This story is sponsored by Victory Apparel
Video highlights at allmarshfield.com
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
OSHKOSH – Anything Mequon Homestead wanted to do in the first half of its WIAA Division 2 Level 4 state semifinal football game against Marshfield, it did, and the Tigers could do nothing to stop it.
Homestead scored touchdowns on all six first-half possessions, including five in the decisive second quarter, and went on to a 49-8 win over Marshfield on Saturday at Titan Stadium.
Homestead (11-1) moves on to the WIAA Division 2 state championship game on Friday at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, where it will take on three-time defending state champ Waunakee (12-0) at 1 p.m. Waunakee knocked off Whitefish Bay 35-28 in overtime on Saturday.
Marshfield’s season ends with a 10-2 record.
During the first half, the Highlanders converted 5 of 8 on third down and on the three they missed, they converted on fourth down; Homestead completed all eight of its pass attempts; and scored four times in the final 6 minutes of the second quarter and Marshfield ran just four offensive plays in that time frame.
“We couldn’t get off the field defensively and they get first downs, we come out and don’t pick up a kick. There were mental breakdowns,” Marshfield coach Denny Goettl said. “We got down, and that’s not like our team to get down and say, ‘Oh, they got 14 points on us, now what?’ It happened and we’ll move on. It stinks for our seniors.”
Homestead converted two fourth-down plays on its opening drive that went 78 yards in 14 plays and chewed up 6:47 on the clock. Shaquille Cole wrapped up the drive with a 4-yard touchdown run to put the Highlanders up 7-0.
Marshfield had an opportunity to retaliate later in the first quarter, but one of many balls bounced the way of Homestead. The Highlanders muffed a punt following Marshfield’s first possession, but the Tigers were unable to corral the ball and Homestead recovered on its own 28. The Highlanders then went 72 yards on 12 plays with Cole running in from the 3-yard line 2:27 into the second quarter making it 14-0.
From there, things got out of hand for the Tigers.
Homestead forced another Marshfield punt, which went just 4 yards, and quarterback Jake Laihinen had a 6-yard touchdown run with 6:02 to go in the half, making it 21-0.
Marshfield failed to field the high kickoff and Homestead recovered at the 16, and scored five plays later on another Laihinen touchdown run.
The Tigers then turned the ball over on the first play of their next two possessions and Homestead scored each time, bringing a 42-0 lead into halftime.
“On that first punt the kid muffed it and our guy bounced right over the top of it,” Goettl said. “If we could do everything over, I’d love to have that turnover because now we have the ball down there with a little momentum. But, they took it to us.”
Homestead ran 43 plays to Marshfield’s 12 in the first half, outgaining the Tigers 295-64. Laihinen completed all seven of his pass attempts for 136 yards in the first half and the Highlanders had 14 first downs to the Tigers’ three.
“They did some things we didn’t see on film,” Marshfield senior defensive back Brandon Baltus said. “We tried our best to stop the run, it just didn’t work. They’re a good team.”
Marshfield got on the scoreboard late in the game when senior quarterback Bo Howard threw a 52-yard touchdown pass to running back Keiron Howlett with 5:06 remaining.
Howlett, a junior, finished with 94 of Marshfield’s 196 yards of offense.
Marshfield, which tied Stevens Point for the Valley Football Association South Division title, reached the state semifinals for the second time in three years under Goettl. The Tigers lose 28 seniors to graduation.
“We had some big wins in the last minute,” Goettl said. “A big pass against Rapids, beat an Oshkosh West team. You always dwell on the last one and what happened here, but you sit back and look and you have to appreciate what the kids did. It always hurts to lose seniors, but you’ve got another crew coming.”
Highlanders 49, Tigers 8
Homestead 7 35 0 7 – 49
Marshfield 0 0 0 8 – 8
First Quarter
H – Shaquille Cole 4 run (Ryan Stendler kick), 5:13.
Second Quarter
H – Cole 3 run (Stendler kick), 9:33.
H – Jake Laihinen 6 run (Luke Neusen kick), 6:02.
H – Laihinen 1 run (kick missed), 3:51.
H – Jay Schneider 35 pass from Laihinen (Schneider pass from Laihinen), 1:46.
H – Laihinen 1 run (Neusen kick), 0:27.
Fourth Quarter
MAR – Keiron Howlett 52 pass from Bo Howard (Howard run), 5:06.
H – Brett Gerschke 36 run (Neusen kick), 1:43.
Team Statistics
First downs: Homestead 15; Marshfield 7.
Rushing (att-yards): Homestead 50-179; Marshfield 16-71.
Passing (comp-att-yards-int): Homestead 8-8-177-0; Marshfield 6-13-125-2.
Penalties (No.-yards): Homestead 3-30; Marshfield 4-47.
Fumbles (total-lost): Homestead 1-0; Marshfield 2-1.
Punting (No.-avg.): Homestead 3-29.3; Marshfield 2-23.5.
Individual Statistics
Rushing: H, Shaquille Cole 13-46, Brett Geschke 3-44, Jay Schneider 8-35, Eric Wade 8-31, Jabree Washington 8-28, Jake Laihinen 4-1, Mitchell Kukla 1-1, Josh Moore 5-minus 7. M, Keiron Howlett 6-42, Bo Howard 3-11, Riley Gebelein 5-8, Caleb Cline 1-7, Jaylan Moore 1-3.
Passing: H, Laihinen 7-7-136-0, Vincent Wilkerson 1-1-41-0. M, Howard 6-13-125-2.
Receiving: H, Darius Cross 4-76, Jack Popp 3-66, Schneider 1-35. M, Tanner Dennis-Brown 2-31, Ryan Trierweiler 2-37, Howlett 1-52, Cline 1-5.
Fumble recoveries: H, Riley Pelisek.
Interceptions: H, Tyler Gehrke, Bryce Juedes.
Punting: H, Nick Allen 3-29.3. M, Craig Zalizniak 2-23.5.
Records: Homestead 11-1; Marshfield 10-2.