Hanging on for win

MINSTER - The Marion Local Flyers and the Minster Wildcats fought an evenly contested defensive game.

Both teams scored on first quarter long runs and then were shut out the rest of the way.

The difference on a rainy, slippery night was that Alex Klosterman was successful on his extra point try for the Flyers, while the Wildcats missed their attempt and later had a field goal try bounce off the right upright as Marion Local held on for the 7-6 victory.

"This is MAC football," analyzed Flyer coach Tim Goodwin. "You face things like this every week and in the end, iron sharpens iron."

"Our kids looked like they were playing for each other, not out of fear of coaching, or of making mistakes," added Minster coach Geron Stokes. "Our kids are trying to fight like crazy to get better, and that is hard for people to do. They were upset tonight, which is good. That wasn't a moral victory for anybody."

Both teams scored in the first quarter, perhaps not coincidentally, when the field conditions were at their best. It only took until Marion Local's second play from scrimmage, when Nolan Habodasz took the handoff, broke through the middle of the Wildcat defense, and charged down the right side of the field for a 74 yard score. Klosterman followed with what would turn out to be the game winning extra point kick, and the Flyers led 7-0.

"I had no idea those were going to be the only points we would have a chance to score," admitted Goodwin. "We didn't even threaten. In a lot of aspects, Minster outplayed us."

Later in the first quarter, the Wildcats responded with a similar play. Jacob Niemeyer faked the handoff, took off through the heart of the Flyer defense, and then angled left for a 72-yard touchdown run. The extra point missed wide right and Marion Local still led 7-6.

Thanks to their defense, Marion Local would start a drive near midfield just before half. A 20 yard pass from Nathan Bruns to Kyle Francis would get the ball to the Minster 34 yard line, but they could advance no further. It would be the deepest Flyers penetration of Wildcat territory for the rest of the game.

The second half was mostly played in Marion Local territory, but the Flyer defense refused to let Minster take the lead. An Alex Schmitmeyer 40 yard run helped Minster's only drive of the third quarter reach within ten yards of the end zone, but Bryan Falk's 27 yard field goal attempt from the right hash mark struck the right upright and returned to the field of play.

"I hate kicking," stated Stokes to the surprise of no one. "But we trust Bryan. He's a great kid who works his butt off."

Marion Local had to punt twice early in the fourth quarter. On the first attempt, the snap flew over the head of punter Brandon Fleck, who chased back another 15 yards, scooped up the ball and punted it back to near the line of scrimmage. The next punt also suffered from a poor snap, which Fleck was able to track down in his own end zone and avoid having his 23 yard punt blocked.

"Fleck was the MVP of the game tonight, if I had to pick one," complimented Goodwin. "He was at least able to get positive yards out of those bad snaps."

After the first punt, Minster drove the ball to the Flyer eight yard line, where the ball was knocked free by Nick and John Tangeman and recovered by Darrin Hays. After the second punt, the Wildcats took over on the Marion Local 36 yard line, but were driven backwards three yards by the victorious Flyer defense. The Minster offense had one last shot in the final two minutes, but Blake Schwieterman sealed the deal with an interception.

With the weather hampering both quarterbacks, both teams turned to their running games. Habodasz led the way for Marion Local, gaining 131 yards in 18 attempts. Minster split the ball between Schmitmeyer (28 carries for 138 yards) and Niemeyer (13 carries for 99 yards).

Marion Local remains undefeated (8-0) and now returns home to face 3-4 Fort Recovery. 5-3 Minster will travel next Friday to take on 2-5 Versailles.