This story is sponsored by: Chips Hamburgers of Marshfield and Wisconsin Rapids
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – The Marshfield football team built a 24-point lead by halftime and were able to hold off a late push to defeat Wausau East 38-14 in the Valley Football Association opener for both teams on Friday night at Heiting Community Stadium.
Brooks Hinson scored three touchdowns, two on long passes and another on a 45-yard punt return, as the Tigers picked up their first win of the season.
“We scored 38 points, so for the most part it went well,” Marshfield coach Denny Goettl said. “We have some stud receivers and we’re just trying to get a running game to go with it. I told them, ‘We can tell you all the stuff to do, but until you figure it out through the experience, it doesn’t matter.’ They said, ‘We get it.’ We moved forward with the learning curve and that was a good thing for us.”
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A 19-play drive to start the game ended in a Keegan Fredrick 20-yard field goal to give Marshfield a 3-0 lead.
Simon Dagit recovered a fumble on East’s fourth offensive play, sparking a run of three-straight touchdown drives for Marshfield.
Chase Robinson connected with Chris Pohl for a 12-yard touchdown, Hinson had a 45-yard punt return, and Adam Gilbertson threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to Hinson, all in a span of 5:49 of the second quarter to give Marshfield a 24-0 lead.
East got on the scoreboard in the third quarter after a 43-yard interception return by Caden Werth set the Lumberjacks up on the 2. Two plays later, Ralph Pegues ran in from the 3.
Following a Marshfield punt on the first play of the fourth quarter, East quarterback Pacey Weber hit a streaking Werth for a 71-yard touchdown to cut Marshfield’s lead to 24-14.
The Tigers were able to regroup, putting together a game-clinching scoring drive. Gilbertson, who switched series at quarterback with Robinson throughout the game, ran 31 yards on 2nd-and-20, and lsyrt tossed a 17-yard touchdown pass to a leaping Hinson to push Marshfield’s lead to 31-14.
East’s next drive ended on downs and Marshfield went 81 yards in eight plays to score again as Robinson snuck in from the 1.
“We weren’t as bad as the scores showed those first two games, with six turnovers, and you’re going to have that with young quarterbacks gaining experience with all that pressure on them,” Goettl said. “It’s Week 3, it’s going to take some time, but let’s hope Week 4 is better than this one. We got a win.”
Marshfield racked up 370 yards of offense, 225 on the ground. Mason Seidel led the rushing game with 68 yards on 19 carries and Gilbertson added 49. Hinson hauled in five passes for 105 yards and the two touchdowns.
Wausau East plays at Wausau West in the Log Game at Thom Field and Marshfield will be at D.C. Everest next Friday, Sept. 8 in Valley Football Association play.
Tigers 38, Lumberjacks 14
Wausau East 0 0 7 7 – 14
Marshfield 3 21 0 14 – 38
First Quarter
M – Keegan Fredrick 20 field goal, 2:48.
Second Quarter
M – Chris Pohl 12 pass from Chase Robinson (Fredrick kick), 11:21.
M – Brooks Hinson 45 punt return (Fredrick kick), 10:04.
M – Hinson 39 pass from Adam Gilbertson (Fredrick kick), 5:28.
Third Quarter
WE – Ralph Pegues 3 run (Gannon Voegtline kick), 7:01.
Fourth Quarter
WE – Caden Werth 71 pass from Pacey Weber (Voegtline kick), 11:58.
M – Hinson 17 pass from Gilbertson (Fredrick kick), 8:53.
M – Robinson 1 run (J.J. Steinbach kick), 1:31.
Team Statistics
First downs: Wausau East 10; Marshfield 13.
Rushing (att-yards): WE 26-90; M 42-225.
Passing (comp-att-yards-int): WE 15-30-188-0; M 8-17-145-2.
Total yards: WE 278; M 370.
Fumbles (total-lost): WE 3-2; M 3-0.
Penalties (no.-yards): WE 5-55; M 7-60.
Individual Statistics
Rushing: WE, Pacey Weber 15-49, Caden Werth 3-31, Ralph Pegues 5-9, Marquell Wraggs 1-4, Jaydan Garrett 1-minus 1, Isaac Rozwadowski 1-minus 2. M, Mason Seidl 19-68, Adam Gilbertson 10-49, Grayden Rode 2-36, Caleb Dennee 5-31, Chase Robinson 4-26, Braden Anderson 2-15.
Passing: WE, Weber 15-30-188-0. M, Gilbertson 3-9-32-1, Robinson 5-8-113-1.
Receiving: WE, Werth 4-113, Garrett 3-11, Gannon Voegtline 2-15, Jesse Napgezek 2-12, Rozwadowski 2-1, Brady Prihoda 1-29, Kaden Meverden 1-7. M, Brooks Hinson 5-105, Chris Pohl 2-23, Trey Parr 1-7.
Interceptions (defense): WE, Werth 2.
Fumble recoveries (defense): M, Simon Dagit, Morgan Shrader.
Records: Wausau East 1-2, 0-1 Valley Football Association; Marshfield 1-2, 1-0 Valley Football Association.