Cavs rally to defeat Flyers

MARIA STEIN - Whether the game takes place late in the season or the first week of conference play, the Coldwater-Marion Local matchup never ceases to draw attention to itself, especially the last decade.

Friday's game at Booster Stadium proved to be another classic, not only with another huge 50/50 payout but also a tremendous comeback by Coldwater.

The Cavaliers spotted the Flyers a 14-0 lead before coming back to win in the final two minutes on Derek Thobe's eight-yard scoring pass to Neal Muhlenkamp in the 17-14 victory in Maria Stein.

"We made enough plays, and unfortunately for (Marion), they made some mistakes and their big boy got hurt (Flyer lineman John Dirksen, who was taken off the field on a stretcher late in the first quarter with a leg injury)," Coldwater coach Chip Otten said. "You know what, you keep playing and you never know."

The Flyers went to their strength in the running game to control the game early. Quarterback Duane Leugers, tailback Nate Moeller and fullback Jack Homan each had big runs to keep the chains moving and the clock rolling. Leugers scored the first of his two touchdowns with 7:11 left in the first quarter on a three-yard run.

Coldwater, in the meantime, struggled against the Marion pressure. Thobe was sacked three times in the first half and was unable to find his receivers early.

After Leugers scored his second touchdown, coming with 10:23 left in the half on a one-yard score, the Flyers looked prime to add to the lead after picking off Thobe deep in Flyer territory. Coldwater, however, held tough and forced a punt.

The punt proved to be a turning point as the Cavaliers drove 65 on 10 plays as Thobe began to find his receivers. Coldwater hit the scoreboard on a 23-yard scoring pass to Louis Barry with 1:48 left in the half.

Marion, which would get the ball to start the second half, tried to drive to run out the clock, but had to punt with 28 seconds left. Thobe ran for 13 yards and a first down and then hit Muhlenkamp for a 21-yard gain to get to the Flyer 26. Muhlenkamp booted a 43-yard field goal with four seconds left to make it 14-10.

"Sometimes when you play a good team, it takes a while to get to speed of what's going on," Otten said.

Defense ruled the third quarter. Marion punted on its first possession, lost the second on a fumble recovered by Coldwater's Patrick Klosterman and saw a nearly seven-minute drive bridging the third and fourth quarters go for naught as the Flyers could not convert on a fourth-and-goal from the Cavalier 10.

"We had first-and-goal from the seven and basically wasted two plays," Flyers coach Tim Goodwin said. "It's Week Three and there's a long way to go."

Unfortunately, Coldwater was unable to take advantage, and Thobe shanked a punt for 11 yards to give the Flyers first-and-10 from the Coldwater 37 with 5:32 remaining. Marion, however, managed just two yards and looked to punt the ball deep in Coldwater territory, but the snap was high. Punter Jared Bergman was able to corral the ball, but the play resulted in Coldwater starting its drive from the Marion 40 with four minutes to play.

"We don't blame anybody. It's a team game," Goodwin said. "That's one play out of 150. We had other opportunities to make plays. I had opportunities to make better calls."

The Cavaliers gained just two yards on the first three plays and were looking at a fourth-and-eight from the 35. Thobe took the snap and looked deep to Muhlenkamp, who snagged the ball at the Flyer seven-yard line. After gaining two yards on the first two plays, Thobe found Muhlenkamp in the far corner of the end zone with 1:20 left. Muhlenkamp completed the score with the PAT to make it 17-14.

"We connected for the first down with the same play we had for the touchdown," Thobe said.

"He had a few mistakes, ... but he hung in there," Otten said of Thobe. "We asked him to play defense the full game. He made the plays."

Marion tried to rally, but on the second play from scrimmage Leugers was picked off by Thobe with 44 seconds left. Two kneel-downs later, the Cavaliers were celebrating their second last-minute win over the Flyers in as many seasons.

"Coldwater deserved to win," Goodwin said. "They just made the big plays and for whatever reason, we didn't."

Thobe finished his game 15-for-29 for 195 yards with the two scores. Muhlenkamp had eight catches for 114 yards.

Leugers rushed for 95 yards on 18 carries. Moeller added 88 yards and Homan finished with 54 yards.

Coldwater finally plays its home opener next Friday as defending Division VII state champ Fort Recovery travels to Cavalier Stadium. Marion makes the short trek east on state route 119 to face Minster.

Correction:

The correct name for the Coldwater quarterback is Dylan Thobe. The error was made in reporting.