Definite dominance

COLDWATER - The hype of the undefeated top teams in Divisions VI and VII with a conference championship on the line brought the crowd. That, and of course the chance to win a big 50-50 jackpot.

But as they have all season, Marion Local brought its offense and defense.

The Flyers scored 21 points in the first half as the defense kept Coldwater at bay as Marion won the outright Midwest Athletic Conference football title with a 35-0 win over the Cavaliers at a jam-packed Cavalier Stadium.

The win broke Marion's tie with the 1996-2000 Delphos St. John's teams with its 58th consecutive win to take over the state record and maintain the nation's longest current win streak.

While happy with the milestone his team accomplished, Marion Local Tim Goodwin is happy that the hullabaloo surrounding the streak can be more contained.

"I'm glad the breaking of (the record) is over," said Goodwin with a chuckle. "We kept (the hoopla surrounding the record) at bay as long as we could. … It's a great accomplishment for the program."

The Cavaliers struggled to move the ball early, gaining just 11 yards on the first drive of the game, forcing a punt at the Cav 28. Owen Kunk's boot put Marion at their own 25, but Justin Knouff hit Griffin Bruns for a 45-yard strike on the first play from scrimmage followed with runs by Drew Lause and Knouff with a short pass to Victor Hoelscher to get to the Coldwater 15, where Knouff found favorite receiver Hoelscher for the 15-yard pitch-and-catch to open the scoring just over five minutes into the game.

Coldwater went three-and-out on second down, with Kunk adding another big punt to set up Marion at their own 29. Knouff hooked up with Hoelscher for a 31-yard pass to get past midfield, then hearty running from Lause, Knouff and Parker Hess set up Lause punching in from two yards out to make it 14-0 with just 55 seconds remaining in the first quarter.  The Flyer defense came up big as Baylen Blockberger fumbled and Bryant Meier recovered to put Marion at the Coldwater 38. The series proved to be the only non-scoring series for Marion in the first half as the Flyers got down to the Coldwater seven, but Carson Bills' 24-yard field goal try was off the mark.

"They have so many good guys," said Coldwater coach Chip Otten. "When they bring it (on defense), you can get a first down on one play, the next they bring it the next play and get you for a three-or-four yard loss. We thought we had some things where we could run up the middle, but they're just so stout. Especially their nose guard 59 (Kyle Ungruhn). On Bay's fumble, we had him double-teamed but he still smashed into (Blockberger)."

Coldwater got the ball at the 20 and were able to get to the Marion 39, but the Flyer defense held tough as Brayden Mescher sacked Blockberger for a 10-yard loss and Coldwater punted away to the Flyer five-yard line. The Flyers moved quickly, thanks in part to a 30-yard pass from Knouff to Hoelscher to get to the Coldwater 30. Marion ran the ball from there with Knouff punching in from seven yards out with 39.3 seconds remaining in the half to make it 21-0 at the break.

Marion got the ball to start the second half and quickly added to the lead with a seven-play drive spanning 74 yards and taking just over 3 1/2 minutes off the clock. Hess punched in the final yard to make the score 28-0.

Coldwater tried moving the ball, breaking into Flyer territory, only to have Flyer defense get a sack on Blockberger and then stop Miles Pottkotter a yard shy of a first down on a fourth-and-one.

"It was good team defense," said Goodwin. "(Coldwater) has some good players and you have to know where 14 (Mason Welsch) is at, he's a good player. I can't pinpoint one thing, it was 11 guys doing their job."

The Flyers had to do a rare punt, just the seventh this season by Lause, on the ensuing drive, but the Flyers turned the ball over on downs on the drive. Marion then lost possession on a third-and-eight play when Mason Welsch picked off Knouff. Coldwater tried to deny the Flyers their seventh shutout of the season - and fifth straight - by getting to the Flyer 24, before another sack of Blockberger and an incomplete pass on fourth-and-11 gave the Flyers the ball at their 25. Marion promptly went 75 yards on 12 plays with Lause getting his second touchdown of the night on a 13-yard run that started the running clock with five minutes remaining.

"A great team win and a great team accomplishment in winning this league," said Goodwin.

Knouff was 9-of-14 passing for 183 yards with a touchdown and interception. Hoelscher had seven of the receptions for 102 yards with Bruns adding the other 81 yards on his two snags. Knouff also rushed for 86 yards.

"This might be the best speed (Marion) has had offensively with (Knouff)," said Otten. "They're good."

Blockberger, who was sacked three times, passed for 183 yards as the Coldwater offense managed just 59 yards rushing and 197 total yards.

The big stat of the night was the winning cut of the 50/50, where someone went home with $22,483.

Now the teams will look to heal up and get ready for the postseason. Both teams are top seeds in their regions and will host Week 11 games and with wins also host in Week 12.

"We have a mature senior class," said Otten. "Hopefully, we can get them back and get them healthy. Hopefully, we'll have two games here. One for sure."

"We have to expand our rotation and get some guys healthy," said Goodwin. "With two physical games in a row (Minster and Coldwater), we've got some banged-up people, but we'll be ready."

MAC Standings:

MAC  Overall
Marion Local  8-0  10-0
Coldwater  7-1  9-1
Minster  6-2  8-2
Anna  5-3  7-3
St. Henry  5-3  6-4
Versailles  3-5  5-5
New Bremen  3-5  5-5
St. John's  2-6  3-7
Fort Recovery  1-7  2-8
Parkway  0-8  1-9

Friday's Scores

Marion Local 35, Coldwater 0

St. Henry 17, Versailles 10

Minster 49, Fort Recovery 7

New Bremen 17, St. John's 7

Anna 46, Parkway 0