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CANTON - Marion Local wasted no time on Saturday in pursuit of a state-record 12th state football title.
Three touchdowns in the first quarter gave the Flyers a commanding lead on the way to a 42-7 win over Newark Catholic in the Division VII football state championship game at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton on Saturday.
Marion Local's Jake Topp (56) provides blocking as quarterback Peyton Otte (4) passes the ball during Saturday's Division VII state title game.
"You look up in the crowd, there was a bunch of small elementary kids here, they were hyped out of their minds to see us win," quarterback Peyton Otte said. "One of them came up to me and said, "I want to be a quarterback someday.' I was like, 'Yeah, go for it, man!' That's what it's about."
With the win, Marion completes its first 16-0 season in the first year of expanded playoffs.
Marion scored its first touchdown after a deep punt by Aidan Eifert pinned the Green Wave back and the Flyers defense forced a three-and-out. Otte recovered the ball after muffing the punt, then overcame two first-down sacks with a 33-yard pass to Brady Ronnebaum and a 25-yard pass to Dylan Fleck before Darren Meier punched it in from a yard out.
Marion Local's Brady Ronnebaum leaps to make a catch.
After Newark Catholic got backed up on a short kick return, the Flyers defense pushed the Green Wave back 12 yards and forced a short punt from the end zone, setting up the offense at the Newark 27. Otte took a second-down sack from the 13 that threatened to derail the drive, but on fourth down, Ronnebaum cut inside from the right as his defender broke to the pylon and Otte found him alone in the end zone for a 19-yard touchdown to make it 14-0.
"It was the quickest defense we went against, I would say the whole year," said Marion Local head coach Tim Goodwin, who has guided the Flyers to all 12 state titles since he arrived in Maria Stein in 1999. "I actually thought we could run the ball better than what we did, and they did a great job on that."
Looking to get back into the game quickly, Newark quarterback Cole Canter threw down the left seam for Tanner Elwell with 54 seconds left in the first quarter and left the ball inside, where Marion's Tate Hess had leverage. Hess nabbed the interception and returned the ball to the Marion 49 to set up another short field.
On the next play, Ronnebaum got past a defender deep down the right side and Otte's pass just cleared the hand of a Green Wave defender, as Ronnebaum waltzed into the end zone with a 51-yard touchdown for a 21-0 Flyers lead.
Marion outgained Newark 130-15 in the first quarter, with Otte passing for 136 yards.
"I've been making those throws in practice, we've been working on it all season, and we put it out on the field today," Otte said. "Credit to Dylan and my receivers, Brady especially, going up and making a play."
"On Sundays, we'd go out, us receivers and the quarterbacks, and we'd go out and do pass routes, work on our stuff," Ronnebaum said. "Kind of showed today."
Marion Local's Carson Griesdorn (8) tackles a Newark Catholic ballcarrier.
Trailing by 21, Newark's offense finally sputtered to life in the second quarter. Elwell took a screen pass 14 yards up the left side to get the Green Wave started, and Canter found Brandon Buchanan on third-and-12 for a 20-yard pass to keep the drive moving. Two plays later, Mason Hackett found running room on a screen to the right side for a 10-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to 14.
Newark forced a punt and got the ball back with a chance to get closer before halftime, but on third down, Canter and Buchanan weren't on the same page and the pass went straight to Aidan Eifert, lurking underneath the route.
"We knew we couldn't give up (points)," linebacker Dylan Fleck said. "Goodwin and all the coaches preached all week how they had a lot of close games and came back. So we just had to keep our foot on the pedal the whole game."
Eifert's pick set up Marion at midfield, and this time the Flyers grinded out a 12-play, four-minute drive before Otte ran through a tackle by Elijah Wallace for a one-yard touchdown run, stretching the lead back to 21 with 28 seconds left in the half.
"That score we had right before the half had to be deflating for Newark Catholic," Goodwin said. "Had to be."
In the third quarter, after the Green Wave punted on fourth-and-five from the Marion 49, Otte broke off a 54-yard run through the middle of the defense to make it 35-7 with 7:30 left in the third.
"Jacob Sherrick was like, hey, when they line up in this formation, they're in the 4-3, they slide, and this is there," Goodwin said. "We caught it, and this guy right here broke it for 50."
A minute later Newark punted again on fourth-and-two from its own 24, and on the Flyers' first play Otte found Dylan Fleck running two steps past his defender down the right seam for a 39-yard touchdown to start the running clock.
Marion Local players celebrate after defeating Newark Catholic 42-7 to win the Division VII state football championship at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton. the title is the state-record 12th for the Flyers.
Canter, who had thrown for 2,190 yards and 21 touchdowns coming in, was held to 103 yards with two interceptions.
"That (passing game) was a huge concern," Goodwin said. "My stomach still doesn't feel right, just because I've been worried about it. This year in the MAC, we had more of the athletic, mobile quarterback than the 6-3, 6-4 big-armed kids that sometimes our league is full of, but not this year. Suddenly Newark Catholic's quarterback could make throws we hadn't seen all year. So, big concern."
Otte finished with 252 yards and three touchdowns through the air, with Ronnebaum racking up 124 receiving yards. On the defensive end, the Flyers held Newark to 148 total yards.
The championship marks the fourth in six years for Marion, which had another undefeated season cut short last year in an upset loss to New Bremen in the regional final.
"We didn't miss a beat after we lost," Otte said. "We wanted to get back in the weight room and go to work."
Division VII Ohio state football champions. Marion Local football players celebrate Saturday in Canton, the record-breaking 12th state title in the program's history. Coldwater's chances for an eighth state championship fell short in a 26-14 loss to Carey in the Division VI state final.
Congratulations Marion Local Flyers: 2021 Division VII State Football Champion
| # | Name | Pos. | Gr. | Ht. | Wt. |
| 2 | Aidan Eifert | TE/OLB | 11 | 5-10 | 180 |
| 3 | Carter Jones | WR/S | 10 | 5-8 | 155 |
| 4 | Peyton Otte | QB/CB | 12 | 6-0 | 185 |
| 5 | Nathan Buschur | WR/CB | 11 | 5-11 | 165 |
| 6 | Ryan Homan | QB/S | 9 | 5-10 | 145 |
| 7 | Justin Knouff | QB/S | 9 | 5-9 | 140 |
| 8 | Carson Griesdorn | WR/CB | 12 | 5-11 | 165 |
| 9 | Riley Bruns | WR/CB | 12 | 5-10 | 185 |
| 10 | Tate Hess | QB/CB | 11 | 6-2 | 160 |
| 11 | Brady Ronnebaum | WR/CB | 12 | 5-11 | 160 |
| 12 | Owen Moeller | WR/S | 11 | 5-10 | 155 |
| 13 | Owen Rindler | WR/S | 11 | 5-10 | 165 |
| 14 | Landon Arling | RB/OLB | 10 | 5-10 | 150 |
| 15 | Hudson Rose | WR/CB | 12 | 6-3 | 160 |
| 16 | Caleb Huelsman | WR/CB | 9 | 5-4 | 130 |
| 17 | Gabe Link | WR/CB | 12 | 5-11 | 155 |
| 18 | Mitchell Ranly | QB/S | 10 | 5-11 | 150 |
| 19 | Daniel Everman | WR/S | 9 | 5-5 | 120 |
| 20 | Dylan Fleck | RB/ILB | 12 | 6-0 | 190 |
| 21 | Brayden Pavelka | RB/CB | 10 | 5-4 | 120 |
| 22 | Peyton Moeller | RB/OLB | 12 | 5-9 | 165 |
| 23 | Andrew Pohlman | WR/S | 9 | 5-8 | 140 |
| 24 | Darren Meier | RB/ILB | 11 | 5-10 | 185 |
| 25 | Kyle Otte | RB/CB | 10 | 5-8 | 165 |
| 26 | Ben Ranly | WR/S | 10 | 5-7 | 140 |
| 27 | Devin Francis | WR/S | 10 | 5-5 | 125 |
| 28 | Drew Seitz | RB/OLB | 11 | 6-1 | 220 |
| 29 | Ian Rindler | WR/S | 9 | 5-8 | 135 |
| 30 | Nick Ranly | RB/OLB | 11 | 6-2 | 170 |
| 31 | Isaac Muhlenkamp | WR/OLB | 9 | 5-8 | 125 |
| 33 | Conner Bruns | TE/OLB | 11 | 6-2 | 215 |
| 34 | Drew Lause | RB/OLB | 9 | 5-8 | 175 |
| 36 | Simon Partington | RB/ILB | 10 | 5-9 | 180 |
| 43 | Adam Winner | TE/OLB | 9 | 6-0 | 180 |
| 44 | Benton Seitz | RB/OLB | 9 | 6-0 | 165 |
| 45 | Parker Hess | RB/ILB | 9 | 5-8 | 140 |
| 46 | Ethan Heitkamp | RB/ILB | 9 | 5-9 | 170 |
| 50 | Chris Hartings | C/DE | 12 | 6-4 | 240 |
| 51 | Luke Wuebker | G/ILB | 10 | 5-10 | 185 |
| 52 | Alex Knapke | C/OLB | 12 | 6-0 | 205 |
| 53 | Josh Kuether | T/DE | 12 | 6-1 | 210 |
| 55 | Lincoln Stachler | G/DE | 9 | 5-7 | 130 |
| 56 | Jake Topp | T/DE | 11 | 5-11 | 200 |
| 57 | Luke Kunkler | G/DE | 9 | 6-0 | 165 |
| 58 | Wyatt Greenwood | C/DE | 10 | 5-10 | 165 |
| 59 | Kyle Ungruhn | T/DE | 9 | 6-2 | 205 |
| 60 | Bryant Meier | G/ILB | 9 | 5-6 | 140 |
| 61 | Rylan Stucke | G/DE | 9 | 5-9 | 170 |
| 62 | Kevin Partington | G/N | 12 | 6-0 | 185 |
| 63 | Max Speelman | T/DE | 10 | 6-0 | 175 |
| 64 | Luke Budde | C/DE | 10 | 6-1 | 180 |
| 65 | Brandt Homan | G/OLB | 10 | 5-10 | 150 |
| 66 | Garret Voskuhl | G/DE | 9 | 5-9 | 155 |
| 67 | Robby Buschur | T/DE | 12 | 6-5 | 210 |
| 68 | Shane Fleck | G/DE | 11 | 6-0 | 240 |
| 70 | Hayden Poeppelman | T/N | 9 | 5-7 | 190 |
| 71 | Dayne Pohlmann | G/DE | 10 | 6-1 | 205 |
| 72 | Justis Homan | C/N | 11 | 5-11 | 260 |
| 73 | Cory Kuess | G/DE | 11 | 6-0 | 210 |
| 74 | Lance Wendel | G/N | 12 | 5-10 | 220 |
| 75 | Adam Nietfeld | G/N | 9 | 5-10 | 175 |
| 76 | Cole Steinbrunner | T/DE | 11 | 6-0 | 210 |
| 77 | Mason Rose | T/DE | 11 | 5-10 | 240 |
| 78 | Dalton Anthony | G/N | 9 | 5-5 | 215 |
| 79 | Colten Ahrens | T/N | 9 | 5-10 | 215 |
| 80 | Dan Bruns | WR/DE | 11 | 6-1 | 175 |
| 81 | Griffin Bruns | WR/CB | 9 | 5-8 | 135 |
| 82 | Victor Hoelscher | WR/OLB | 9 | 5-9 | 140 |
| 83 | Carson Bills | WR/CB | 9 | 5-8 | 130 |
| 84 | Derek Otte | WR/S | 9 | 5-6 | 120 |
| 85 | Austin Niekamp | TE/DE | 9 | 6-6 | 190 |
| 86 | Aiden Grieshop | WR/CB | 10 | 5-9 | 145 |
| 87 | Wesley Schoen | WR/S | 10 | 5-9 | 145 |
| 89 | Jack Knapke | TE/DE | 10 | 6-8 | 220 |
Head Coach: Tim Goodwin
Assistant Coaches: Dan Koenig, Greg Bruns, Kevin Otte, Jacob Sherrick, Chad Otte, Brian Wolters, Mitch Eversole, Adam Bertke.
Cheerleaders: Natalie Ungruhn, Madeline Keller, Alexis Brunswick, Ella Ranley, Kaylee Knouff, Sydney Hutchinson, Alyssa Zizelman, Hailey Wolters, Emerson Bruns, Ava Werling, Ava Ranly, Jana Pohlman, Zoey Goettemoeller, Emily Schlater, Emma Wilker. Advisor: Tessa Kramer.
Trainer: Angela Shirk
Team Physician: Dr. Jeff Otte
Record:
16-0 (8-0 MAC)
Regular Season
Wapakoneta W, 31-6
McComb W, 10-0
Versailles W, 19-17
St. Henry W, 20-7
Minster W, 56-14
St. John's W, 35-0
Fort Recovery W, 30-0
New Bremen W, 41-33
Coldwater W, 24-21
Anna W, 34-0
Regional
Twin Valley South W, 41-0
Fort Loramie W, 42-6
Riverside W, 34-0
St. Henry W, 27-8
State Semifinal
Hopewell-Loudon W, 34-7
State Final
Newark Catholic W, 42-7
Congratulations Marion Local Flyers: 2021 Division VII State Football Champion
Congratulations Marion Local Flyers: 2021 Division VII State Football Champion
Congratulations Marion Local Flyers: 2021 Division VII State Football Champion
Congratulations Marion Local Flyers: 2021 Division VII State Football Champion
Congratulations Marion Local Flyers: 2021 Division VII State Football Champion
Congratulations Marion Local Flyers: 2021 Division VII State Football Champion
Congratulations Marion Local Flyers: 2021 Division VII State Football Champion
Congratulations Marion Local Flyers: 2021 Division VII State Football Champion
