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By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – The Marshfield football team didn’t look like a playoff team when it lost its season opener 22-18 to Menomonie back in August.
The Tigers turned the ball over five times, had just 22 net yards rushing and gave up 368 on the ground. After falling behind 22-0, Marshfield made a late run scoring two fourth-quarter touchdowns, but couldn’t get the ball back again in the final minutes.
Since losing in the final minute, 15-10, to Merrill on Oct. 1, the Tigers have won four games in a row and are playing their best football of the season. Marshfield (7-3) hopes to continue that trend going into a rematch against Menomonie (10-1) on Saturday in a WIAA Division 2 Level 3 playoff game at Beell Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 3 p.m.
“We were all brand new guys, new coaching staff, trying to find out where we were,” Marshfield coach Denny Goettl said of the Tigers’ performance in the opener. “Watching the film again, 10 weeks into the season, you see how much you’ve grown. We turned the ball over and didn’t block very well. They’re a good team all of the time and do the basics really well. They come and bring it, blitz when they have to, go for it when they have to.”
Despite numerous injuries, the defense has shown improvement over recent weeks, but it is the Tigers’ offense that has seemed to take the biggest leap forward.
Marshfield has averaged 38.5 points a game during its win streak and has found its groove throwing the ball, with Elliot Ashbeck averaging 193 yards a game.
Ashbeck, who took over as the full-time quarterback after splitting time with Chris Stemen following the Merrill game, has benefitted from the consistent playing time. Stemen, who was injured, returned to play a series in each of the two playoff games and will continue to see some time, but Ashbeck will play the majority of the snaps.
The progression, both personally and as a team, was just a matter of time, Ashbeck said.
“Now we know what to expect,” Ashbeck said. ‘We were all inexperienced, both seniors and juniors. None of us had really played a lot last year. Now we know what the environment is like. I think we’re more ready and more connected. We’re putting it all together and it’s obviously paid off.”
Marshfield uses a lot of four-wide receiver sets that include seniors Ian Padron, Jake Lisiecki and Payton Marshall and junior Austin Littman. Running back Brad Dolezal is the team’s leading receiver and fellow back Todd Vantassel also has played a key role in the passing game.
Ashbeck admits the receivers struggled early in the season, but their improvement has given him a strong stable of targets.
“We knew they were a good, athletic bunch, but we didn’t know what the transition would be like on the field,” Ashbeck said. “They’ve really done a nice job in the last four or five games, I think, and hopefully we can keep that going and continue our run.
“We’ve got a solid tight end in Tyler (Rollins) and Brad’s really good out of the backfield, as is T.J. on screen passes. Our line has done a great job with protection. Everyone has done a good job.”
Goettl said the improvement to the passing game has come from a commitment by his players to be their best.
“Our pass blocking has been very good and the receivers know they’ve got to catch the ball,” Goettl said. “The guys up front (on the depth chart) are out there getting pushed every day in practice and I think they’re really starting to rise up.
“It’s neat seeing kids that can rise up to the challenge. You want to be a team that is expected to win. We kind of push that at Marshfield with the tradition that we’ve built, from everything Len (Luedtke) had done as coach and hopefully continues with myself and our staff. We expect the kids to be trying their hardest and not having excuses for anything.”