St. Henry quarterback Charlie Werling scores on of his four rushing touchdowns during Friday’s historic regional final win over Marion Local. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Sonny Fulks)
As thorough a win as anyone has had over Marion Local in memory, St. Henry snapped the Flyers’ 76-game win streak to claim the Division VII regional crown Friday with a 24-7 win in Wapakoneta.
Wapakoneta, OH – You remember where you were when you saw history. And years from now there’ll be 20,000 who claimed they were in Wapakoneta on November 21, 2025…the night that the St. Henry Redskins snapped the national record 76-game win streak of the Marion Local Flyers (12-1) with a 24-7 win in the OHSAA Division VII regional championship game.
Minster Bank proudly sponsors the best in area sports stories on Press Pros Magazine.com.
Played in a steady rain throughout, all the rain did nothing to dampen the energy, the emotion, and the committed effort of the 12-1 Redskins who ran up 224 rushing yards on Marion Local’s defense who simply had no answer afterwards, except to accept the fact. St. Henry dominated the line of scrimmage from their opening snap of the game.
Publisher Sonny Fulks writes OHSAA and Ohio State sports for Press Pros Magazine.com.
“They beat us,” Marion coach Tim Goodwin said afterwards, in language that left no doubt. “In every facet of the game, and especially up front…on both sides of the ball. We couldn’t run the ball tonight, and we couldn’t stop the run. That was pretty much it.”
St. Henry coach Josh Werling was red-eyed as he tried to find the right context. “It was a team win,” he said, struggling to handle his emotions. “The community was great, the way they showed up for volleyball all fall, and they were here tonight. And I hope they’re proud of how they’re young men played tonight.”
And then there’s always that one outlier…that one individual who made the trip from northeast Ohio on the off-chance that he might see history made, as well as classic MAC football with everything on the line. “I just had a feeling,” he said. “I drove three hours to get here and see this football game. I wanted to say that I was here.”
St. Henry’s running game was unstoppable…Drew Langenkamp here on a first down run in the first half.
It was everything you thought you’d see, for sure, as well as everything you wouldn’t have expected to see from the history-making Marion Local team that on that one time in five years…didn’t have an answer for a team that was bigger, stronger, and more competitive. Usually one of the best tackling teams you’ll ever see in high school football, Marion simply couldn’t get a handle on the St. Henry ground game, to the tune of 238 yards rushing…and 139 by quarterback Charlie Werling, along with four touchdowns.
“It was a team effort,” repeated Werling, post-game. “Our line was terrific tonight, and everyone contributed to this win.”
And yet, it didn’t start out that way. St. Henry fumbled the opening kickoff, lost the ball when Marion’s Kale Ahrens stripped and scooped it up…and moments later Kam Eifert ran it in from the six yard line for a 7-0 Marion lead, and with just 53 seconds gone in the first quarter.
Logan Services, in Dayton, Cincinnati, and Columbus, proudly sponsors the best area sports coverage on Press Pros Magazine.
Crushing? Hardly, as St. Henry took the ensuing kickoff, started from their 27 yard line, and promptly marched 63 yards in nine plays before Werling ran it in nearly untouched from three yards out to answer. The extra point, in slimy, wet conditions was wide, and St. Henry trailed 7-6.
Senior receiver Cale Neagle converted a third-and-nineteen with this pass reception and broken tackle for Marion Local in the first quarter.
And it stayed 7-6 as the two teams traded punts until late in the second quarter, when Werling intercepted Marion quarterback Brennen Hess near midfield…then ran it 55 yards moments later, at 2;27, to put the Redskins ahead 12-7. The two-point conversion attempt was stopped.
And you never see Marion Local turn the ball over twice in the span of a minute before halftime, but they did it on Friday, and this time St. Henry’s Drew Langenkamp picked off a pass that should have been thrown out of bounds by the scrambling Hess. Instead, he threw it to Langenkamp, and seconds later that set up a 12-yard run by Werling for his third touchdown of the first half. Again the PAT attempt was no good, and St. Henry led at the break, 18-7.
People on the Marion Local side were having Vince Lombardi flashbacks, no doubt…the hall-of-fame Green Bay coach who once famously shouted “What the h—‘s going on out here?”, famously caught on tape for posterity by NFL films.
Since 2013, Moeller Trucking sponsors MAC sports on Press Pros Magazine.com.
People on the St. Henry sides couldn’t believe their eyes, or the half of football that they’d waited to see since 2006, when they last won a state title and Charlie Werling was a toddler.
And when Marion took the second half kickoff and promptly went three-and-out, the St. Hanks picked things up another notch. Forced to punt, Marion kicked it away and Werling orchestrated the longest drive of the night, eating up six minutes of clock in eleven plays, culminating with a three-yard run by Werling for his fourth score, and a 24-7 Redskins lead…the final scoring in the game.
Charlie Werling rushed for 138 yards and four touchdowns to help break Marion Local’s national record 76-game win streak.
Try as they might in the final quarter, Marion simply could not figure out the line play of St. Henry, who consistently whipped Marion’s offensive front…even without senior tackle Henry Puthoff, who sat out the game with a sore knee. By the end of the Flyers’ second empty possession, some of the crowd began the trek for the parking lot as the rain, and the St. Henry pressure on Brennen Hess, intensified.
It ended…largely without fanfare, the first time St. Henry had beaten Marion since 2009, and their first regional title since that last state title in 2006. There was the respectful handshake line and Josh Werling and Tim Goodwin met at midfield to address each other in the same manner as they did back on Week 3, when afterwards Goodwin ‘whewed’ at the Flyers win, commenting, “St. Henry’s going to be a load if we have to face them in the playoffs.” He added a bit to that Friday night before joining his team in the locker room.
Technical Roofing proudly sponsors the Midwest Athletic Conference on Press Pros Magazine.com.
“Obviously, we wish them the best going forward. We had a great year. We went through some nail-biters, but our kids never quit. This stinks now, but it really was a great year for this team.
“The win streak was incredible. Obviously we had some close calls in there and we dodged some bullets. 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, or the weather, we just got handled, plain and simple. And that happens.”
Then, and now…four-time state champion coach Tim Boeckman (left) congratulates current coach Josh Werling on winning St. Henry’s first regional title since 2006.
And for those who might not remember, prior to the season when Goodwin talked about the streak going on, he added, “It’s going to end at some point. And all I ask for is that we don’t give it away. I want someone to earn it when they beat us.”
Friday night he got his wish, as did Josh Werling, who could not find the words to describe the pride he had for his team and their own journey.
“That’s a great program over there,” he said, speaking of Marion. “That’s a great tradition there, but I hope people don’t talk about Marion losing, and I hope they talk about St. Henry winning. And that means no malice towards the Marion community because the program’s great. But our kids played incredibly well tonight.
“Our whole senior class led tonight. I’ve been with them in the program the whole way through and this was a big win for us – absolutely huge. You build towards something like this, and the night Charlie had was special, especially against their defensive front. That’s a great defense, but kudos to our offensive line, our tight ends, running backs…this was a collective effort. This was a team win.”
EB Real Estate, Darke County’s sales leader, proudly sponsors the best area sports on Press Pros Magazine.
And even to the the contribution of diminutive sophomore Will Speck, who at 5’9″ and 145 pounds took on five Marion tacklers on a 15-yard gain in the second half before they finally blew the whistle…and Speck was still standing.
It took five…five Marion tacklers to bring down St. Henry’s 5’9″ Will Speck, who contributed to the Redskins’ 238 yards rushing.
“Will’s hard to find back there,” grinned Werling. “He’s a heckuva’ runner, we’re very proud of him, as well, and again…how do you put it into words?”
Well, it is what it was…Werling, Speck, and Drew Langenkamp ran the ball Friday in the best tradition of Marion Local football during four consecutive state titles and 76 consecutive wins. And when good teams can do that they win.
“But we gotta’ keep playing football, short and sweet,” said Charlie Werling. “You know, we talked before the game about how they took that one away from us in the second half early in the year. They took the MAC title from us in Week 3. And tonight they were trying to take another one away from us and we weren’t going to let that happen.
“And when you’re this far in the playoffs it takes all of us. This is not a one-man show…it never is, especially for us. Our offensive line was so tremendous tonight, and with us missing a guy. We had guys stepping up all over the place tonight.”
And of course, they made history…on several fronts.
“Yeah, we did,” smiled Werling. “It’s awesome.”
Into each life a little rain shall fall…Friday’s loss broke the Flyers’ record win streak, but concluded their season with a MAC championship and a 12-1 record.
The ‘Edge’ proudly sponsors the Midwest Athletic Conference on Press Pros Magazine.com.