Jack Huelsman’s shocking pick-six on the game’s second play staked the Redskins to an early 7-0 lead. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
The Redskins are confident they can reach their ultimate goal despite a heartbreaking loss to Marion Local. They plan to get up after getting down, and keep punching.
St. Henry, OH – Jack Huelsman knew his St. Henry football team needed big plays to win Friday night. How else can you reasonably expect to beat Marion Local?
And no team – inside or outside the Midwest Athletic Conference – can expect to end a 66-game winning streak without throwing the first punch.
“We were ready to go,” Huelsman said.
Veteran columnist Jeff Gilbert writes Ohio State football and basketball and OHSAA sports for Press Pros Magazine.com.
So ready that Huelsman’s gloves were up and looking for an opening on the second play. He spied a receiver on the left side and expected a quick, short pass. Huelsman is a safety, so it’s reasonable for Flyers sophomore quarterback Brennen Hess to not anticipate Huelsman charging across the line of scrimmage.
But Huelsman did. He made himself invisible to Hess and lived a defensive player’s dream by running into the passing lane, snatching the football, and not breaking stride for 43 yards to the end zone before Marion Local could even start the chase.
“Coach always tells us go make plays,” Huelsman said. “I saw a play was there to be made, and I jumped it.”
Fifty seconds into the game, the Redskins had won Round 1, 7-0.
“In an environment like this, this kind of crowd, you gotta make plays early and often,” Huelsman said. “And that got the crowd behind us.”
The fans in red and white stayed behind their team for four quarters. Their hopes were high with a 14-7 halftime lead. Moments in the second half gave them hope that their team would score again. But the Redskins’ fast start, as fun and invigorating as it was, wobbled in the second half.
The team that hasn’t lost since November 6, 2020, didn’t let St. Henry’s surprise punch knock them down. When was the last time the Flyers trailed in the first minute of a game? Do records go back that far?
The Flyers obviously didn’t care. They scored two touchdowns in the second half to win 21-14. When Ben Meier gained the two yards he needed for a first down with 1:12 left, St. Henry had no more punches to throw.
“All credit goes to them,” St. Henry coach Josh Werling said. “They made the crucial plays. We just got to find a way to make those plays to get over that hump. But our team fought their butts off. No moral victories, but we played hard as heck.”
“They made the crucial plays. We just got to find a way to make those plays to get over that hump. But our team fought their butts off. No moral victories, but we played hard as heck.” – St. Henry coach Josh Werling
These two teams might meet again this season. In fact, both of them rather expect a rematch in the Division VII regionals. St. Henry knows it can compete with Marion Local. Now the Redskins must find a way to be at least eight points better than they were at home.
“We’re going to have to focus in on a few details, find a way to make that last play,” Werling said. “We had a chance, and it’s my responsibility to get our team to that finish line. And I’m going to work my butt off to do that.”
The Redskins won’t lack confidence because they were so close this time, closer than they’ve been in years. Early in the second quarter the palpable tension in the air was starting to taste like victory for the red and white faithful.
That’s when senior quarterback Charlie Werling turned into a whirling dervish. He looked to pass, saw no one open, broke an arm tackle at the line of scrimmage, then stirred up the heart of the Flyers’ defense with three more broken tackles, cut to the left sideline and didn’t stop running until he crossed the goal line for a 69-yard touchdown and the lead.
“We’ve been telling him all week, you got those feet, so use them,” Josh Werling said. “I’m extremely proud of the play he made there and multiple plays he made. We put a lot on his shoulders. How many kids play middle linebacker and quarterback?”
The Redskins led 14-7. Life was good. Werling was on his way to 122 rushing yards on 21 carries. Life really felt good in the final minute of the first half until suddenly it didn’t.
Werling completed two passes, then whirled his way to the 8-yard line on a 15-yard run. Then he went seven yards to set up second-and-goal at the one. The Flyers were on the ropes. Then the game turned. No one knew yet how far, but turn it did.
In goal-line situations, Josh Werling makes his quarterback the tailback and inserts sophomore Landon Schwartz, quarterback of the future, to hand off to Charlie Werling. But Marion was ready for it, penetrating the backfield on three straight plays, pushing the Redskins back to the three as the half ended on fourth down.
“Our team is built on running the football and taking pride in that,” Josh Werling said. “At the end of the day, I put the ball in my offensive line in 12’s [Werling] hands. And Marion met the challenge. So credit to them.”
Marion proved in the second half they are still the team to beat in the MAC and Division VII. But the Redskins also proved they are getting their swagger back. The Redskins aren’t – at least not yet – at the level the program was when it won six state titles between 1990 and 2006. But the players know the program’s history, and they are determined have their hand raised as champion again.
“We fought to the end – we know that. But there’s still stuff we left out there, and we know that. We’ll get back in the film room and we’ll do what we got to do for next week and down the road. We know if you want to win the last one, you got to get through a team like that.”
“We know how this program once was, and it’s kind of been looked down upon the past decade or so,” Huelskamp said. “We’re the group that’s trying to turn that back around, get it to bounce in the right way.”
In a league with so many state titles, there is but one goal when a team is confident and difficult to beat. For the Redskins to get there this year or soon, they learned a lot about what is required on Friday night.
Marion Local, no matter how many seniors graduated in May, won’t relinquish the championship belt without a fight. They showed that fight in the second half, churning ground yards with great effort and push, reminding St. Henry they are still king of the MAC.
“We fought to the end – we know that,” Huelsman said. “But there’s still stuff we left out there, and we know that. We’ll get back in the film room and we’ll do what we got to do for next week and down the road. We know if you want to win the last one, you got to get through a team like that.”
And finish what you start.
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