This story is sponsored by: Jake’s Quality Repair
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – After a slow start, Marshfield scored a touchdown in the final minute of the first half and poured on 38 second-half points to down Appleton West 53-20 in a Valley Football Association game Friday night at Heiting Community Stadium.
Marshfield improves to 4-2 overall and 3-0 in the Valley Football Association after posting its fourth-straight win. The Tigers, who also receive a forfeit win over Wausau East after it canceled its season, have clinched a spot in the WIAA playoffs for the sixth-straight season and the 24th time in program history.
Quarterback Trevor Foemmel threw three touchdown passes, two to Sam Meverden and another to Luke LeMoine, and Jeff Marsh had 157 of the Tigers’ 259 rushing yards.
“This was a playoff clincher for us and that’s exciting for us,” Marshfield coach Denny Goettl said. “You know you’re in, now you have to stay healthy and keep on winning. We’ve got some momentum.”
Marshfield scored on its opening drive as Marsh ran three times for 37 yards and Eli Colby rumbled in from the 17 to give the Tigers a quick 7-0 lead.
The Tigers struggled to move the ball on its next three possessions as penalties sent them backward and Appleton West got back in it late in the half when Ben Vallafskey scooted 50 yards for a touchdown. The extra point was blocked, and Marshfield held on to a 7-6 lead.
The Tigers turned to their 2-minute offense after a 35-yard return on the kickoff by Evan Jakobi gave them the ball at the 39.
After a holding penalty, its third of the first half, Marshfield went 69 yards in seven plays. Foemmel connected with Meverden across the middle for a 12-yard touchdown with 24 seconds to go before halftime. Braden Anderson ran in a two-point conversion to up the Tigers’ lead to 15-6 at intermission.
“I was frustrated in the first half because it was penalties again,” Goettl said. “It’s kids and they know that they are probably a little bit better than the team they played, but you try to go out and play close as perfect of a game as you can. But the penalties again, that’s an issue.
“I was pretty happy moving the football. They tried to force us up the middle and we were able to get outside. We did a lot of good things and I’m happy for our guys.”
The second half was dominated by Marshfield.
Foemmel connected with Meverden again for a 32-yard touchdown on the opening drive of the second half, and after West fumbled the ensuing kickoff, Foemmel tossed a 16-yard TD to LeMoine to quickly give Marshfield a dominating 29-6 advantage.
West countered with an 11-play scoring drive to cut the deficit to 29-14, but Marshfield responded with three more quick scores.
Marsh had a 24-yard touchdown run with 21 seconds left in the third quarter. West fumbled on its first offensive play after the kickoff, and Cody Korth scored from the 1 on the first play of the fourth quarter.
After another lost fumble on the ensuing kickoff, Braxton Kurth kicked a 22-yard field goal, pushing the Tigers’ lead to 46-14.
Mason Seidl scored on a 4-yard run late in the fourth for the Tigers, and West scored on the final play of the game on a 1-yard run by Matthew Vander Putten to finish off the scoring.
The Tigers outgained Appleton West (1-5, 0-3 VFA) 424-329.
Marshfield will host Wisconsin Rapids next Friday, Sept. 30, for its final regular-season home game and its annual Homecoming contest. The game begins at 7 p.m.
Click here to view the Valley Football Association standings.
Tigers 53, Terrors 20
Appleton West 0 6 8 6 – 20
Marshfield 7 8 21 17 – 53
First Quarter
M – Eli Colby 17 run (Braxton Kurth kick), 8:32.
Second Quarter
AW – Ben Vallafskey 50 run (kick blocked), 1:50.
M – Sam Meverden 12 pass from Trevor Foemmel (Braden Anderson run), 0:24.
Third Quarter
M – Meverden 32 pass from Foemmel (Kurth kick), 8:30.
M – Luke LeMoine 16 pass from Foemmel (Kurth kick), 8:18.
AW – E.J. Holt III 23 pass from Ryder Hoffman (Denium Potts pass from Hoffman), 4:07.
M – Jeff Marsh 24 run (Kurth kick), 0:21.
Fourth Quarter
M – Cody Korth 1 run (Kurth kick), 11:56.
M – Kurth 22 field goal, 9:49.
M – Mason Seidl 4 run (Kurth kick), 9:49.
AW – Matthew Vander Putten 2 run (run failed), 0:00.
Team Statistics
First downs: Appleton West 14; Marshfield 12.
Rushing (att-yards): AW 37-178; M 31-259.
Passing (comp-att-yards-int): AW 13-20-151-0; M 10-14-165-0.
Total yards: AW 329; M 424.
Fumbles (total-lost): AW 3-3; M 1-1.
Penalties (no.-yards): AW 12-91; M 9-74.
Punting (no.-avg.): AW 3-39.7; M 2-51.5.
Individual Statistics
Rushing: AW, Ben Vallafskey 20-127, Ryder Hoffman 9-37, Ezra Brown 1-11, Matthew Vander Putten 1-2, Kyle Meyer 1-1. M, Jeff Marsh 14-157, Trevor Foemmel 5-43, Eli Colby 2-23, Braden Anderson 1-18, Mason Seidel 7-15.
Passing: AW, Hoffman 11-17-111-0, Payton Wiedeman 2-3-40-0. M, Foemmel 9-13-144-0, Adam Gilbertson 1-1-17-0.
Receiving: AW, Vander Putten 5-29, E.J. Holt III 4-66, Kaden Gowdy 1-27, Riley Verboomen 1-13, Ezra Brown 1-8, Denium Potts 1-5. M, Luke LeMoine 4-70, Sam Meverden 2-44, Brooks Hinson 2-13, Evan Jakobi 1-17, Mitchell Schade 1-11.
Fumble recoveries (defense): AW, Vander Putten. M, Hunter Kelnhofer, Dawson Meissner, Evan Presch.
Records: Appleton West 1-5, 0-3 Valley Football Association; Marshfield 4-2, 3-0 Valley Football Association.