This story is sponsored by: Stephanie Spaeth, REALTOR/Owner, NextHome Hub City
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – Four years ago, the Marshfield and Pulaski football teams met in the WIAA playoffs and the game came down to the final play.
The two teams met up for a WIAA Division 2 Level 1 battle on Friday night at Heiting Community Stadium, and it went down to the wire again.
Marshfield won that playoff game in 2018 on a last-second field goal and came out on top again this time around. After a long drive in the final minutes by Pulaski brought the ball into the red zone, Marshfield sophomore Brooks Hinson batted down a pass in the end zone with 3 seconds to go to finish off a 21-13 win for the Tigers.
The No. 4 seed Marshfield (7-3) moves on to a Level 2 matchup at No. 1 seed River Falls (9-1) next Friday, Oct. 28, at 7 p.m. River Falls defeated La Crosse Central 40-20 on Friday.
Marshfield started strong, scoring on each of its first two possessions.
A 48-yard pass from Trevor Foemmel to Luke LeMoine on the first play brought the Tigers to the 20 and three plays later Foemmel ran in from the 15 for a quick 7-0 lead.
Following a three-and-out by Pulaski, the Tigers went 75 yards in just five plays. Foemmel had a 29-yard run and on the next play hit LeMoine for a 39-yard touchdown that the senior receiver hauled in over a Pulaski defender at the 5 and strolled into the end zone. Braxton Kurth’s second extra point of the game put Marshfield up 14-0 with 5:54 to go in the opening quarter.
“You can’t let that team get the momentum running the football,” Marshfield coach Denny Goettl said. “We ran a flea-flicker on the first play, and what the heck, it worked. It’s the playoffs, you have to have something up your sleeve. You’re playing teams that are as good or better than you, and you have to find little things that are going to work.”
For the rest of the first half, it was a battle that was won at the line of scrimmage by the defenses.
Both teams put together drives in the third quarter, but were stopped.
A Marshfield drive came to a halt on downs at the 24, and Pulaski took over and drove 13 plays down to the Tigers’ 1. Marshfield’s defense came up big, stopped Raiders’ running back Maverick Cole on two straight runs to hold on to its two-touchdown lead, which it held until halftime.
The Red Raiders turned the tables quickly following intermission.
Cole rambled 62 yards on Pulaski’s second play for a touchdown, and Brock Steinbrecher picked off a Foemmel pass and returned it 42 yards for another score just two plays after that. A blocked extra point on the second touchdown allowed the Tigers to hold on to a 14-13 lead.
After each team exchanged punts, Marshfield put together a much-needed drive, going 62 yards in nine plays. Foemmel hit LeMoine for a 19-yard pass on second-and-18 and five running plays later, Foemmel pushed in from the 1-yard line on the first play of the fourth quarter and the Tigers led 21-13.
Pulaski’s ensuing drive stalled and led to a punt, but Marshfield turned it right back to them after a three-and-out, giving the Raiders the ball at their own 13 with 4:34 remaining.
Without Cole on the field after he had ran for 123 yards on 17 carries, Pulaski turned to the air. Quarterback Logan Shultz completed 6 of 8 passes to five different receivers to bring the Raiders to the 11 in the final minute.
A swing pass on third down was fumbled, but recovered by Pulaski with 7 seconds left setting up a fourth down, where a lob to the right corner of the end zone was knocked down by Hinson to clinch the win for the Tigers.
Foemmel finished with 121 yards rushing as Marshfield racked up 200 in total, and threw for another 111 yards, all to LeMoine.
The Level 2 game at River Falls will be live-streamed at zaleskisports.com.
Tigers 21, Red Raiders 13
Pulaski 0 0 13 0 – 13
Marshfield 14 0 0 7 – 21
First Quarter
M – Trevor Foemmel 15 run (Braxton Kurth kick), 10:14.
M – Luke LeMoine 39 pass from Foemmel (Kurth kick), 5:54.
Third Quarter
P – Maverick Cole 62 run (Samuel Murphy kick), 11:02.
P – Brock Steinbrecher 42 interception return (kick blocked), 10:05.
Fourth Quarter
M – Foemmel 1 run (Kurth kick), 11:56.
Team Statistics
First downs: Pulaski 11; Marshfield 11.
Rushing (att-yards): P 34-147; M 37-200.
Passing (comp-att-yards-int): P 11-18-145-0; M 3-8-111-1.
Total yards: P 292; M 311.
Penalties (no.-yards): P 3-20; M 3-27.
Fumbles (total-lost): P 1-0; M 0-0.
Punting (no.-avg.): P 5-38.0; M 4-41.3.
Individual Statistics
Rushing: P, Maverick Cole 17-123, Gatlin Robaidek 1-10, Logan Shultz 10-6, Jake Adams 2-6, Jacob Doxtater 4-2. M, Trevor Foemmel 17-121, Jeff Marsh 10-33, Braden Anderson 4-25, Mason Seidl 4-16, Eli Colby 2-5.
Passing: P, Shultz 11-17-145-0, Cole 0-1-0-0. M, Foemmel 3-8-111-1.
Receiving: P, Robaidek 3-56, Zachary Przybylski 2-35, Doxtater 2-31, Aidan McDougal 1-10, Caden Haag 1-6, Brayden Kamps 1-4, Adams 1-0. M, Luke LeMoine 3-111.
Interceptions (defense): P, Steinbrecher.
Punting: P, Steinbrecher 4-38.3, Shultz 1-45.0. M, Noah Peterson 4-41.3.
Records: Pulaski 7-3; Marshfield 7-3.