Running to the final four

WAPAKONETA - On Nov. 6, 2020, the New Bremen Cardinals defeated Marion Local 24-17 in a Division VII Regional Final. Since then, the Flyers never tasted defeat, won the next 76 games in a row, and captured a hefty hardware collection of state and local titles and held the claim of the nation's longest winning streak.

Then the 2025 St. Henry football team came along. After a tight regular season encounter saw Marion scrape by 21-14, the Redskins came back with a vengeance Friday night by a score of 24-7 to keep their season alive.

The win sends St. Henry to the Division VII state semifinal against Columbus Grove next Friday at a venue to be announced. The Redskins will look to win their first state title since 2006, which was the last time the Redskins were in the final four of the bracket.

"They were the better team tonight, no doubt about it," Marion coach Tim Goodwin said.

While the win helps the tournament run, a win over this Marion Local team means just a little bit more to St. Henry coach Josh Werling. In a rainstorm he coached his alma mater to one of the biggest wins in the country, and perhaps one of the biggest for the storied program.

"I hope (the community) is proud of how their young men played tonight," said an emotional coach Werling.

"The whole senior class (led), I've been with them the whole way through and this was a big victory for us," Werling said. "You build toward something like this and it's rewarding when you see them play."

Before he could celebrate the win, his team had to do it. It was not a pretty start for St. Henry, as the opening kickoff was ripped away and recovered by Marion's Kale Ahrens.

It gave the Flyers the ball on the 22 yard-line and they used Kamden Eifert to power the ball into the end zone on a toss play. In under a minute, Marion was up 7-0.

After holding onto the ensuing kickoff, the St. Henry offense went to work. It was a heavy dose of quarterback Charlie Werling who proved why he was named the conference's offensive player of the year. Running back Will Speck got into the mix as well, as his 22-yard burst put the Redskins into Marion territory on the second play.

A false start call was overcome later in the drive to eventually set up a first-and-goal from the nine. Werling ran it twice, and found pay dirt from three yards out. The extra point was missed and the Flyers held onto a 7-6 lead with under six minutes left in the opening quarter.

Marion's next possession saw quarterback Brennen Hess deliver a dime to receiver Cale Nagel for 56 yards, but it stalled out as a fourth down run was stuffed, allowing the Flyers to take a 7-6 lead after one.

The rain picked up and so did both defenses. After St. Henry was forced to punt to open the second quarter, Marion responded with a three-and-out. After the Redskins punted again, the Flyers' offense started their drive on their own 40 and looked to capitalize.

After Eifert picked up a first down to get over midfield, Hess' pass was intercepted by Werling who helped his own cause by jumping the route with 4:38 left in the half.

St. Henry got a 15-yard run by Speck to set the offense up at Marion's 45. Werling took the next snap and ran right through a defender for a 45-yard score to put his team ahead 12-7. It created some tension in the Marion bleachers as Werling dashed for his second touchdown of the half. Speck finished the night with 109 yards on 15 carries.

"He's a heck of a runner, I'm very proud of him," coach Werling said. "How do you put it into words? I'm just very proud of him."

Things went from bad to worse for the Flyers on their next drive. Hess was intercepted on second down as his pass toward the sideline was cut off by a diving Redskin defender near midfield. It set up St. Henry's offense with just under two minutes left in the half.

Receiver Jack Huelsman took the first snap for 25 yards to cut the field in half, and Speck followed suit for a 15-yard gain. With under a minute left, Werling found the end zone again to complete a hat trick of scores. It put the Redskins up 18-7 and Marion just ran out the rest of the clock.

The story of the half was told up front. While Werling was certainly doing his part, his offensive line paved the path for him. In a rainstorm that was crucial and was a big reason why St. Henry led by multiple scores. For Marion the turnovers were big mistakes, but there was a lack of a solid running game to open up the pass. After his first run of 13 yards, Eifert had just 22 yards on five carries. His longest run was the opening score, and there was not a lot of room to operate in the teeth of the Redskins' defense.

Marion opened the second half with possession as they looked to get some momentum back. Three plays and a punt later, it was St. Henry football.

Back on offense but on his own 15, Werling gave the offense some room to operate with an eight-yard run. While he was doing that with his feet, his arm came to life two plays later. A great pass was caught by Landon Schwartz, who got a foot down near the Marion bench.

The pass wiped out an earlier holding call, and might have been the throw of the year by Werling. What followed was nine straight runs, with Werling carrying it four times.

St. Henry marched down the field like a team possessed on the line. Speck had a 29-yard gain, Huelsman added nine more yards, and Werling capped it off with a touchdown, because of course he did.

It was his fourth score of the game with this one from three yards out. With the two-point conversion miss, St. Henry led 24-7 with 2:29 left in the third. Time was running out for Marion Local with no offense in sight.

That trend continued on the next Flyers' possession. What could have been a third interception was smartly turned into offensive pass interference. A sack followed as Hess was tripped up trying to evade the rush. That set up third-and-31, and an incompletion set up another punt with the clock at under one minute left in the third.

Marion punter Thomas Winner boomed the punt from his own 23 yard-line to the St. Henry 24, a kick of 53 yards.

Marion thought it might have had some life as the opening snap of the fourth quarter was low by St. Henry. Werling fell on it quickly, but it created a third-and-15. After only throwing a single pass in the third quarter, Werling connected with receiver Beau Uhlenhake for 30 yards and a first down.

It not only gave St. Henry a first down, but allowed the run-heavy offense to take more time off the clock. Four plays and a few minutes later, Nagel picked off a deep pass from Werling to give Marion possession with nearly six minutes left in the game.

The big play by the senior was wasted, however, as a sack ended the Flyer possession after six plays and St. Henry took over again with 4:30 on the clock.

It would be the final Redskins' possession of the game. As the rain continued to pour, so did the run game. Speck got all of the work to pick up a first down, and importantly held onto the football.

That drive ended not on a failed fourth down play, but on the kneel down of Werling. It gave Marion the ball back with a few seconds left, but the Flyers ended the game with a quick kneel down of their own.

"In the offseason we wanted to be able to play in any type of weather," coach Werling said. "This is football weather, this ain't bad weather. You play in what you got."

Werling was the standout for the Redskins with 135 yards on the ground and all four scores. He averaged six yards-per-carry in the effort, and did not have a turnover until the late interception. It was also a big day for the defense, who held Eifert to 47 total yards and forced two interceptions.

"(Defensive) coach Craig Dues had a great game plan, and our kids executed that to a tee," Josh Werling added. "He's been in the program since I was playing. I still call him coach if that tells you the respect I have for him."

While all good things come to an end, winning 76 games in a row is no easy feat. After losing 21 of the 22 starters from last year's State Championship team, the Flyers battled with a formidable foe, but at the end of the night were second best for the first time in five seasons.

"We had some close calls in there and dodged some bullets," Goodwin said postgame. "If there was a bright spot with how it ended, there was no doubt. I'm not going to question one call, we just got handled plain and simple, and that happens."