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[Rocketcorner News]

By Eric Lessig

When sophomore running back Jacy Goettemoeller took an option pitch and cut through the defense for a 76-yard touchdown run to give Marion Local a 28-7 lead in the early stages of the fourth quarter, it appeared that the Flyers were well on their way to punching their ticket to the state semifinals.

St. Henry, however, had other ideas.

The Redskins scored two touchdowns later in the fourth quarter and began a desperation drive at their own 16 with 1:17 remaining and no timeouts, but the comeback attempt fell short at the Marion Local 18 and the Flyers survived to defeat St. Henry 28-21 in a Region 24 battle of MAC rivals at Wapakoneta's Harmon Field.

The opportunity for St. Henry to tie the game came after forcing Marion Local to punt near midfield with under two minutes remaining. Kyle Stahl completed short passes to Jeff Paul and Jordan Bender to pick up a first down at the 29-yard line and on first down, he connected with a wide open Matt Osterholt, who raced 53 yards down to the Flyers' 18-yard line. Four consecutive passes into the end zone fell incomplete, with the final two attempts broken up by Goettemoeller.

St. Henry drew first blood after Dylan Rammel recovered a Goettemoeller fumble on the Flyers' first play from scrimmage at the Marion Local 17. The Redskins used four plays to find the end zone, with Adam Reichert covering the final three yards on an option pitch to the left side to give St. Henry a 7-0 lead with 6:22 remaining in the opening frame.

Marion Local responded in fine fashion, putting together an 11-play, 78-yard drive that culminated in a 1-yard run by fullback Alaric Keller to tie the game at 7-all with 2:04 remaining in the first quarter. The key play of the drive came when Adam Bertke connected with Austin Albers for a 36-yard gain down to the St. Henry 12.

The Flyers took the lead early in the second quarter. Bertke connected with Goettemoeller twice on the drive for gains of 33 and 29 yards to move the ball into Redskins' territory. Penalties for holding and illegal use of hands slowed the drive temporarily, but they overcame the setback after Bertke picked up first downs on an option keep to the right and a swing pass to Hunter Wilker, and then finished off the drive with a 7-yard run to make the score 14-7 with 8:43 remaining until halftime.

The score stayed that way until the opening drive of the second half. Goettemoeller returned the second half kickoff 60 yards down to the St. Henry 33 and then finished off the drive five plays later to increase the Marion Local lead to 21-7 with 10:00 still showing on the third quarter clock.

After Goettemoeller's long touchdown run gave Marion Local a three score lead, St. Henry was forced to go to the air to get back in the game. A 20-yard pass to Tyler Schwieterman with 9:06 remaining cut the lead to 28-14 and a 10-yard pass to Jeff Paul made the score 28-21 with 2:24 left, setting up the final finish.

St. Henry's signal caller Stahl was 21 of 37 passing for 316 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. Jacy Goettemoeller led Marion Local with 20 carries for 167 yards and two scores.

With the loss, St. Henry sees its season come to an end with a 9-4 record. Marion Local, now 11-2, advances to next week's state semifinal against McComb, who won the Region 22 championship with a 28-21 defeat of Delphos St. John's. The site will be determined by the OHSAA on Sunday afternoon.

Score by Quarters
ML -- 7 7 7 7 - 28
SH-- 7 0 0 14 - 21

SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
SH - Reichert 3-yard run (Alex Post kick), 6:22
ML - Keller 1-yard run (Kramer kick), 2:04

Second Quarter
ML - Bertke 7-yard run (Kramer kick), 8:43

Third Quarter
ML - Goettemoeller 5-yard run (Kramer kick), 10:00

Fourth Quarter
ML- Goettemoeller 76-yard run (Kramer kick), 10:34
SH - Stahl 20-yard pass to Schwieterman (Alex Post kick), 9:06
SH - Stahl 10-yard pass to Paul (Alex Post kick), 2:24