Kam Eifert picks his way through traffic to score the game-winning touchdown in the second overtime…his fourth and final score of the night. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
Anna led at the half, and after the first overtime. But somehow Marion Local…and running back Kam Eifert…had the will to find a way to extend their winning streak to 72, with a heart-stopping 28-27 win in double overtime.
Maria Stein, OH – Nobody really knows how long Marion Local’s winning streak can continue, but twice now in the last three weeks it appeared to be on life support, for sure.
And the latest…was Friday night’s heart-stopping 28-27 win over an energized Anna team, in double-overtime.
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Another game, if you count the fateful twist that led to the 20-19 win over Versailles, that coulda’ gone differently if not for that constant covenant that coach Tim Goodwin proclaims about his football team: “This team never quits.”
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There was no issue, or question, this time with the officials altering the course of the game, although they threw enough laundry Friday night to keep Bill Elking busy all weekend. If you know Bill, he’ll explain.
And once again, there was the issue at times of Anna simply outplaying the Flyers…controlling the line of scrimmage, pouring through the offensive line in pursuit of quarterback Brennen Hess (sacked eight times), and Anna quarterback Logan Ziegenbusch being faster than the Flyer pursuit, constantly escaping the pocket and converting third and long into frustrating first downs.
Frankly put, coach Nick Marino’s Rockets exposed the Marion defense, no doubt from study of that Versailles game – the ability to dink and dunk…five yards at a time, and letting speed in space turn short throws into big gains.
And yet, when Goodwin talked about all the things afterwards that they could have done better Friday, he reprised that same game-winning explanation of how they did it. “You can’t fault the effort,” he said. “This team just never quits.”
And none more than senior tailback Kamden Eifert, who despite the afore-mentioned warts, somehow managed to gain 155 yards and score all four of the Flyer touchdowns Friday.
“It was just a mindset,” said Eifert quietly after the game. “That and my offensive line giving me enough of a hole. I couldn’t do that without them. It’s a team game.”
Catch of the night…Anna’s Zeb Pleiman made this twisting catch in the end zone to give the Rockets a first half lead.
But it took a long time, and more than a few breathless minutes Friday for his team to catch up to the team in green from Shelby County, without question gunning to be the team that broke the consecutive game winning streak.
And after a missed opportunity by Marion Local on its first possession of the game, Anna benefited on an interception of Brennen Hess on their second possession to score on a six-yard pass from Ziegenbusch to Zeb Pleiman, taking a 7-0 lead with :38 seconds left in the first quarter.
Marion immediately answered on the ensuing possession with Hess hooked up with Brayden Mescher for a 50-yard gain inside the Anna red zone, and three plays later Eifert scored the first of his four touchdowns from five yards out, 7-7…just four seconds into the second quarter.
But four minutes later Anna, and Ziegenbusch, again frustrated the Marion defense with a scoring strike from 25 yards out to Pleiman, who this time make a twisting over-the-shoulder catch above defensive back Cale Nagel to take a 14-7 lead.
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Marion Local took the kickoff but turned the ball over on downs on their own side of the 50 yard line, failing to pick up a fourth and two conversion.
Anna took possession, but promptly threw an interception to the Flyers’ Brayden Mescher. And with 1;24 remaining before the half, the anticipation was for a Flyer score off that momentum.
Momentum killer…Cale Nagel’s fumble snuffed out a Marion scoring opportunity to finish the first half.
That wasn’t to be, as Hess hooked up on third down with Nagel on a seam route down the middle…and Nagel fumbled the ball away, ending the half.
Marion would get the opening kickoff for the second half, but again could not move the football…the Anna defense swarming Brennen Hess for Marion’s inability to protect the passer. And when they did protect the passer they got flagged for holding – four times during the game, and at inopportune times that negated a significant gain or first down.
But Marion’s defense was slowly beginning to assert itself. Punts and field position were exchanged, allowing Marion to finally take advantage with 90 seconds remaining in the third quarter when who else but Kamden Eifert scored from five yards out to tie the game at 14-14.
Marion had seized some momentum, except no one told Logan Ziegenbusch, who began to convert on third and ridiculous, not allowing Marion’s defense to get off the field. But they didn’t give up, and on Anna’s first possession of the fourth quarter the Rockets turned the ball over on downs on Marion Local’s 37 yard line.
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Marion Local returned the favor, unable to sustain a drive, again because of pressure on Brennen Hess, and the inability of Marion receivers to shake loose in the Anna secondary.
Anna would convert on a long third down at the 5;14 mark of the fourth quarter, moving the ball to the Marion 33 yard line. But once again the Rockets turned the ball over on the next set of downs, coming up empty on fourth and long.
Anna quarterback Logan Ziegenbusch frustrated Marion’s defense with repeated conversions on third and long.
With two minutes left in regulation, the Marion crowd anticipated, finally, a breakthrough on the game’s final drive. But Hess, again, was hurried or sacked, and when he finally did connect with Cale Nagel for a first down on the Anna 29…it was called back for holding, forcing Marion to run out the clock and settle for overtime.
Anna got the ball first, and promptly scored on an 8-yard pass to Zeb Pleiman, after Ziegenbusch converted another third down and 14. The Rockets led, 21-14.
But Marion would not quit (and where have you heard that before), Eifert promptly scoring from three yards out after four plays to tie the game, again, at 21-21.
They switched ends of the field, and this time Marion was first to go on offense. Hess promptly gave the ball to Eifert, who ran it down to the eight for first and goal. Two plays later he picked his way through traffic and into the end zone to put Marion ahead, 28-21.
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Anna and Ziegnbusch wasted no time, hooking up on their third play from scrimmage for a 14-yard strike to pull within a point, at 28-27. Coach Nick Marino called a time out…and decided to go for the win, then and there, with a two-point conversion. Ziegenbusch tried to force a throw into the end zone to Pleiman, who had to fight for the ball with Marion’s Brayden Mescher. Mescher got a hand on the ball, deflected it out of the back of the end zone, and it was over…Marion had escaped with win #72.
Marion Local’s Aaron Albers finally got a bead on him…sacking Logan Ziegenbusch in the second half.
With all the holding and turnovers on downs, Marion Local still managed 380 yards of total offense, thanks to Kam Eifert and his 155 yards rushing. And Brennen Hess lost 50 yards on the ground from being sacked.
Anna would finish with 272 yards in total, 188 of those yards through the air.
“Take nothing away from Anna,” said a relieved Tim Goodwin. “They were a load, and they played great . They hit some passes in coverage, they kept us off balance, and they’re young. I don’t even want to think about the future with them.”
Kam Eifert, clearly, was the difference in the game.
“He ran hard,” added Goodwin. “And he has a knack for doing some things for us. Thankfully now we’ve found a tailback and we’ve got that moving forward. I thought we should have scored on some early opportunities, but again…I don’t want to take anything from Anna. They had plenty to do with why we didn’t score.”
Simply put…the winning point. Marion kicker Thomas Winner knocks through the point-after kick following their second overtime touchdown.
Anna coach Nick Marino was disappointed, but upbeat over his own team’s tenacity to compete. Obviously, they had come to Maria Stein to win, break the streak, and claim their own place in history.
“I didn’t sleep all week preparing for this game,” he smiled. “We’ve improved every week, and we’ve got to keep improving. I think it showed tonight.
“We emptied it out tonight…put everything out there that we could think of that would be effective against them. A lot of it worked, but we just came up one play short.”
In anticipation, the state and those outside will again marvel at 72 in a row when the read about it on Saturday, little knowing, as Tim Goodwin twice declared…that Marion was fortunate to dodge the bullet, again.
“Take nothing away from Anna,” he assured. “They had plenty to do with it.”
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