Tale of two halves

ST. HENRY - After one half of football, Marion Local and St. Henry were deadlocked at 7-apiece.

The second half was much different, though.

The Flyers showed up on both sides of the ball and pulled away for a 28-7 victory at Wally Post Athletic Complex to extend their winning streak to 33 games.

"We just talked about some stuff (at halftime)," said Marion Local coach Tim Goodwin with a laugh. "Defensively, I thought we started playing a little better in the second quarter. The third quarter was much better. That's where our young guys are (as a defensive unit). I was disappointed with our offensive line more than anything at halftime, so we challenged our offensive line."

In the first half, St. Henry had an 8-4 edge on first downs and outgained Marion 157-105 in total offense. The Flyers ended the game with a 16-12 advantage on first downs and a 281-207 margin in total offense.

Matt Rethman had two rushing touchdowns for the Flyers, Nick Tangeman caught a 17-yard TD pass from Nate Bruns and Nolan Habodasz supplied the finishing touches with a 24-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter.

"They came out in the second half, and they executed better as coaches and as players than we did. Simple as that," St. Henry coach Brad Luthman said. "They didn't do anything fancy in the second half. The best player on the field (Nick Tangeman) took over the game and made some great catches."

The Redskins got the ball first and it didn't take them long to get into the end zone. Zach Niekamp shot up the middle untouched for a 53-yard touchdown on the third play. Ethan Thieman's extra point made it 7-0.

After a three-and-out on its opening series, the Marion Local offense gained some traction. Tangeman broke a couple of tackles for a 28-yard run into St. Henry territory. Rethman followed with a 15-yard run. He later capped the seven-play, 82-yard drive with a 23-yard run on a misdirection play. Alex Klosterman's extra point tied the score at 7-all with 3:02 left in the first.

After a scoreless second quarter, Marion Local went three-and-out to start the third. Then St. Henry sputtered with a three-and-out of its own. A 14-yard punt gave Marion the ball 47 yards away from the end zone, and the Flyers covered the distance in eight plays.

Facing a fourth-and-eight from the 33, Tangeman, who hadn't caught a pass to that point, found himself wide open over the middle and Nate Bruns hit him in stride for a 16-yard gain.

"On the front side they ran three verticals and they sent Tangeman on a deep over-cross," Luthman said of the play. "We were in cover-2. They run off the front-side zone coverage and there was nobody left. What we should have done in hindsight is had that guy stick to him and trail him across."

On the very next play, Rethman flashed his speed again as he ran for a 17-yard touchdown. St. Henry went offsides with Marion lined up for the point-after attempt. The Flyer offense came back on the field and Bruns completed a pass to Tangeman for a 15-7 lead.

Tangeman would be back in the end zone again soon.

The Flyers got back the ball after another three-and-out and went 70 yards on 13 plays, taking nearly six minutes off the clock. With the ball at the St. Henry 17-yard line, Tangeman used his 6-foot-4 frame to come down with a pass from Bruns in the end zone.

St. Henry was denied on a fourth-and-short in its own territory in the fourth quarter. One minute later, Habodasz added a 24-yard scoring run.

"Our defense I thought really energized our whole team on that first drive of the second half," Goodwin said. "I think it was fourth-and-10 after three run plays. I think that really energized the team, and we got it rolling after that."

Niekamp rushed for 149 yards in the half but was limited to just 21 in the final two quarters. He carried the ball 29 times for an average of 5.86 yards per carry.

"I think we very clearly have an identity," Luthman said. "That's a well-coached, proud run defense. We just need to complement it. We need to do a better job executing so that teams can't load the box and we can take advantage of what's given to us."

Marion Local (6-0, 4-0 MAC) extended its winning streak to 11 games in the series with St. Henry. The Flyers host Versailles next week.

St. Henry (4-2, 2-2 MAC) will try to keep its playoff push alive when it hosts Minster.