Marion Local’s Ben Meier fights through tackle attempts for yardage and a key first down to help Marion run out the clock on Friday’s 21-14 win over St. Henry. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
In a tale of two halves, Marion Local extended its remarkable run of consecutive wins with a stubborn second half comeback to top St. Henry and keep the mystique of how long, who, and when…alive.
St. Henry, OH – Tim Goodwin said in July that there would be nights when Marion Local’s youth and inexperience – when the loss of those 18 seniors from last year’s record-setting team – would create some hardships and adversity.
He said, too, that winning streaks can’t go on forever – that inevitably their all-time OHSAA consecutive unbeaten run would someday end.
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And he said…that when it did end he didn’t want to give it away. “I want someone to earn it,” he added.
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At the conclusion of Friday night’s dramatic 21-14 win over St. Henry – consecutive win #67 if you’re counting (and a lot of people are) – Goodwin wore an expression of satisfaction over what can only be termed as an obstinate refusal to lose.
A satisfying win that saw his team repeatedly shoot itself in the foot in the first half, only to conclude the half with a goal line stand that denied a good St. Henry team what could have been a put-away touchdown.
A satisfying win that saw his youthful running backs run hard down the stretch, kill clock, and ice the game.
The goal line stand…Marion’s Brayden Mescher (#5) prepares to meet St. Henry’s Charlie Werling head-on, preventing the Redskins from scoring before halftime.
And the satisfaction of having his defense shut down St. Henry on two possessions in the fourth quarter and strike the dagger blow with a 35-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Brennen Hess to wide receiver Cale Nagel to put the game away.
It was just the way Goodwin, at his developmental best, likes it.
Tough…hard…football!
“St. Henry was what I thought they were,” said Goodwin, afterwards. “Stout, tough, physical…a load, like I said they were back in July. I’m sure they’ll say that they made a lot of mistakes, too, but we just kept shooting ourselves in the foot in the first half. But the kids…that goal line stand before the half was huge. And then we just kept fighting. It might have have been one step forward and two steps back, but that happens when you lose 18 seniors. But I’m excited to get back to practice on Monday. Because we’re going to get better.”
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Shot in the foot…on the second play from scrimmage Hess didn’t see St. Henry’s Jack Huelsman in coverage and threw a screen pass right in his hands. Huelsman returned it 43 yards, untouched, for a touchdown. Fifty seconds into the game St. Henry went ahead 7-0.
There were penalties, and punts, and the obvious momentum swing of Huelsman’s score to overcome. But a minute into the second quarter Marion Local mounted a pretty drive that took 5:08 minutes and scored on a two-yard pound into the middle of the line by junior Ben Meier. Marion tied the game at 7-7.
Marion’s Ben Meier got the Flyers on the board with this second quarter touchdown from two yards out.
But moments later, at 2:43 quarterback Charlie Werling broke through the line, then broke about four tackle attempts in the secondary on his way to 69 yards and a go-ahead score…14-7, St. Henry. The moment, for Marion, screamed of youth and inexperience…in neon!
And moments later…Huelsman picked off a second pass at the Marion 38 yard line, setting up Werling and the offense for the knockout blow before halftime. And in four plays they drove the ball to the one-yard line. But in the next three plays Marion denied Werling from scoring from the tailback position, taking the handoff from substitute quarterback Landon Schwartz. On the final attempt Marion’s Brayden Mescher met Werling head-on in the hole as the clock struck zero. St. Henry had lost valuable momentum, and as it would later turn out…possibly the game, by not scoring.
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Whatever it is that Tim Goodwin says in the halftime locker room should be bottled and sold to football programs everywhere. Because Marion obviously built on that goal line stand when they came out for the second half. St. Henry got the ball first, and began to move downfield in chunks before Werling airmailed a pass intended for Brayden Heath into the open arms of Marion defensive back Max Ranly. Ranly returned the ball to midfield where Hess and the Flyer running game suddenly metomorphosized. And aided by a key third down conversion to Brayden Mescher to move inside the twenty yard line, in seven plays and four minutes Hess hooked up with Mescher again at 0:03 on a five-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 14-14.
St. Henry’s Charlie Werling breaks through tackles in the secondary on his way to a 69-yard touchdown in the second quarter.
The momentum by now had clearly swung to Marion Local, who as the fourth quarter began with St. Henry in possession of the football, forced a three-and-out as matter-of-factly as the best of Flyer defenses seen in 2024. St. Henry punted, Marion returned the ball to near midfield, and the temperature on the respective sidelines began to go in opposite directions.
Marion running back Ben Meier ripped off a tough 15-yard run, only to be negated by a holding call. And with the ball now on the St. Henry 40, Hess hooked up with Cale Nagel on a post route right down the middle of the field. Nagle was so wide open that he had to wait for the football at the five yard line, but gathered it in for a 35-yard scoring strike to give Marion a 21-14 lead at 5:22.
Marion kicked off again, St. Henry could not get past the thirty, and four plays later chose to punt on fourth down. Marion took over on their side of the fifty and began to run the ball with Ben Meier and Kamden Eifert. Meier (72 yards rushing) would not be denied as he picked up yards and a first down. St. Henry called timeout to stop the clock, but once again Meier and the run game would not be denied. And after exhausting their timeouts, St. Henry had no option left but to watch Hess (132 yards passing) take a knee for the final play of the game.
His go-ahead touchdown throw was no less a pivotal moment in the game than the goal line stand. Brennen Hess could hardly contain a smile as he talked about it.
“All game long and the coaches talked about how their safeties bite hard, so we knew we were going to take a shot on that play,” he explained. “We were going to hit ’em deep. We just had to throw it on time, and that’s what we did.”
Key turnover in the second half…this misfire to St. Henry receiver Brayden Heath ended up in the hands of Marion’s Max Ranly (foreground #30), setting up a tying Marion touchdown.
Cale Nagel, who had a drop earlier in the game, was so open that he had to wait on the ball.
“I saw their safety come up and I knew that I just had to get across the field,” said Nagel. “I knew I had to make a play because Coach Goodwin wasn’t happy with the drop I had in the first half. I had to wait for it, but it was right in my hands.”
Despite their youth and inexperience, there was that same air of confidence and expectation afterwards. Brennen Hess, Cale Nagel, Goodwin…they talked as if it was simply a matter of executing.
“I’ve been telling everyone that when you have eighteen new starters some bad things are bound to happen,” added Goodwin. “And you’re playing in a big game against kids who’ve been playing together for three or four years, yeah, bad things are going to happen. But like I said, I’m just excited to get back to work with these guys. I love this team and their attitude. And we’re going to get better.”
Quietly, on the other sideline St. Henry coach Josh Werling paid respect to Marion, the record, the legacy, the expectation, and everything that a record St. Henry crowd showed up to see…and to see if this might be the night when, as Goodwin has predicted, the streak just might come to an end.
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“I’m just so proud of our kids and the community,” he began. “I mean, did you see the size of the crowd and the environment tonight? It was everything you could ask for, except the outcome. We wanted to get over that finish line and bring them something to be proud of. And man, it was a great football game…I’ve just got to find a way to get us over the top.
Community respect…on and off the field. Coaches Josh Werling and Tim Goodwin meet after the game.
“The goal line stand hurt before halftime, and that was such a great stand by their defense. And I’m always going to trust our guys to make that yard. But that was two programs meeting head to head there, and they kept us out. That was a huge play before the half and that can turn the tide pretty quick. And on the pass [for the go-ahead touchdown] our safety came too flat instead of getting more depth on the pattern. But that’s a learning moment. That’s something for us to coach up, and the only thing now is for us to improve. To improve!”
He said it with the same conviction that Tim Goodwin conveyed, anxious to get back to work next week. Anxious to practice. Anxious to get better.
And for those from outside anxious to see if the streak lives on…yes, 67 now, and counting. And the likelihood is that these two teams will meet again. So much more football, and so much to look forward to.
More important than the streak.
Faces in the crowd…when things weren’t going so well for the Flyers in the first half.
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