This story is sponsored by: Trudeau Construction and The Tile Guys
By Greg Aune
For MarshfieldAreaSports.com
WAUSAU – Marshfield solidified its playoff hopes and ruined homecoming for Wausau East with a dominant 46-9 win over the Lumberjacks on Friday at Thom Field.
The win assures the Tigers a .500 record in Wisconsin Valley Conference play regardless of how they do next week against front-running Wisconsin Rapids, although Marshfield coach Denny Goettl isn’t counting on anything just yet. Teams that finish .500 in its conference isn’t guaranteed a playoff spot, but does qualify to be considered.
“This win gives us a chance (for the playoffs), but nothing is certain,” Goettl said. “We’ve still yet to play a complete game of ball, and we’ll have our hands full with Rapids.”
If Marshfield can give Goettl his wish and turn in more of a complete game next week against the Raiders, they should like their chances to come out on top, because aside from a couple turnovers, the Tigers didn’t have much trouble on either side of the ball against the Lumberjacks.
East managed to keep the game close initially, intercepting a pass from Elliot Ashbeck on Marshfield’s opening drive, but all the Lumberjacks really did was delay the inevitable. East went three-and-out after the turnover, and Marshfield drove 67 yards in nine plays to take a 6-0 lead late in the first quarter on an 11-yard touchdown run by Josh Shupe.
The Lumberjacks did nothing on their next drive, but Bryce Widmark pinned Marshfield inside their own one-yard-line with a great punt. Despite the bad field position, Marshfield moved the ball out to its own 30 and looked like it was going to drive the length of the field until Shupe fumbled to set the Lumberjacks up for their only touchdow.
East needed just four plays to find the end zone and knot the game at 6-6, as each team failed to convert the extra points. Marshfield set the tone for the rest of the game on its ensuing possession. The Tigers went on a nine-play, 90-yard drive, which was capped off by a Brad Dolezal touchdown. After the Marshfield defense stuffed East on three plays, Ashbeck found Payton Marshall for a 6-yard touchdown pass late in the half to give the Tigers a 19-6 lead at the break.
After halftime it was all Marshfield, as the Tigers turned in their most efficient passing game of the season. Ashbeck threw for 263 yards and two touchdowns, while the running game also churned out 176 yards. On the other side of the ball, the Marshfield defense completely shut down the Lumberjacks in the second half, with the lone bright spot for East coming on a 42-yard field goal fom Widmark late in the fourth quarter.
“This was our best passing night of the year by far,” Goettl said. “We got some explosive plays, our line protected well and our receivers made big plays.”
Marshfield’s Ian Padron led the way for the receiving corps with four catches for 108 yards. Jake Lisiecki caught five passes for 85 yards, including a 16-yard touchdown that put Marshfield up 26-6. On the ground, Shupe was the workhorse, carrying the ball 18 times for 86 yards.
While Marshfield’s offense went up and down the field, the defense also decided to get in on the fun. The Tigers caused three second-half turnovers, all of which led to touchdowns, and held East to just 99 yards of total offense.
“We started slow tonight, but this was a nice breakout game. We still have some things to improve on to get ready for Rapids, because they have some great athletes,” Goettl said.
Tigers 46, Lumberjacks 9
Marshfield 6 13 14 13 – 46
East 0 6 0 3 – 9
First quarter
M – Josh Shupe 11 run (kick failed), 4:57.
Second quarter
WE – Sheldon Wendler 1 run (kick failed), 9:23.
M – Brad Dolezal 7 run (Sully Luepke kick), 3:53.
M – Payton Marshall 6 pass from Elliot Ashbeck (kick failed), :21.
Third quarter
M – Jake Lisiecki 16 pass from Ashbeck (Luepke kick), 3:07.
M – Dolezal 1 run (Luepke kick), 1:06.
Fourth quarter
M – Shupe 1 run (Luepke kick), 8:47.
WE – Bryce Widmark 42 field goal, 5:55.
M – Riley Gebelein 25 run (kick failed), 1:34.
TEAM STATISTICS
First downs: Marshfield 21, East 7.
Rushing (att-yards): Marshfield 42-176, East 23-60.
Passing (comp-att-yards-int): Marshfield 15-22-263-2, East 7-16-69-1.
Fumbles (total-lost): Marshfield 4-1, East 2-2.
Penalties: Marshfield 10-76, East 6-39.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: M, Josh Shupe 18-86, Riley Gebelein 5-47, Brad Dolezal 9-24, Cody Tarnowski 3-7, Elliot Ashbeck 2-5, No. 4 (not listed on roster) 2-3, No. 39 (not listed on roster) 2-4, Sean Koran 1-0. WE, Sheldon Wendler 11-46, Mark McCormick 5-6, Logan Taylor 6-5, Zach Comfort 1-3.
Passing: M, Ashbeck 15-22-263-2. WE, Comfort 7-16-69-1.
Receiving: M, Jake Lisiecki 5-85, Ian Padron 4-108, Payton Marshall 3-25, Dolezal 2-41, Tarnowski 1-4. WE, Taylor 3-39, Ryan Pitney 2-20, No. 43 (name not on roster) 1-5, Sheldon Wendler 1-5.
Interceptions: M, Daniel Stanley. WE, Brett Simon, Sy Graykowski.
Records: Marshfield 4-3, 3-2 Valley; Wausau East 1-6, 0-4 Valley.