By Paul Lecker
For focusonmarshfield.com
MARSHFIELD – The Marshfield football team showed no signs of nervousness in its playoff opener on Friday night at Beell Stadium.
The Tigers scored on their first three possessions to take a commanding lead and never looked back, rolling to a 34-14 victory of Ashwaubenon in a WIAA Division 2 Level 1 matchup.
Marshfield (10-0) will host Menasha (9-1) in a Level 2 game next Friday, Oct. 26, at 7 p.m. at Beell Stadium.
The Tigers won their first playoff game since 2012 largely due to the offensive dominance early in the first quarter.
Marshfield took the opening possession and went 61 yards in seven plays on a drive that took just 2:14 before it found the end zone. Caden Pearce had running plays of 15 and 13 yards, Bohman ran once for 17 yards, and Ryan Krueger hit Preston Wagner with an 11-yard touchdown pass to get the Tigers on the board. Pearce tacked on a 2-point conversion run, making it 8-0.
After a three-and-out for the Jaguars (5-5), Marshfield went 64 yards in eight plays. The Tigers reached the 24 before a clipping penalty and a sack set them back to a third-and-32 at the 49. So Krueger went deep, hitting Wagner for a 51-yard catch and run for another score. Isiah Baierl had the 2-point run this time, putting the Tigers up 16-0.
The 16-point lead was short as Ashwaubenon fumbled on the ensuing kickoff and Krueger threw a 17-yard TD to Isaac Meverden on the next play. A 2-point run by Joey Goettl put the Tigers up 24-0 just 7:29 into the game.
“We had a couple of new formations we put in for this defense and they had a few big guys on their front, and tried to get them tired, that’s what we do,” Marshfield coach Denny Goettl said. “We have some weapons and those guys (coaches) in the booth are up there looking – it’s really been one of the better cohesive groups we’ve had in a while. We’re having fun and it’s nice to still be playing football.”
Ashwaubenon’s defense was stout the rest of the first half, allowing just two first downs, but Marshfield’s was just as good.
The Tigers held Ashwaubenon at the 1 and the 24 after the Jaguars drove into Marshfield territory, keeping the shutout in tact through the first half.
Marshfield put the game away in the third quarter by scoring on its first two possessions.
Mason Coffren kicked a 27-yard field goal to cap an 11-play drive and Bohman ran in from the 13 on fourth-and-1 to put the Tigers up 34-0 with 2:29 to go in the third.
Ashwaubenon put up two touchdowns in the fourth quarter after the game was out of reach, and actually ended up outgaining the Tigers in the game by nearly 60 yards. None of that matters as the Tigers are moving on to the second round.
Krueger has thrown eight touchdown passes in his last two home games, partly due to those weapons Goettl mentioned, but also because of the play of the offensive line, that has been very good all season long.
“That line is such a cohesive unit,” Goettl said. “It doesn’t matter where they’re going, Sam Haessly has taken the leadership on this thing. He’s making this change, saying ‘Don’t worry, we’ve got it, call the plays and will be taken care of.’ When has that happened ever in my life? It’s amazing, it’s really fun and they’re doing amazing things. Now we just have to keep it going to the next level and get to the next game.”
Tigers 34, Jaguars 14
Ashwaubenon 0 0 0 14 – 14
Marshfield 24 0 10 0 – 34
First Quarter
M – Preston Wagner 11 pass from Ryan Krueger (Caden Pearce run), 9:46.
M – Wagner 51 pass from Krueger (Isaiah Baierl run), 4:31.
M – Isaac Meverden 18 pass from Krueger (Joey Goettl run), 4:15.
Third Quarter
M – Mason Coffren 27 field goal, 5:52.
M – Brant Bohman 13 run (Coffren kick), 2:29.
Fourth Quarter
A – Cadian Vang 17 run (Sam Lokken kick), 9:25.
A – Parker Kreutzberg 13 pass from Vang (Lokken kick), 0:44.
Team Statistics
First downs: Ashwaubenon 11; Marshfield 11.
Rushing (att-yards): A 33-116; M 31-85.
Passing (comp-att-yards-int): A 13-31-208-0; M 13-21-181-0.
Total yards: A 324; M 266.
Penalties (no.-yards): A 4-42; M 8-68.
Fumbles (total-lost): A 1-1; M 1-1.
Punting (no.-avg.): A 5-29.4; M 4-46.0.
Individual Statistics
Rushing: A, Cadian Vang 18-91, Jon Maldonado 12-29, Connor Ramage 1-minus 1, Camden Wheeler 2-minus 3. M, Brant Bohman 12-37, Isaiah Baierl 6-31, Caden Pearce 4-28, Mason Coffren 4-7, Logan Durham 1-1, Will Fetting 1-minus 1, Simeon Fyksen 1-minus 4, Simon Baity 1-minus 7, Malachi Fyksen 1-minus 7.
Passing: A, Vang 12-30-173-0, Ashton Steinike 1-1-35-0. M, Ryan Krueger 12-19-169-0, Will Voss 1-2-12-0.
Receiving: A Camden Wheeler 3-23, Maldonado 3-8, Sam Nooyen 2-59, Luke Schroeder 2-58, Tyler Brodhagen 1-34, Parker Kreutzbeg 1-13, Luke Jacobs 1-14. M, Issac Meverden 4-36, Bohman 3-5,2 Preston Wagner 2-62, Baierl 2-11, Sam Hinson 1-12, Joey Goettl 1-8.
Fumble recoveries (defense): A, Noah Leisgang. M, Bentley Schwanebeck-Ostermann.
Punting: A, Steinike 5-29.4. M, Krueger 4-46.0.
Records: Ashwaubenon 5-5; Marshfield 10-0.
Paul Lecker is publisher of MarshfieldAreaSports.com and a contributor to focusonmarshfield.com.
Author: News Desk
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