Saturday, September 7th, 2024
Home sweet home
Marion opens home schedule with MAC win over St. Henry
By Dave Stilwell
Photo by Paige Sutter/The Daily Standard
Marion Local's Victor Hoelscher (2) heads towards the end zone as St. Henry's Carson Harrod gives chase during Friday's MAC football game at Booster Stadium. The Flyers won their 51st straight game in beating the Redskins 42-9
MARIA STEIN - After cruising through the second halves of its first two blowout wins this season, Marion Local needed 28 second-half points to pull away from a scrappy St. Henry squad Friday night at Booster Stadium.
Leading just 14-3 at the half, the Flyers scored on their first four possessions of the second half to post a 42-9 victory over the Redskins in the Midwest Athletic Conference opener.
"We were disappointed with some of our play in the first half, especially physically," Marion Local coach Tim Goodwin said. "But it was good to see us put together some stuff that we really emphasized at halftime. We got into a little rhythm on offense, and on defense we did enough to get some stops."
The Flyers, (3-0, 1-0) opened the game with a 16-play, 81-yard scoring drive. But it didn't come easy. Marion converted its first two third downs, then facing a fourth-and-20, quarterback Justin Knouff completed a 23-yard pass to Victor Hoelscher at the St. Henry seven yard line.
Four plays later, facing a fourth-and-goal from the two, Knouff scampered around the right side for a touchdown. Carson Bills added the first of his six PAT kicks on the night for a 7-0 lead with 4:28 left in the opening quarter.
St. Henry (1-2, 0-1) looked to be in trouble when quarterback Jack Huelsman was intercepted on the ensuing possession by Marion's Griffin Bruns, who returned the pick to the Redskin 16 yard line.
However, on the very next play, Knouff's option pitch to Drew Lause went astray and St. Henry recovered.
The two teams then traded punts with the Redskins winning the field position battle, starting their third possession near midfield. Huelsman completed passes in the flat to Carter LaGuire and Landon Schwartz, and Charlie Werling ripped off a 16-yard run that set up a 31-yard field goal by Michael Gonzalez with 5:28 left in the half.
Photo by Paige Sutter/The Daily Standard
St. Henry's Carter LaGuire (8) tries to avoid Marion's Griffin Bruns during Friday's game in Maria Stein.
It didn't take the Flyers long to answer. Hoelscher returned the ensuing kickoff out to his own 47 yard line. After an 18-yard run by Lause, Hoelscher caught a 37-yard touchdown pass from Knouff for a 14-3 advantage with 4:47 left in the half.
After a three-and-out by the 'Skins, Marion Local had a chance for another score just before the half. A Knouff-to-Bruns completion set the Flyers up inside the St. Henry 10, where Lause appeared to score on a seven-yard sweep. But as Lause made it into the endzone, the ball didn't and St. Henry recovered the fumble inside the one yard line, keeping the score close at the break.
"Honestly, this is the first time we've been tested this year, and have been in a physical battle. Now we've got that under our belt," Goodwin said. "St. Henry battled. I want to give them credit. They battled out here for four quarters and played some good football."
The Redskins had the ball to start the second half, but an interception and return by Cale Nagel set up a three-yard touchdown run by Lause 90 seconds into the third quarter.
After converting a fourth down deep in their own territory, Huelsman hooked up with LaGuire for a 59-yard completion. Werling then scored from 12 yards out with 7:17 left in the third. After the PAT kick by Gonzalez was blocked, the Redskins were still within striking distance.
"Our kids came in and played very hard, tonight" St. Henry coach Josh Werling said. "After we got that touchdown there to go 21-9, I thought, 'hey, let's get a stop,' but we just never got that stop."
Photo by Paige Sutter/The Daily Standard
Marion Local's Bryant Meier (42) grabs hold of St. Henry's Brayden Heath during Friday's MAC football game at Booster Stadium in Maria Stein.
Marion responded with a 23-yard touchdown pass to Hoelscher, and a pair of fourth quarter touchdown runs by Ethan Heitkamp.
"Credit to them, they're a great program and we just couldn't find our run game tonight, and that's where we kind of sputtered," coach Werling added. "They have some real great athletes out there and they threw and caught the ball well tonight."
Knouff finished 13-of-20 passing for 216 yards and two touchdowns. Hoelscher was his favorite target with six grabs for 129 yards.
Werling netted 64 yards on 22 carries for the Redskins. Huelsman was 9-of-21 passing for 141 yards, but he was also intercepted four times.
Friday was the start of what will prove to be a grueling MAC schedule for both teams.
"The MAC is good this year. It's one of the best years in a long time with what I'm seeing," Goodwin said. "I think we're back to the time frame where even some of the teams that aren't going to win a lot of games are still big strong and physical and I think we're going to find that out."
The Flyers are back on the road next Friday at Delphos St. John's while the Redskins will play host to Fort Recovery.
