This story is sponsored by Total Electric
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – For the second-straight week, Marshfield couldn’t get its offense going and suffered another close Valley Football Association loss.
Wausau West held Marshfield to 146 total yards and just a field goal in defeating the Tigers 18-3 in Marshfield’s homecoming game Friday night at Heiting Community Stadium at Marshfield High School.
Marshfield put together a nice drive in the first quarter after forcing West to punt. The Tigers drove 62 yards in 10 plays, but were turned away on fourth-and-1 at the 21.
Neither team scored in the first quarter and West punted to start the second before it got a big break.
Marshfield was sacked and called for a false start penalty, pushing them back to its own 13, and had a punt partially blocked. The Warriors recovered at the 21. On the first play, Landon Parlier scampered 21 yards for a touchdown, West added a two-point conversion, and led 8-0.
After a three-and-out by Marshfield, West took over at the 50 and Jackson Albee finished off the short drive with a 25-yard field goal with 43 seconds to go before halftime, giving the Warriors an 11-0 lead at the break.
Marshfield again started strong in the second half, putting together a methodical 15-play drive that included three third-down conversions. The Tigers stalled at the 15 and Braxton Kurth kicked a 32-yard field to cut it to a one-possession game at 11-3.
Both teams exchanged punts before West broke it open on the biggest play of the night. Senior running back Colton Geurink cut back at the line of scrimmage around the left side and bolted 85 yards for a touchdown to push the Warriors’ lead to 18-3 with 1:24 to go in the third quarter.
Geurink finished with 204 yards on 27 carries, accounting for nearly all of West’s 263 total yards.
Marshfield did not get a first down in the fourth quarter, managing just six total yards on three possessions and West was able to run the clock, chewing up eight minutes on one drive that ended on downs inside the 30.
Marshfield falls to 2-3 overall and 1-2 in the Valley Football Association, not counting a forfeit win over Wausau East that is used for playoff qualification purposes. That leaves the Tigers in need of two wins in their final three games in order to make the postseason. Marshfield will be at Appleton West (4-2, 1-2 VFA) next Friday at 7 p.m. The game will be live at zaleskisports.com.
Wausau West (4-1, 2-1 VFA) hosts Stevens Point next Friday at 7 p.m.
Warriors 18, Tigers 3
Wausau West 0 11 7 0 – 18
Marshfield 0 0 3 0 – 3
Second Quarter
WW – Landon Parlier 21 run (Bryce Jaworski pass from Vince Hanz), 6:56.
WW – Jackson Albee 25 field goal, 0:43.
Third Quarter
M – Braxton Kurth 32 field goal, 5:53.
WW – Colton Geurink 85 run (Albee kick), 1:24.
Team Statistics
First downs: Wausau West 8; Marshfield 8.
Rushing (att-yards): WW 44-247; M 28-95.
Passing (comp-att-yards-int): WW 2-4-16-0; M 6-13-51-0.
Total yards: WW 263; M 146.
Penalties (no.-yards): WW 3-25; M 4-26.
Fumbles (total-lost): WW 2-0; M 3-1.
Punting (no.-avg.): WW 2-40.5; M 4-27.3.
Individual Statistics
Rushing: WW, Colton Geurink 27-204, Landon Parlier 6-28, Reed Napiowocki 3-7, Vince Hanz 4-6, Joe Berens 1-2. M, Trevor Foemmel 11-37, Garrett Willuweit 7-30, Matthew Trulen 5-27, Carson Kvernen 2-5, Jeff Marsh 3-minus 4.
Passing: WW, Hanz 2-4-16-0. M, Foemmel 5-10-47-0, Cody Donahue 1-3-4-0.
Receiving: WW, Daniel Allen 1-9, Braden Kapitz 1-7. M, Kvernen 2-32, Gavin Fravert 2-14, Trulen 2-5.
Fumble recoveries (defense): WW, Nathan LaRue.
Records: Wausau West 4-1, 2-1 Valley Football Association; Marshfield 2-3, 1-2 VFA.