Peyton's Place

MARIA STEIN - When a team is in need of a boost, sometimes it takes one player to put the team on his back and lead the charge.

Peyton Otte did that in the second half on Friday night.

The Marion Local senior quarterback took control with his running game, scoring the go-ahead touchdown with 2 1/2 minutes to play in regulation and making a big defensive play in a wild final 67 seconds as the Flyers improved to 3-0 with a 19-17 victory over Versailles in Midwest Athletic Conference football play at Booster Stadium.

"I just love coaching at Marion Local," said Tim Goodwin after the victory. "It's nothing that I'm doing. They've seen a lot of success over the years. These guys will not quit. I just love coaching them."

The loss was the first of the season for the Tigers, who came in averaging over 40 points in the first two games of the season.

Otte, who was an All-Ohio receiver last season, rushed for 96 of his 104 yards in the second half, getting up and limping back to the huddle many times as the Flyers rallied.

"I wasn't coming out," said the senior. "I wasn't going to let them take me out."

The Flyers struggled on offense early with Otte throwing two late interceptions and only running the ball five times for eight yards in the first half as Versailles led 17-13 at the break.

The momentum changed immediately in the second half as Otte ran three straight plays for 19 yards. Then after a Dylan Fleck six-yard gain, Otte broke free for a 24-yard run. Marion got to the Tiger 14, but a holding call on a fourth-and-four moved Marion to the 25, where Otte was sacked by Trey Mills to end the possession.

"We really weren't running too many plays," said Otte. "We were hitting holes and starting to finish our blocks, which was nice to see."

Versailles trimmed nearly seven minutes off the clock on its first possession of the second half, but after quarterback Carson Bey had to come off briefly with an apparent injury, the Flyers were able to force a turnover on downs.

Marion moved the ball again on its next possession, getting down to the Tiger 20, but after losing five yards on an false start on fourth-and-two, a Peyton Otte pass to younger brother Kyle went incomplete. Marion's defense stepped up again by forcing a punt that put Marion on its own 29 with 6:22 remaining in regulation.

"Versailles' offense is a load," said Goodwin. "They've got a lot of good players, a good offensive line and a veteran quarterback who can run. We had to fight and scratch. For awhile in the second half it looked like they were wearing us down at times, but we would stiffen up."

After trying a couple passes early, Peyton Otte converted a fourth-and-two with a three-yard run. On the next play, Kyle Otte took the option pitch for a 29-yard run to get to the Versailles 31. Peyton Otte followed with a 21-yard run to get the ball to the 10. After three plays netted nine yards, the call was for the quarterback sweep. The Flyer line provided plenty of blocking to allow Peyton Otte to run in untouched with 2:29 remaining.

"That was the call. You just had to trust the play, let it develop and see how it worked," said Otte. "I'm glad it worked."

The point-after was blocked, meaning Versailles, which had two timeouts, had a chance to set up Chase McEldowney for a field goal.

Bey found some key passing to get the Tigers to the Flyer 33, but on a first-and-10, Bey looked deep and Peyton Otte snagged the ball in the end zone with 1:07, giving the Flyers first-and-10 from the 20. On the first play, though, the Flyers fumbled with Versailles' Lucas Stammen recovering at the 21 with 61 seconds left. After a Bey run for no-gain and a Bey pass to Landon Henry for four yards, Bey tried another pass. This time, Darren Meier picked off the attempt and ran it back to mid-field. Two kneels later, the Flyers were celebrating.

"We weren't at full strength … Guys were cramping up, we had an injury (to lineman Robby Buschur). It just morphed into snapping the ball to our best guy and maybe the best player on the field," said Goodwin, referring to Otte. "We tried to block our butts off for him. We can't do this every week, but this was a big win."

Dylan Fleck punched it in from a yard out with 3:25 remaining in the first quarter for the first score of the game. The Flyers drew the Tigers offside and went for two, but Versailles smothered Fleck to end the possession.

The Tigers worked the ball down to the Flyer 5 on their first possession, and settled for a Chase McEldowney 21-yard field goal seven seconds into the second quarter to get Versailles on the board.

Marion quickly responded. Owen Rindler took the kick-off at the Flyer 20, found some open real estate and chugged 80 yards for the touchdown to make it 13-3 Flyers.

The Flyers stopped the Tigers at the 26-yard line on the next drive, but were hampered by two holding calls on the ensuing drive and punted the ball away. Bey hit Noah McEldowney for a 67-yard pitch-and-catch to get the the Flyer 3, where Bey called his own number for the touchdown.

Marion's next drive was halted quickly as Jacob Carman picked off Peyton Otte and took the ball to the Flyer 17. Two plays later, Titus Gehret punched it in from three yards out to give the Tigers the lead at 17-13.

The Flyers travel west on State Route 119 next Friday to face St. Henry in their annual rivalry game. Versailles returns to Hole Field to take on winless Parkway.