When they met in September …Josh Werling (above, left) and Tim Goodwin (right)…it was all about football. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
The undefeated streak is a thing of the past, and high school football is none the worse for it in Ohio – just the fans and those out there who are never satisfied, or convinced…that good is good enough.
In the photo bunker under the south stands at Ohio Stadium Saturday, more than one who had read our coverage of Friday night’s Marion Local-St. Henry game asked about the game and the outcome.
“Did Marion Local just have a bad night?”
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“Did St. Henry just have a good night?”
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“Was I surprised at the outcome? After all, I had picked Marion Local to win on the Friday Picks page,” someone reminded.
And one, who looked like he would struggle to figure out where shoulder pads are worn, said, “You know the real record is 151 games by De La Salle High School, out in California. Let’s keep it real.”
And then he added: “And they played all comers.”
A friend from Mansfield asked, “Will there be a Monday column?”
George Fleiner knows Press Pros too well, perhaps. And here’s what struck me about the game, the people closest to it, the media, the aftermath, and the second guessers who after the fact of 76 consecutive wins in high school football now question if it was all worth the fuss.
One…the game itself was an average high school football game, and predictable from the point of view that the team with the stronger run game (in this case) won by its ability to control the line of scrimmage and run the ball on a bad weather night. And rain really had nothing to do with it, Marion coach Tim Goodwin later said. “They just beat us, in every facet of the game.”
When they met last Friday night…Josh Werling (above, left) and Tim Goodwin (right)…it was all about football.
Two…did Marion Local have a bad night? Probably no worse than those games against Versailles, Anna, and Coldwater, all one-point wins, when circumstances smiled on Marion the way they smile on every good football team. To Goodwin’s point, St. Henry was just better.
Three…did St. Henry have a good night? Ditto to the previous…success is more often than not the by-product of preparation.
Four…was I surprised? Not so much, actually, and not as surprised as I was in the 2015 state final game when Marion led Kirtland 13-0 and fumbled on the goal line attempting to score the clinching touchdown. Kirtland recovered, drove 98 yards to score, and outscored Marion Local, 22-20, to win. As an old athlete, I’ve played, I’ve won, and I’ve lost. Sometimes there’s not much difference between the two.
Five…was I surprised at the media attention on Saturday, and the second guessing during the 76 consecutive win streak? Not really, except to say I saw coverage and cameras from people who had not seen a MAC football game all season, or in previous seasons, except in Canton. But that’s the way it goes. And I don’t know anything about De La Salle High School’s record, or playing all comers. My instinct tells me that if they did they spent a lot of money on travel and fuel to satisfy the same kind of football rabies that fuel those who say Marion Local should play up a few divisions to prove they’re really that good – the same people who don’t pay a cent of property tax in Maria Stein to pay the bills. They just gripe.
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Let’s get real?
The best thing I saw (or heard) last Friday night was the respect shown for the moment between the two teams, post-game. I saw Marion players walk to the sideline to high-five St. Henry’s injured starting tackle Henry Puthoff, who was forced to miss the game with a knee injury and didn’t walk in the handshake line. And I saw the same congratulatory handshake between coaches Josh Werling and Tim Goodwin that I saw on the 50 yard line back on Week 3. And they meant it.
“That’s such a great program that I hope people don’t talk in terms of Marion losing. I hope they talk about St. Henry winning, and I mean no malice. Because our kids played incredibly well tonight.” – St. Henry coach Josh Werling
I heard football responses from the respective coaches, post-game, in a genuine let’s-get-real moment.
“This stinks now,” said Goodwin. “But it really was a great year for this team. I guess if there’s a bright spot about how it ended it is that there was no doubt tonight. You can’t blame it on a call.”
A bright spot? Who says that following the most disappointing night of your season, in comparison to all the post-game socio-economic or some other bitterness I’ve observed over the years? And it was Goodwin who before the season even began said, “It’s eventually going to end, and when it does I don’t want to give it away. I want someone to earn it.” He got his wish.
For Josh Werling’s part, he said, “That’s such a great program over there that I hope people don’t talk about tonight in terms of Marion Local losing. What I hope they talk about is St. Henry winning, and I mean no malice. Because our kids played incredibly well tonight.”
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There was no mean-spirited banter back and forth on social media between the two communities…only that from the outside. And why should there be? A lot of those people are related – cousins, aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews. A Hoying is a Hoying is a Hoying in MAC country.
One actually wrote, “I’m praying that the Marion community embraces these boys so they understand how awesome they are. No one can know the pressure they have felt every game they played.”
What? Now who says that in urban Ohio where all the Ohio State recruits come from? Where ‘real’ football is written about by the internet ghouls.
I saw colleague, and former four-time St. Henry state champion coach Tim Boeckman embrace and congratulate current coach Josh Werling…not because they broke the Marion streak, but because St. Henry broke its own streak of not playing in the state final four since 2006, their last state title. And here’s what the outsiders cannot appreciate about the MAC. Winning equates to pride, and pride equates to belonging, and belonging equates to contribution to the MAC legend. They all support the conference like no other collection of schools and communities I’ve ever witnessed.
“Obviously we wish them the best going forward,” said Tim Goodwin. “And this was a really great year for our program. We just got handled tonight, and that happens.” He only addressed the winning streak in response to questions, courteously and tactfully.
Family…Four-time state champion coach Tim Boeckman shared the moment with grandson, and St. Henry cornerback, Tate Boeckman.
Werling didn’t mention it at all. He only talked football – his own team.
The added media did its obligatory best. That’s why they come – who plays who next week. But no one could really appreciate the moment for what it was – family, friends, conference, and mutual respect.
No one mentioned De La Salle, from California, and no one cared. Beyond 76 straight in non-California weather, Marion has won 90% of its playoff games, all-time, and has 15 state titles, a record that no one reading this will live to see broken. And they’re hardly done.
As is St. Henry, who hopes to turn a new page of its own this week when they take the next step against Columbus Grove.
Tim Goodwin will be paying attention because he loves football, and the MAC.
The Marion community will be watching because someone’s nephew, or cousin, will undoubtedly be playing.
And no one gives a damn…about 151 games in a row.
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