This story is sponsored by: Trudeau Construction and The Tile Guys
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
STEVENS POINT – The Marshfield football team was plagued by nine turnovers during its 1-1 start to the season.
The Tigers committed two more costly turnovers on Friday, and combined with some other miscues on both sides of the ball, they lost their Wisconsin Valley Conference opener to Stevens Point Area Senior High 31-14 at Goerke Field.
Marshfield drops to 1-2 overall, while SPASH improves to 2-1.
A power outage to the stadium’s lighting system provided a 50-minute delay as SPASH was getting ready to punt with 5 seconds left in the first quarter and leading 6-0.
When play resumed, the Panthers punted, the time in the first quarter ran out, and Marshfield took over at its own 20.
Chris Stemen tossed passes of 26 yards to Tyler Rollins and 38 yards to T.J. Vantassel to set up the Tigers at the 16. The Tigers benefitted from a pass interference call on a fourth down play, giving them a first-and-goal at the 4.
SPASH’s defense then came up with a game-changing goal-line stand. Three straight running plays to Brad Dolezal were thwarted and on fourth down from the 3, Stemen’s pass to the end zone fell incomplete.
The Panthers took over and drove 97 yards in 13 plays and scored on an 11-yard run by quarterback Bobby Gregorich. A two-point conversion pass put Stevens Point up 14-0 and changed the complex of the rest of the game.
“We played well and stayed right in there,” Marshfield coach Denny Goettl said. “When we get down there and score, we’re leading 7-6 at halftime. We’re right there, we just have to get over the hump and make something happen, then we’ll be alright.”
Marshfield responded quickly. Vantassel returned the kickoff to the 48 and Stemen hit Payton Marshall for a 31-yard gain on the first play of the possession. On the next play, Stemen tossed a middle screen to Dolezal, who rumbled 21 yards down the middle of the field for a score with just 56 seconds to go in the half. SPASH did nothing on its ensuing possession and took a 14-7 lead into halftime.
Seemingly back in the game, Marshfield stopped SPASH on its first possession of the second half before big mistake No. 1 cost the Tigers.
Dolezal muffed the punt and the Panthers’ Matt Janssen recovered at the 17. Six plays later, Dillon Schmenk kicked a 36-yard field goal to make it 17-7.
After a three-and-out, SPASH went 80 yards in just seven plays for another score. Gregorich connected with a 28-yard pass to Clay Giese and the drive culminated on a 28-yard, backside screen play to Taner Kolbeck, who went down the right sideline untouched for another score.
Marshfield then threw an interception on its next possession and SPASH needed just five plays to go 24 yards for another touchdown – a 3-yard pass from Gregorich to J.T. Ford and led 31-7 1:13 into the fourth quarter.
What looked like a competitive game at halftime, turned into a tough loss for the Tigers.
“We pounded it in their heads all week, be careful with the football, look at your reads as the quarterback. I don’t know, maybe we’re doing too much,” Goettl said. “We ran the ball well tonight again (Vantassel had 75 yards on 14 carries), but you get down and got a little out of our game-plan.
“It’s another game experience for us. The line is getting better, a more cohesive unit.”
Marshfield scored on the ensuing possession. Elliot Ashbeck tossed a 45-yard pass to Marshall and Stemen finished the drive on the next play with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Jake Lisiecki. It was too little, too late, however as SPASH ran out the clock on its next two possessions.
Gregorich finished a tidy 14-for-20 for 227 yards and two touchdowns through the air, and added another 20 yards and a score on the ground for Stevens Point.
“We knew he (Gregorich) was good,” Goettl said. “We knew he was a runner, and holy cow, he can throw it too. When he’s running, it puts a lot of stress on your defense and your playing 11-on-11. They’ve got a nice team and they’re going to do well.”
Marshfield hosts Wausau West next Friday at Beell Stadium. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
Panthers 31, Tigers 14
Marshfield 0 7 0 7 – 14
Stevens Point 6 8 10 7 – 31
First quarter
SP – Joe Horvath recovered SPASH fumble in end zone (kick blocked), 4:18.
Second quarter
SP – Bobby Gregorich 11 run (J.T. Ford pass from Gregorich), 1:37.
M – Brad Dolezal 21 pass from Chris Stemen (Gus Utech kick), :56.
Third quarter
SP – Dillon Schmenk 36 field goal, 7:41.
SP – Tanner Kolbeck 28 pass from Gregorich (Schmenk kick), 2:48.
Fourth quarter
SP – Ford 3 pass from Gregorich (Schmenk kick), 10:47.
M – Jake Lisiecki 8 pass from Stemen (Utech kick), 7:55.
TEAM STATISTICS
First downs: Marshfield 9; Stevens Point 15.
Rushing (att-yards): Marshfield 21-43; Stevens Point 39-149.
Passing (comp-att-yards-int): Marshfield 9-24-220-1; Stevens Point 14-20-227-0.
Penalties: Marshfield 6-61; Stevens Point 8-67.
Fumbles (total-lost): Marshfield 3-1; Stevens Point 1-0.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: Marshfield, T.J. Vantassel 14-75, Brad Dolezal 4-4, Elliot Ashbeck 2-minus 14, Chris Stemen 1-minus 22. Stevens Point, Tanner Kolbeck 15-80, Jesse Mays 6-46, Bobby Gregorich 11-20, Seth Dominick 2-17, Jacob McFarlin 3-6, Joe Horvath 1-0, Brennan Nelson 1-minus 10.
Passing: Marshfield, Stemen 7-17-135-1, Ashbeck 2-6-85-0, Sully Luepke 0-1-0-0. Stevens Point, Gregorich 14-20-227-0.
Receiving: Marshfield, Jake Lisiecki 3-19, Payton Marshall 2-76, Josh Shupe 1-41, Vantassel 1-38, Tyler Rollins 1-26, Dolezal 1-21. Stevens Point, Clay Giese 6-77, J.T. Ford 3-83, Kolbeck 2-50, Dominick 1-12, Mike Blake 1-8, Cody Griffith 1-7.
Fumble recoveries (defense): Marshfield, none. Stevens Point, Matt Janssen.
Interceptions: Marshfield, none. Stevens Point, Janssen.
Records: Marshfield 1-2, 0-1 Wisconsin Valley; Stevens Point 2-1, 1-0 Wisconsin Valley.