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Marion Local's Justin Knouff tries to break a tackle by Fort Recovery linebacker Reece Wendel at Barrenbrugge Athletic Park on Friday.
FORT RECOVERY - Marion Local coach Tim Goodwin picked up his 300th career win as the Flyers extended their winning streak to 39 games on Friday.
Fort Recovery hung tough for 23 minutes, but three touchdowns in three minutes on either side of halftime effectively sealed a 49-0 Midwest Athletic Conference win for Marion at Barrenbrugge Athletic Park.
Before Flyers players, cheerleaders and alumni gathered to celebrate Goodwin's milestone, the team lined up solemnly to watch Fort Recovery staffers fire off the cannon in honor of Marion teacher Todd Ashbaugh, who died this week.
"It was a really hard week for Marion Local, so it's very bittersweet," Goodwin said.
After a pause, he gestured to the current and former players celebrating with him.
"Something like this happens because of guys like this," he said. "Tons and tons of players that worked hard and were great teammates, and obviously I've had great coaches the whole way. I couldn't have done it without them, and the support of the community and support of what we're trying to do. It's a whole team effort."
Marion Local coach Tim Goodwin greets a former Flyer player after the Flyers' 49-0 win at Fort Recovery on Friday night at Barrenbrugge Park. The win was the 300th of Goodwin's career in 25 seasons as head coach in Maria Stein.
Goodwin is the 18th coach in Ohio to reach 300 wins, and just the eighth to do it at a single school. In the MAC, only Versailles' Al Hetrick got to 300, with most of those accumulated before the Tigers joined the conference.
Goodwin's father, Bill Goodwin, had 219 wins over 33 years at Allen East.
"I grew up watching him coach, and he helped me coach," Goodwin said. "Obviously he was the biggest (influence). But I played for great coaches at Findlay who to this day keep track of me and call me, which is so cool. I watched a lot of great coaches in action, like Al Hetrick at Versailles - he had a big influence on my coaching style. And then I cut my teeth at Bluffton, made a lot of dumb mistakes, but I was allowed to. So those guys were great as well."
The cheerleaders had a banner prepared for postgame pictures under the goalposts, and about 50 former players streamed onto the field to celebrate with Goodwin, who get a round of handshakes after all the pictures had been taken.
"In high school sports, part of the equation is, it has to be fun," he said. "If it's not fun, it's not worth it, and that's why you see that revolving door at some places, because it's not fun. So why is it fun? Because of what I just said: the great players, the great coaches, and the parents that aren't questioning what you're doing and just letting you coach, the administration that are supporting you and aren't making knee-jerk reactions because of this and that."
With the win, Marion (7-0, 5-0 MAC) keeps pace with Coldwater atop the MAC. The Flyers and Cavs meet in Week Ten.
Marion Local's Daniel Everman (8) breaks up a pass in front of linebacker Landon Arling and Fort Recovery receiver Gavin Evers at the goal line on fourth down in the second quarter.
Fort Recovery (0-7) drained five minutes on its first drive, but had to punt to Marion after a pair of first downs, and from there the Flyers' offensive line imposed its will. Ethan Heitkamp converted a fourth-and-2 on the wrong side of the 50, going untouched for a 25-yard run, and four plays later, Drew Lause darted through a big hole in the middle for an 18-yard touchdown with 1:44 left in the first.
Carson Bills' extra point slammed off the left upright, which left it shaking and kept the Flyers' lead to six. Troy Homan came back with a 24-yard pass down the seam to Reece Guggenbiller and ran for a first down in Marion territory, but Landon Arling stopped him on a third down scramble to force a punt.
Justin Knouff threw a pass deep down the middle that was tipped into the hands of Guggenbiller, who sprinted down the right sideline before Heitkamp brought him down at the Flyers 10. But the Indians only got five yards, with Homan's fourth down pass knocked down by Daniel Everman, and Marion went back on the march.
Heitkamp had 13- and 11-yard runs, a personal foul on a deep pass gave the Flyers 15 yards, and Parker Hess got involved with a 31-yard rumble down the left side. Two plays later, Knouff found Hess wide open in the right flat, and Hess bowled over a defender at the goal line for an 11-yard touchdown with 4:38 left in the half.
"It was a slow start, Fort did a good job of bleeding the play clock and controlling the ball a little bit that first quarter," Goodwin said. "We just had to be patient and not press too much when we finally got it."
Leading 14-0, Marion's defense forced a punt with just under three minutes remaining in the half, and Knouff led a late surge. He scrambled into the red zone with 1:04 left, and Hess took a pitch right and plowed through a swarm of defenders for a 17-yard touchdown with 47 seconds before the break.
Everman then stepped in front of Guggenbiller for a pick at the Fort Recovery 45 with 30 seconds left, and Knouff took a QB draw up the middle, cut right past Homan, and juked Guggenbiller on the sideline to finish a 45-yard touchdown run for a backbreaking score with five seconds left in the half.
Less than two minutes into the second half, Ethan Heitkamp ran through an arm tackle by Alex Gaerke for a 25-yard touchdown to start the running clock. Knouff dropped a 19-yard pass into Victor Hoelscher's arms later in the third to make it 42-0, and Brayden Pavelka took a sweep wide right for 30 yards to make it 49-0 with six minutes left.
"We always get together after games," Goodwin said of his plans for the night. "It'll be a little bigger than normal."
Heitkamp ran for 91 yards and Knouff had 81 as the Flyers racked up 347 yards on the ground. Marion held the Indians to 112 total yards.
Next Friday, Marion returns home to face Anna. Fort Recovery, still looking for its first win, travels to Rockford to face Parkway.
