This story is sponsored by: WDLB-AM 1450 and WOSQ-FM 92.3 radio
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – The Marshfield football team opened its final season at historic Beell Stadium with a strong defensive performance and took home what turned out to be a dominant victory.
The Tigers allowed just 195 yards and seven first downs on their way to a 26-6 victory over Oshkosh West in a nonconference game Friday night.
Marshfield had a number of big plays that set up their scores, including a 52-yard pass from Ryan Krueger to Preston Wagner on its second possession that set up the Tigers at the West 9.
A holding penalty and a sack pushed Marshfield back to a second-and-goal at the 32, but Krueger hit Joey Goettl with a 25-yard pass and on the next play found Wagner again in the back of the end zone to the first touchdown of the season. Goettl ran in a two-point conversion to put Marshfield up 8-0 with 12 seconds to go in the first quarter.
Oshkosh West hit its only big play midway through the second quarter when senior running back Blake Framke plowed up the middle and went 64 yards for a touchdown with 5:38 remaining. The two-point conversion try failed and the Tigers held an 8-6 lead.
The score stayed that way for the rest of the half, and the Wildcats were no threat after halftime as Marshfield’s defense buckled down.
West pushed the ball past the 50-yard line just twice and were turned away both times. Marshfield allowed just 59 yards in the second half.
“It’s always great to win that first one,” Marshfield coach Denny Goettl said. “Defense, it’s our strength. It’s early in the season, they are a little ahead of our offense, and they are good. We have a lot of fast dudes out there that know what they’re doing.
“They do a really nice job. They’re seniors and you win with seniors. That’s what we’re going with. They keep us in games and we’ll find a way to get some points here or there.”
Marshfield scored on its first two possessions of the second half. A 34-yard run by Krueger and a 19-yard pass to Caden Pearce set up a Mason Coffren 32-yard field goal to cap the first drive, and Isaiah Baierl had a 43-yard run on his first carry of the game before Krueger hit Isaac Meverden on a 24-yard touchdown pass to the right corner of the end zone to give Marshfield a 19-6 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
After turning the Wildcats away with a pair of sacks near midfield, Marshfield finished off the scoring with a 96-yard scoring drive in the final minutes.
Brant Bohman had a 56-yard run and Kruger ended the 10-play drive with a 1-yard touchdown run in the final minute.
Bohman finished with 102 yards rushing on 12 carries as the Tigers piled up 278 yards total on the ground. Krueger added 46 yards on the ground and 189 yards passing in the victory.
“We made enough good plays, but we’re still making enough mistakes,” Goettl said. “We have to get the ball to Isaiah (Baierl) the ball, but it was tough tonight just with the type of defense they (West) were playing. Just at the right time he pops one, runs over a kid and goes 30 or 40 yards. That was a big play by him.”
Marshfield will begin its Valley Football Association schedule next Friday, Aug. 24, at Appleton West in a crossover game at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on WDLB-AM 1450 and at wdlbwosq.com. The Tigers return home Aug. 31 to play Hortonville.
Tigers 26, Wildcats 6
Oshkosh West 0 6 0 0 – 6
Marshfield 8 0 11 7 – 26
First Quarter
M – Preston Wagner 7 pass from Ryan Krueger (Joey Goettl run), 0:12.
Second Quarter
OW – Blake Framke 64 run (pass failed), 5:38.
Third Quarter
M – Mason Coffren 32 field goal, 7:14.
M – Isaac Meverden 18 pass from Krueger (Caden Pearce run), 2:50.
Fourth Quarter
M – Krueger 1 run (Coffren kick), 0:27.
Team Statistics
First downs: Oshkosh West 7; Marshfield 16.
Rushing (att-yards): OW 22-112; M 32-278.
Passing (comp-att-yards-int): OW 9-24-83-0; M 13-29-189-2.
Total yards: OW 195; M 467.
Penalties (no.-yards): OW 6-40; M 3-31.
Fumbles (total-lost): OW 1-1; M 2-0.
Punting (no.-avg.): OW 7-43.1; M 2-37.0.
Individual Statistics
Rushing: OW, Blake Franke 11-141, Bryce Hinn 2-6, Curtis Yokom 1-5, Ryan Schleis 1-0, Jake Ketter 7-minus 40. M, Brant Bohman 12-102, Caden Pearce 7-73, Isaiah Baierl 5-57, Ryan Krueger 19-46.
Passing: OW, Ketter 9-24-83-0. M, Krueger 13-29-189-2.
Receiving: OW, Colton Sandstrom 4-54, Hinn 2-19, A.J. Ambroso 2-0, Bennett Whiteley 1-10. M, Isaac Meverden 5-54, Preston Wagner 2-59, Joey Goettl 2-33, Pearce 2-32, Bohman 2-11.
Punting: OW, Trent Krause 7-43.1. M, Krueger 2-37.0.
Records: Oshkosh West 0-1; Marshfield 1-0.