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By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – The Marshfield football team has had a number of dramatic finishes this season, but Friday the Tigers took care of things early.
Marshfield scored touchdowns on its first three possessions and rolled to a 31-13 win over Tomah in a WIAA Division 2 Level 1 playoff game at Beell Stadium.
Marshfield (8-1) will host Holmen (7-2) in a Level 2 playoff game next Friday at 7 p.m. at Beell Stadium.
Riley Gebelein rushed for 160 of his 189 yards in the first half and scored twice, and Bo Howard tossed a pair of touchdown passes as the Tigers opened up a 31-0 lead at halftime.
Marshfield took advantage of a fumble on Tomah’s third play and Gebelein finished off a short 33-yard drive with an 18-yard touchdown run to get the ball rolling.
Howard threw 20-yard touchdown passes to Isaac Accola and Tanner Dennis-Brown on the Tigers’ next two possessions, and Marshfield ended the half with a 21-yard field goal by Brad Krueger and a 3-yard TD run by Gebelein.
“It feels real good to get the first win,” Gebelein said. “We knew we could do it, we just had to execute like we did last week. We want to keep it going. I have faith that we can go far. We want to go farther than last year. Last year was disappointing, but I think we can do it this year.”
Marshfield coach Denny Goettl said the offensive line continued its improved play that carried over from last week’s win over Stevens Point.
“As far as making blocks and staying with blocks, we were there all night,” Goettl said. “They played 4-4 all night and showed 5-3 on film, and the kids really came around to it. We prepared for all the defenses and again, they did a real nice job.”
The Tigers held Tomah to just 64 yards in the first half and forced three turnovers – interceptions by Matt Rickman and Brandon Baltus, and the fumble recovery by Nolan Kupfer early in the first quarter.
“Turnovers are crucial,” Gebelein said. “They help turn a game around so fast and help build momentum all the way through.”
Tomah scored twice in the fourth quarter against Marshfield’s reserve defense.
“We got some turnovers real quick and we capitalized,” Goettl said. “The kids did what we were supposed to do. We were focused. We really played well and the kids did what they needed to do.”
Tigers 31, Timberwolves 13
Tomah 0 0 0 13 – 13
Marshfield 13 18 0 0 – 31
First Quarter
M – Riley Gebelein 18 run (kick missed), 9:41.
M – Isaac Accola 20 pass from Bo Howard (Brad Krueger kick), 3:56.
Second Quarter
M – Tanner Dennis-Brown 20 pass from Howard (Caleb Cline pass from Colton Zahradka), 10:07.
M – Krueger 21 field goal, 2:51.
M – Gebelein 3 run (Krueger kick), 0:40.
Fourth Quarter
T – Hunter Hart 33 run (Coty Gular kick), 8:04.
T – Kyle Whaley 5 run (Gular kick), 2:47.
Team Statistics
First downs: Tomah 12; Marshfield 16.
Rushing (att-yards): Tomah 41-162; Marshfield 41-223.
Passing (comp-att-yards-int): Tomah 7-19-83-3; Marshfield 9-15-115-0.
Penalties (No.-yards): Tomah 4-22; Marshfield 6-70.
Fumbles (Total-lost): Tomah 3-1; Marshfield 0-0.
Punting (No.-avg.): Tomah 2-29.0; Marshfield 4-37.0.
Individual Statistics
Rushing: T, Hunter Hart 8-59, Byron Neal 11-38, Kyle Whaley 12-31, Braden Haley 1-19, Kollin Kroener 4-12, Jacob Dubord 2-10, Lucas Stromberg-Windau 2-6, Justin Shie 1-minus 13. M, Riley Gebelein 18-189, Caleb Alexander 6-31, Caleb Cline 2-11, Jeffery Allison 1-6, Jaylan Moore 1-4, Carsten Lovstad 2-2, Luke Mahoney 5-2, Colton Zahradka 2-minus 7, Bo Howard 4-minus 15.
Passing: T, Kroener 7-18-86-3, Christian Wagenson 1-1-minus 3-0. M, Howard 9-14-115-0, Zahradka 0-1-0-0.
Receiving: T, Braden Haley 4-62, Carson Helmke 2-16, Neal 1-8, Kroener 1-minus 3. M, Tanner Dennis-Brown 4-59, Ryan Trierweiler 3-21, Isaac Accola 2-35.
Fumble recoveries (defense): T, none. M, Nolan Kupfer.
Interceptions (defense): T, none. M, Brandon Baltus 2, Matt Rickman.
Punting: T, Shie 2-29.0. M, Craig Zalizniak 4-37.0.
Records: Tomah 3-6; Marshfield 8-1.