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Marion Local safety Griffin Bruns knocks away a pass intended for Minster's Cole Albers at Memorial Field on Friday.
MINSTER - At first glance, the game between Marion Local and Minster was simple.
Minster scored the opening touchdown, then Marion Local reeled off 42 unanswered points for the 42-7 win in the Midwest Athletic Conference football opener for both teams at Memorial Field in Minster.
However, the game, especially in the first half, was much more complicated.
The Wildcats received the kickoff and drove 65 yards in eight plays, with quarterback Brogan Stephey scrambling 14 yards for the opening score. The Flyers responded in kind, needing just seven plays to cover 79 yards. A 52-yard pass from Justin Knouff to Andrew Pohlman set up the eventual three-yard scoring run by Drew Lause to tie the game at 7.
Marion Local's Andrew Pohlman makes a catch and turns upfield against Minster at Memorial Field on Friday.
Minster (2-1, 0-1 MAC) then ran 23 of the next 24 plays but failed to cross the goal line. A 14-play series reached the Marion 7-yard line, but a three-yard loss on a running play and two incomplete passes ended the threat.
The Flyers went straight for the big play, but Knouff's deep pass was intercepted by James Niemeyer near midfield. The Wildcat offense worked its way to the Flyer 25-yard line, but a fourth-and-20 pass to Kole Richard came up one yard short of the first down.
"Minster's offense is a handful," said Marion coach Tim Goodwin. "We kept playing and made a few adjustments personnel-wise. It's a process."
The Flyer offense also drove into Wildcat territory and faced a fourth down. Unlike Minster, Marion (3-0, 1-0 MAC) converted the opportunity, as Knouff found Victor Hoelscher for a 23-yard score and a 14-7 halftime lead.
The Flyers received the second half kickoff and turned to the power run game to march down the field before scoring on a 10-yard pass from Knouff to Victor Hoelscher. The Marion defense then stuffed the Wildcat offense on the next series, and after a 27-yard punt return by Griffin Bruns, the Flyers scored three plays later on a one-yard Lause run.
Minster's Noah Schwieterman makes a leaping grab in front of Marion Local defensive back Ryan Homan.
Minster clawed back one more time, driving back to the Marion 7. But Kamden Eifert forced a Wildcat fumble which was recovered by Ethan Heitkamp to end yet another Minster drive.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, Knouff struck a dagger into the Wildcats with a beautiful deep throw for an 81-yard score to Hoelscher. Ethan Heitkamp would later break a 74-yard touchdown run for the final 42-7 score.
"Justin's a good kid. He's worked really hard with Adam Bertke and Chad Otte in the offseason," added Goodwin. "And Victor is a good athlete. The nice thing for us is we have Andrew and we have Griffin and we have Daniel. They did some things to Vic and Justin made some right decisions, and our other guys aren't chopped liver."
"I'm really proud of the kids and how they fought," said Minster coach Seth Whiting, "but we just have to continue to correct little mistakes. There were four or five really critical plays that turned the game. It was not a 42-7 type football game. Hopefully we work really hard and get an opportunity to play them again."
Undefeated Marion, which extended its winning streak to 35 games, returns to Booster Stadium in Maria Stein next Friday to take on Delphos St. John's, which suffered its first loss of the season to Versailles 41-0 on Friday night. Minster looks to bounce back as the Wildcats travel to Barrenbrugge Park to take on Fort Recovery.
