veteran quarterback with a strong arm who reads defenses real well. You have to play a little more coverage against a guy like that."

"It's just fun," is how Goodwin summarized the game. "The last two weeks weren't fun. The kids are all into it. I'm just screaming my head off on the sideline. That's what we train for."

The Flyers (4-0) now take on another one-loss team, hosting 3-1 St. Henry next Friday. Minster (2-2) will attempt to return to the win column when they travel to face 3-1 Versailles at Hole Field.