Monday, November 28th, 2022
Flyers reach 16th title game
By Gary R. Rasberry
Photo by Paige Sutter/The Daily Standard
Marion Local's Jake Topp (56) and Mason Rose (77) smother Columbus Grove's Trenton Barraza during Saturday's Division VI state semifinal at Lima's Spartan Stadium.
LIMA - The first 1 1/2 quarters of the Marion Local-Columbus Grove saw a knockdown battle of defense.
But once the Flyers got some offense going, they refused to yield.
The Flyers advanced to the program's 16th state championship football game after shutting out the Bulldogs 27-0 in the Division VI state semifinal on Saturday night at Spartan Stadium in Lima. The shutout is the state-record 11th of the season for the Flyers, who have outscored opponents 410-10 the last 10 games.
The Flyers (15-0) will take on Kirtland (15-0) for the fourth time in a state final on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton. The Hornets defeated Beverly Fort Frye 41-6 in the other state semifinal.
"We have a couple games (of info) on them from years past," said Flyers coach Tim Goodwin. "We've been keeping track on them over the years because we know if we ever end up in the same division, you have to beat Kirtland if you want to get the gold trophies, and here we are."
The teams traded punts on the opening drives and Grove held Marion to four yards on a fourth-and-10 from the Grove 35. Marion forced another punt on the Bulldogs' next possession, but promptly had to punt it back on the first play of the second quarter.
The Bulldogs then sustained their best drive of the half, marching from the Bulldog 25 to the Flyer 32 thanks to tremendous running by Trenton Barraza, but on fourth-and-3, quarterback Brenton Renner got a bad snap and was sacked for a four-yard loss to give Marion the ball at its 36 with 6:51 remaining in the half.
Drew Seitz started the drive with a 23-yard run as Marion converted two more first downs on the drive, one coming on a second-and-16 with Tate Hess hitting Nathan Buschur for a 22-yard strike. The Flyers moved all the way to the Bulldog 12, where Hess connected with Kyle Otte for a 12-yard scoring pass with 2:39 remaining in the half to give the Flyers the lead. The Bulldogs punted on its final drive of the half and got the ball to start the third quarter.
Photo by Paige Sutter/The Daily Standard
Marion Local's Kyle Otte (25) celebrates after catching a touchdown pass from Tate Hess during Saturday's Division VI state football semifinal against Columbus Grove in Lima.
Barraza overcame slipping on the kickoff at the Grove 5 with a 46-yard run that put the Bulldogs in Flyer territory before great pass defense on fourth-and-4 gave Marion the ball, and the Flyers started gaining momentum. Darren Meier, who missed the Allen East game with an injury and had just one rush in the first half, gained 13 yards on his first carry of the second half. Hess added an 18-yard run and the Flyers moved to the Grove 13, where Hess connected with Otte again for a score to make it 13-0.
"First quarter was rough," said Goodwin of Hess' effort. "He bounced back and made some plays. He's a good athlete. I feel good with the ball in his hands."
From there, the Flyers solidified the wall, forcing punts on Grove's next three series and adding big points. Hess went deep to Buschur for his next big pass, connecting for a 71-yard score with 53 seconds remaining in the third quarter to make it 20-0. The coup de grâce came with under four minutes to play as Seitz punched in from three yards to make it 27-0.
"As long as the kids play hard, we've got answers for a lot of stuff," said Goodwin.
Photo by Paige Sutter/The Daily Standard
Marion Local's Nathan Buschur (5), Simon Partington (36) and Ryan Homan (6) tackle Columbus Grove's Trenton Barraza in the Division VI state semifinals at Spartan Stadium in Lima on Saturday.
Grove turned the ball over on downs on its final drive of the game and Parker Hess converted a first down deep in Bulldog territory to allow quarterback Justin Knouff to take three knees and close it out.
Barraza finished with 132 yards on 26 carries, but the Flyer defense held the rest of the Bulldogs to minus-3 yards on eight carries. Renner, Landon Best and Barraza combined to go 5-of-15 passing for 40 yards.
The Flyers tallied 318 yards of offense on the night. Hess had a strong night with 114 yards passing with his three scores on 6-of-10 passing and rushed for 55 yards. Otte led the Flyers with 70 yards on the ground and Seitz added 41 yards.
