Dangerously good

SIDNEY - Marion Local's Nate Bruns chuckled when asked if he woke up Friday feeling dangerous like Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield.

Bruns, Nick Tangeman and the Flyers' air attack was dangerously good in Friday's 40-19 win over Coldwater in the Division VI Region 24 final at Sidney Memorial Stadium/30-0 Field.

Bruns completed 15-of-22 passes for 287 yards and three touchdowns, including two to Tangeman, who finished with nine catches for 169 yards. That duo hooked up for two scores early in the game, and Bruns added a 45-yard TD fling to Peyton Otte to make the score 21-0 with 1:32 left in the first quarter.

"Coach was going with me and Nick the first couple of plays," Bruns said. "We had some big plays that we put in just this week. They were new plays and we took a shot at them. Coach wanted to come out guns a blazing. That's what we did."  

The Flyers will meet Seneca East in the state semifinal at a site that will be announced by the OHSAA Sunday. The Tigers defeated Fairview 26-21 Friday to earn their first trip to the Final Four.

Coldwater (10-3) had handed Marion (12-1) its lone loss of the season in Week 10. The Cavaliers started that game with 20 unanswered points and escaped a 26-20 winner in double overtime. Flyer coach Tim Goodwin liked the start a little better in Round 2.

"(The start) was just a little bit better, like a 41-point difference" Goodwin said with a smirk.

"We came in saying we were going to shoot our guns," Goodwin added. "We've got three really good skill guys on offense. Our plan was to let those guys go out and make plays, and if they make them we're moving on. That's what we did. We were really aggressive and those guys made plays."

The Flyers finished with a 441-244 advantage in total yardage against the Cavs, who cut the score to 27-19 on Ben Wenning's 1-yard TD run with 6:47 left in the final quarter. But a little more than one minute later, Marion's lead margin was back to two scores. Bruns dumped a pass in the flats to Tangeman, who slipped a would-be tackler and ripped off a 41-yard gain. Darrin Hays capped the four-play, 57-yard drive with a 2-yard run at the 5:08 mark of the fourth. Brandon Fleck added a 16-yard touchdown for Marion with 1:59 remaining.

"In literally 30 seconds, we went from feeling 'OK, we've got a shot' to 'it's over,' " Coldwater coach Chip Otten said.

"I guess my fear came up - that their three good skill guys are really, really good," Otten said. "We have a hard time getting pressure. We haven't gotten a lot of pressure all year. Offensively, we didn't get started for a while. We (dug) that hole, but our kids continued to fight and get it to within a touchdown."

The Marion Local defense didn't allow a single yard on Coldwater's opening possession. After a punt, the Flyers covered 65 yards on only three plays. A Cavalier defensive back slipped on an out-and-up rout by Tangeman, who received a BB right in his breadbasket from Nate Bruns and trotted into the end zone untouched for a 38-yard score at the 9:17 mark of the first quarter.

The Cavs had their next series sputter out on downs at the Flyer 35. Bruns and Tangeman began Marion's series with a 21-yard pass play. The duo ended the series with a 19-yard pitch and catch that sent the Flyers ahead 14-0 with just under two minutes remaining in the quarter.

"We found the matchups we liked and we tried our best to exploit them," Tangeman said. "I think it worked out today."

Peyton Otte intercepted Jake Hemmelgarn's first pass of the Cavaliers' next drive. Otte was in the end zone shortly after, as Bruns hit him in stride for a 45-yard scoring pass on the Flyers' first snap.

In the first quarter, Bruns was 7-of-8 passing for 138 yards. His lone incompletion was a drop on a play that could have produced serious yards. He led Marion to the Coldwater red zone again early in the second quarter, but then committed one of few mistakes on the night as Cavalier Paul Buschur intercepted a pass.

Coldwater got its best starting field position late in the half and capitalized. A short punt by the Flyers left the Cavs with the ball 45 yards away from the end zone. The Cavs faced a fourth-and-3 from the 35 when Hemmelgarn completed a pass to Noah Miller to move the sticks. Coldwater's signal caller followed with completions to Jake Wenning and Cole Frilling before hooking up with Ben Wenning on a 7-yard slant in the end zone with 1:09 to spare in the half.

The Flyers extended their lead to 27-6 with 2:51 in the third quarter when Bruns scrambled for a 14-yard touchdown on a third-and-goal.

The Cavs followed with an eight-play, 73-yard drive that ended with a 5-yard pass from Hemmelgarn to Miller in the corner of the end zone. Four minutes later, Ben Wenning's 1-yard score capped a nine-play, 42-yard drive for Coldwater's last score.   

"We did our best to mix it up. They have some really good skill players - they really do," Goodwin said. "(Cole Frilling) is fantastic. A couple of those plays he made were great. Our defense played hard and I thought they played well. Marion Local is usually not happy giving up three touchdowns, but against this Coldwater team on a night like tonight, it's not bad."

Fleck had a game-high 59 rushing yards on nine carries. Bruns rushed for 51 yards on 11 attempts. Matt Rethman added four catches for 52 yards.

Hemmelgarn finished 22-of-36 passing for 144 yards with two touchdowns. Frilling had six catches for 80 yards and Mitch Niekamp rushed for 42 yards on 10 carries.

Goodwin will make his 16th trip to the state semifinals in his 20th year at Marion Local. In 15 previous trips, he won 10 state titles and two state runner-ups.

And with a dangerously good air attack, the defending state champions look dangerous moving forward.

"There's not too much more you can do physically this time of the year," Bruns said. "We've just got to make sure we stay mentally focused, do our job and make sure we're keeping practice good."