This story is sponsored by: American Family Insurance-Randy LeMoine Agency
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – Two quick touchdowns in the opening 4½ minutes of the second half lifted Hortonville to a narrow 14-12 victory over Marshfield in Valley Football Association game Friday night at Heiting Community Stadium at Marshfield High School.
Both offenses struggled to get much going in the first half and Marshfield took a 5-0 into the break.
Marshfield’s Seth Peterson kicked a 28-yard field goal and a snap went over the Hortonville punter’s head out of the back of the end zone in a span of 2½ minutes of the second quarter
Matthew Donovan intercepted a pass in the end zone in the final seconds of the half and the Tigers led by the slim 5-0 margin going into intermission.
Hortonville gained back the momentum when it recovered an onside kick to start the second half. Just three plays later, running back Hunter Strange busted through the line and raced 33 yards for a touchdown.
After forcing a three-and-out, the Polar Bears (4-3, 3-1 Valley Football Association) hit pay dirt again when quarterback Sam Dodd hit Aiden Leist for a 47-yard touchdown pass to put Hortonville on top 14-5 with 7:32 to go in the third quarter.
Marshfield struck back, but it was the Tigers’ defense that did the damage. Junior defensive end Zak Glamann read a screen pass, intercepted the pass at midfield and bolted 50 yards for the touchdown, juking Dodd near the goal line in the process. The extra point cut Hortonville’s lead to 14-12 with 2:31 left in the third quarter.
Both defenses held on the ensuing two possessions for each team before Marshfield seemingly caught a break.
Parker Weik intercepted a Dodd pass to give Marshfield the ball at the Hortonville 37 with 3:54 remaining. However, Marshfield went backwards, punting after an intentional grounding call with 3:00 left. The Tigers never got the ball back.
Dodd threw a 56-yard pass to T.J. Payne on third-and-11 in the final minute to ice the game.
Marshfield was held to 142 total yards, 105 coming through the air. Senior receivers Simon Slade (61 yards) and Wyatt LeMoine (44 yards) accounted for all of the passing yards.
Dodd finished with 217 passing yards for Hortonville, 102 going to Leist on just three plays.
Marshfield is now 0-5 overall and 0-3 in the VFA. As of now, the Tigers are scheduled to play a VFA game at Wausau West on Nov. 13.
Polar Bears 14, Tigers 12
Hortonville 0 0 14 0 – 14
Marshfield 0 5 7 0 – 12
Second Quarter
M – Seth Peterson 28 field goal, 5:10.
M – Safety, snap through back of end zone, 2:42.
Third Quarter
H – Hunter Strange 33 run (T.J. Payne pass from Sam Dodd), 10:38.
H – Aiden Leist 47 pass from Dodd (PAT failed), 7:32.
M – Zak Glamann 50 interception return (Peterson kick), 2:31.
Team Statistics
First downs: Hortonville 10; Marshfield 10.
Rushing (att-yards): H 30-56; M 22-37.
Passing (comp-att-yards-int): H 13-31-217-3; M 11-25-105-1.
Total yards: H 273; M 142.
Penalties (no.-yards): H 6-54; M 9-55.
Fumbles (total-lost): H 0-0; M 0-0.
Punting (no.-avg.): H 4-39.0; M 8-38.1.
Individual Statistics
Rushing: H, Hunter Strange 15-46, Chase Hughes 7-36, Sam Dodd 8-minus 26. M, Trevor Foemmel 4-17, Matthew Trulen 3-15, Logan Durham 7-15, Ben Konrardy 1-1, Jeff Marsh 3-minus 5, Will Fetting 4-minus 6.
Passing: H, Dodd 13-31-217-3. M, Foemmel 2-8-15-1, Fetting 9-17-90-0.
Receiving: H, Hughes 5-28, T.J. Payne 4-89, Aiden Leist 3-102, Strange 1-minus 2. M, Wyatt LeMoine 7-44, Simon Slade 4-61.
Interceptions (defense): H, Payne. M, Parker Weik, Zak Glamann, Matthew Donovan.
Punting: H, Hughes 3-42.3, Payne 1-29.0. M, Peterson 8-38.1.
Records: Hortonville 4-3, 3-1 Valley Football Association; Marshfield 0-5, 0-3 Valley Football Association.