Saturday, December 3rd, 2016
Flyers hold on for ninth state title
Division VI State Championship Game
By Colin Foster
Photo by Mark Pummell/The Daily Standard
Marion Local seniors hoist the Division VI state championship trophy after beating Cuyahoga Heights 21-17 in the championship game on Friday at Ohio Stadium. The title is the fifth in six years and the ninth in school history.
COLUMBUS - It began to feel a little bit like déjà vu for Marion Local in the second half of Friday's Division VI state championship game.
A year after letting a two-score lead slip away against Kirtland in the title game, the Flyers built up a 21-3 halftime lead on Cuyahoga Heights before the Redskins came charging back in the second half.
This time, though, Marion Local, led by its 20 seniors made enough plays to hold on.
Duane Leugers rushed for 113 yards and two touchdowns, and the Flyers' defense was clutch once again as they staved off the comeback attempt of the Redskins for a 21-17 win to claim their ninth state title in school history in front of an estimated crowd of 6,270 at Ohio Stadium.
"It feels a lot better than last year," Leugers said. "As a senior, there's 20 of us and we wanted to go out with a bang. This is a heckuva of way to end our career and our last game as a player."
Each team scored on their opening drives.
Cuyahoga Heights used a 45-yard pass play from Brett Lowther to Dylan Drummond to set up a 31-yard field goal by Mark Shafer at the 8:59 mark of the first quarter.
A 35-yard pass play from Leugers to Ryan Thobe on the third play of the Flyers' opening drive put them in business at the Redskin 25. A few plays later, Thobe earned another first down with an 11-yard reception. Nate Moeller and Jack Homan had back-to-back carries to take the ball to the 1-yard line, setting up a touchdown pitch to Moeller with 5:40 to go in the first quarter.
The Redskins were in Flyer territory on their next drive but stalled at the 42 as Jon Knapschaefer batted down Lowther's pass attempt on a third-and-six. The punt pinned Marion Local at its own 1.
The Flyers proceeded to go 99 yards on 19 plays while taking 9 minutes and 47 seconds off the clock. During the drive, they converted three third downs and two fourth downs. The longest gains came on runs by Leugers (24 yards) and Homan (17). Facing a fourth-and-goal from the 1, Leugers faked a handoff to Moeller and shot in for a touchdown and a 14-3 lead with 3:44 to play in the half.
"The first two plays on the drive really didn't go that well," Leugers pointed out. "You're just thinking, 'Well, this could get ugly really fast.' Next thing you know, we started to go down the field and we put it in the end zone. It was a big score."
"They were moving the ball very well down the field, and it started to get to the point where we were frustrated because not many teams move the ball down the field as well as they did on us," Lowther admitted. "It started to get a little tiring and we just tried to make a play, but they just kept moving the ball down the field."
Cuyahoga Heights' coach Al Martin took a gamble on his team's next series by keeping his offense on the field while facing a fourth-and-one from their own 34. Running back Lucas D'Orazio was stuffed for a loss by a wall of Blue and Gold defenders - and the Flyers built a 21-3 lead moments later when Leugers ran for a 22-yard touchdown as the clock dipped below two minutes.
The Flyers had a shot at even more separation before halftime after an 18-second three-and-out by the Redskins. They had 67 yards to go with 1:27 on the clock, but Tyler Selig intercepted a Leugers' pass a few plays later.
"At halftime, I really felt good. I thought we were doing what we wanted to do up front on both sides of the ball, controlling the line of scrimmage," Marion Local coach Tim Goodwin said.
Selig's drive-stopping pick was one of few highlights for the Redskins during a half in which they were outgained 209-110. But many more highlights followed for the Redskins.
A costly penalty on a third-and-short led Marion Local to punt for the first time on its opening possession of the second half.
Cuyahoga Heights had the ball at its own 31 after the punt and covered the distance in 13 plays. Lowsher kept the chains moving with a third-down conversion pass to Matt Harris and then followed with a 16-yard completion to Drummond that put the ball inside the red zone.
Later, facing a fourth-and-a-foot from the six, D'Orazio barely reached the marker and with 4:38 left in the third, Lowther snuck in for a two-yard touchdown.
Soon after, Marion Local faced a fourth-and-one from its own 44. Moeller had the first-down yardage on the run, but coughed up the pigskin and Lowther recovered at the 46.
The Redskins, however, did nothing with that possession and pinned the Flyers at their 23 on the ensuing punt. The Flyers went three-and-out on that series, getting stopped on a third-and-short on the first play of the fourth quarter. Then a wall of Cuyahoga Heights players stormed the gates to block the ensuing punt. Immediately after, D'Orazio had a one-yard touchdown run to cut the score to 21-17.
"I was really proud of the guys coming out in the second half when things didn't look good," Martin said. "We talked in the locker room about playing loose, playing hard, playing with some fire in their belly and they did that. That's how they played all year."
Marion Local had three chances to put away the game in the final quarter with drives inside Cuyahoga Heights territory. On the first drive, Leugers was stripped by D'Orazio and the Redskins took back the ball at their own 36.
Two plays later, Matt Rethman intercepted Lowther and returned it 26 yards back to the Marion Local 27. Leugers used his legs from there to put Marion inside the 10. He then floated a pass to the end zone to Tyler Mescher, who had an apparent touchdown grab ripped away by Selig for an interception with 3:25 to play.
Again, though, Cuyahoga Heights was stopped by the Marion defense. Jon Knapschaefer's pressure forced an incompletion on third-and-nine from the 21 and then Dylan Keller's fourth-down sack gave Marion Local a first down in the red zone with 2:32 to play.
But the Flyers failed to pick up the necessary first down, and gave their opponent one last crack with one minute remaining.
Three straight completions by Lowther advanced the ball inside the Marion 40. Lowther was sacked and stripped on the next play, but Cuyahoga Heights recovered at the 47 with 14 seconds remaining on the clock. Lowther lofted two failed Hail Mary attempts before time ran out.
"We had chances to play a little better in the second half, but you've got to give credit to Cuyahoga Heights. They really played well," Goodwin said. "We had way too many turnovers, but we were obviously able to make a couple big plays at the end, the interception, a couple sacks and get pressure are the quarterback.
"Our kids are just gritty," he added. "They're just willing to keep competing, whereas in some places, some things could really snowball. Our kids don't let that happen."
Thobe caught six passes for 95 of Leugers' 114 yards through the air. Homan added 56 yards on the ground for an offense that gained 323 yards.
Sam Huelsman led the defense in tackles with seven. Homan and Knapschaefer both had six tackles and a sack on a day the Flyers allowed just 233 yards (47 yards rushing, 186 passing) on 60 plays.
"It's nice we can rely on our defense," senior lineman Luke Moorman said. "Defense wins championships."
The Flyers handed a previously unbeaten team its first loss for the third straight week. In doing so, they secured a fifth title in six years, moved into a two-way tie with Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller for second on the all-time list at nine - and avoided déjà vu.
"At times, it felt a little bit like last year, but we made that drive at the end, even though we didn't score," Goodwin said. "We were able to settle down and finish. Today helps with getting over last year, but veteran coaches will tell you that sometimes the losses hurt worse than the wins feel good. It is what it is ... but we're state champions."
Photo by Mark Pummell/The Daily Standard
Marion Local's Ryan Thobe, 27, watches as teammate Matt Rethman picks off a pass during Friday's Division VI state football championship game at Ohio Stadium. The Flyers held on to beat Cuyahoga Heights 21-17 for the school's ninth state title and fifth in the last six seasons.
Photo by Mark Pummell/The Daily Standard
Marion Local players react at the end of Friday's Division VI state football championship game at Ohio Stadium. The Flyers defeated Cuyahoga Heights 21-17.
Photo by Mark Pummell/The Daily Standard
Marion Local's Jack Buening, 40, tackles Cuyahoga Heights'Joey Stefannko during Friday's state championship game.
Photo by Mark Pummell/The Daily Standard
Duane Leugers rushed for 113 yards and passed for 114 yards with two touchdowns in Marion Local's 21-17 win over Cuyahoga Heights.
Photo by Mark Pummell/The Daily Standard
Marion Local's Jack Homan looks for yards against Cuyahoga Heights during Friday's Division VI state championship game.
