Marion Local’s Ethan Heitkamp puts his head down to score the game’s first touchdown on the Flyers’ opening drive. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
A brutal defensive slugfest finally broke Marion Local’s way in the fourth quarter…Flyers’ defense, two late scores paves way to 21-7 win over Minster in Region 28 title game.
Wapakoneta, OH – It was drippy, it was windy, cold, and challenging. Just the way Tim Goodwin and the Marion Local Flyers say they like it at this time of year.
Mother Nature provided the drip, the wind, and the cold. The Minster Wildcats added the challenge to Marion’s 62nd consecutive win over four seasons, and their fourth consecutive regional crown Friday night in a 21-7 win, advancing to the state Final Four round next week.
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“Minster’s a great team, and at the stage we’re at we appreciate a great competitor like Minster that can rise up and really fight tooth and nail,” said Goodwin, following the defensive slugfest that wasn’t decided until the fourth quarter.
Such is the drama that Goodwin and company have come to crave in games of such significance. The tougher the better!
“I know they’re disappointed because they lost, but they battled their butts off tonight. But so did our kids.”
Played in a steady drizzle for much of the night, and in gusting winds, the elements made both teams play it close to the vest…on the ground, hammering at each other – a game of wills.
Minster ran 53 plays for 228 yards, 171 of them through the swirling air.
Marion Local ran 50 plays for 319 yards…162 of those yards by running back Ethan Heitkamp, whose career night was capped by a critical pair of touchdowns. The Flyers passed for just 32 yards on eight attempts by quarterback Justin Knouff.
Marion’s defense made this goal line stand, stuffing a run attempt by Minster quarterback Brogan Stephy as time ran out in the first half.
“My hat’s off to them,” said Minster coach Seth Whiting, afterwards. “They’re a great football team and they’re obviously going to go on and win the state championship. But I’m so proud of our kids. They played hard and we’re a really good football team. We had our opportunities.”
Meaning…Minster had the football inside the Marion twenty yard line at the end of the first half, and at the outset of the second half. Both times Marion’s spectacular defense turned them away. It was the difference in the game.
That, and the play of Marion senior running back Ethan Heitkamp, who scored the first touchdown of the game on an 11-play drive with 1:20 remaining the first quarter to give the Flyers a 7-0 lead. As it turned out, that would be the only score until Heitkamp scored again to open the fourth quarter…that time on a much more dynamic, memorable run.
But Minster did have its opportunities, and none more important than that final five minutes before halftime when Brogan Stephey ran, passed, and willed the Wildcats inside the twenty, and had the ball first and goal on the five yard line. But in four plays Marion pushed them back to fourth and goal from the 19, the Wildcats failing to score as time expired.
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“Big stop,” said Goodwin. “You bow your back and you count on your guys to make a play. That was huge because of the situation, obviously.”
And a huge momentum boost for Marion, who went to the locker room with a lead instead of a tie, fully aware that in their first meeting during the regular season they had gone to the locker room with a 21-0 lead. Minster, indeed, was providing the challenge.
Marion’s Victor Hoelscher breaks up a pass attempt to Minster’s Caleb Couse during Friday’s Division VII regional final game in Wapakoneta.
But again, on their first possession of the second half Stephey and Minster creased the twenty yard line, only to be short on fourth down, turning the ball over to Marion, who fought through poor field position for much of the game. Twice in the third quarter they were forced to start drives with a long field in front of them, and twice they were forced to punt and give Minster ideal field position. Unfortunately for the ‘Cats, they could not take advantage.
After a scoreless third that saw the rain slacken and the drama intensify, Marion took over on its own 18 yard line, thanks to the work of Minster punter Charlie Winner, who had had a brilliant game pinning Marion down in the swirling wind and rain. And after missing a first down pass play, broken up by Stephey at midfield, Justin Knouff turned and handed the ball to Ethan Heitkamp on second down.
Minster, who had handled the challenge at the point of attack all night, finally failed against the Marion run game. Heitkamp broke at least three tackles, put his hand to the ground once to maintain balance…then broke through the linebackers and into the secondary, outrunning everyone for 82 yards and a fortifying Flyer touchdown at 11:37 of the final quarter. They led, suddenly, 14-0.
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“We do a drill every week where you hold the ball in one hand while you’re hopping on the other hand,” said Heitkamp, afterwards, fighting to conceal a happy smile. “That drill came into play there. I kept my feet churning and just kept going. Once I got clear I didn’t want to go down then.”
His two scores, 162 yards, and the game’s biggest play were ironic for the fact that for weeks Heitkamp had not played offense at all.
Marion’s Ethan Heitkamp keeps his balance to score on an 82-yard touchdown to start the fourth quarter.
“I had a bit of a knee injury in the Delphos St. John game and it kept lingering,” he admitted. “I think they were hesitant to put me out there.”
As it turned out, he became the most significant player of the most significant game of the year.
“Ethan had played offense for probably ten weeks,” said Goodwin. “He tweaked his knee and just played defense. But there was a point there in the third and fourth quarter where we realized that #46 was the best player on the field, so let’s just get him the ball. At that point it’s not about plays…it’s about play-ers.”
Heitkamp’s huge play notably deflated Minster’s momentum, and moments later, on their following drive, Marion again rang the bell when Parker Hess capped and 8 play drive after a turnover on downs to score and send the Flyers up 21-0.
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Minster averted the shutout, however, when with 58 seconds remaining in the game James Niemeyer scored on a 25-yard pass from Stephey to get the ‘Cats on the board before they boarded the bus for home.
There were those in the parking lot, in the stands, and at the concessions who said that this game, regardless of the outcome, was the Division VII title game. A point on which Tim Goodwin chose not to render an opinion. But Seth Whiting had no hesitation when he was asked.
Minster’s James Niemeyer caught this 25-yard touchdown pass to avert the shutout with a minute left in the game.
“The Division VII state championship got played tonight,” he offered, as much out of pride for his own team as for respect of Marion Local.
“But I’m so proud of our kids and the way they battled. They played hard and we’re a really good football team. We were in the red zone twice and didn’t score, and I have to make better calls and give us a better opportunity down there. Our kids played their butts off.”
The numbers have told the story of Marion Local’s remarkable run of wins for four years now, and never more than this year when Minster’s lone touchdown Friday amounted to just the 43rd point given up by the Flyers all year.
“We have a lot of athletes,” said Goodwin, fighting a smile of his own. “There’d be some years when we play a guy like Stephey and have maybe three guys that could tackle him. This year we have double that, and that’s important.”
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That, and his complimenting respect for Whiting, Stephey, and the Wildcats, despite his reticence to comment on the regional final amounting to the state final in Division VII.
“There’s been teams like Minster win Division VII, I’ll tell you that…and probably worse teams,” Goodwin added. “So yeah, they’re good. They’re a worthy opponent, and at this point of my life…you know what the last three weeks [of the playoffs] are like. This was fun!”
And for the record, Columbus Grove advanced to next week’s state semi-final game by beating #15 seed Delphos St. John Friday, 14-0.
No word about whether it was fun…or not.
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