MARSHFIELD – The Marshfield rushing attack was on full display and the Hortonville defense could not do a thing to stop it.
Marshfield racked up 401 yards on the ground, including 162 by senior running back Brant Bohman and another 140 by senior quarterback Ryan Krueger, as the Tigers outlasted Hortonville 41-20 in a Valley Football Association crossover game Friday night at Beell Stadium.
Marshfield improves to 3-0 overall and 2-0 in the Valley Football Association West Division, while Hortonville falls to 2-1 overall and in the VFA South.
The Tigers averaged 8.5 yards per rush, including 10 for 10 yards or more as the offensive line dominated.
“They’re really a tight-knit group and that makes everything work for us,” Marshfield coach Denny Goettl said of the Tigers’ offensive line. “When you’ve got people playing together…it’s kind of our mantra, our motto, the closer we get, the better we become, and care for each other, it’s all the things you do as a team.
“The guys are buying in like crazy. You’re winning and that’s a good thing, it’s easier to buy in then, but we want to see how tight we can stay together when the chips are down. We got down by a touchdown tonight and we fight back and battle back.”
Marshfield scored first when Krueger kept the ball on a read-option play, ran up the middle and charged for a 73-yard touchdown run to put the Tigers on top 7-0.
The lead held until Hortonville hit on a pair of big pass plays early in the second quarter. Josh Giese hauled in a 27-yard touchdown pass from Kyle Alen on the third play of the quarter, but the Polar Bears missed the extra point and Marshfield clung to a 7-6 lead.
After a three-and-out by Marshfield, Hortonville needed just five plays to score again when Jose Concepcion capped the drive with an 18-yard touchdown run and the Polar Bears led 13-7 with 7:01 to go in the first half.
From there, it was all Marshfield.
Bohman had an 8-yard touchdown run and after forcing a three-and-out, the Tigers needed just four plays and 52 seconds to score again when Caden Pearce ran in from the 10 with 52 seconds to go before halftime.
Marshfield took a 21-13 lead into halftime and put together an impressive drive to start the third quarter.
The Tigers ran the ball 10 times in a 12-play drive, going 65 yards for another score as Bohman ran in from the 2, making it 27-13.
“My offensive line was absolutely incredible the entire game,” Krueger said. “Even when we were up three touchdowns, they had just so much excitement tonight. They did a phenomenal night tonight.
“I could see their two ends, their two big guys were getting worn down and our line was like ‘Let’s just run it at right at them.’ They just wanted to keep going right at them.”
Hortonville responded as Concepcion had a 62-yard run to set up his 1-yard touchdown run, but the Tigers put the game away with scoring drives on their next two possessions.
Bohman finished off both with scoring runs of 4 and 33 yards to give Marshfield a three-touchdown lead with 6:35 to go in the game.
“We expect that that out of him,” Goettl said of Bohman. “But if the big boys aren’t giving him a little squeak to get through, he’s just like any other guy. The kid’s special, his explosiveness is incredible, you give him a little bit of a crease, and he’s gone.”
Marshfield plays at Kaukauna (2-1, 1-1 VFA North) in another crossover game next Friday, Sept. 7. The game begins at 7 p.m. and will be live-streamed on zaleskisportsshow.com/live-sports.
Tigers 41, Polar Bears 20
Hortonville 0 13 7 0 – 20
Marshfield 7 14 6 14 – 41
First Quarter
M – Ryan Krueger 73 run (Mason Coffren kick), 2:07.
Second Quarter
H – Josh Giese 27 pass from Kyle Allen (kick blocked), 10:53.
H – Jose Concepcion 18 run (McKenna Gervais kick), 7:01.
M – Brant Bohman 8 run (Coffren kick), 3:09.
M – Caden Pearce 8 run (Coffren kick), 0:52.
Third Quarter
M – Bohman 8 run (run failed), 5:44.
H – Concepcion 1 run (Gervais kick), 1:43.
Fourth Quarter
M – Bohman 4 run (Coffren kick), 10:30.
M – Bohman 33 run (Coffren kick), 6:35.
Team Statistics
First downs: Hortonville 13; Marshfield 15.
Rushing (att-yards): H 24-142; M 48-401.
Passing (comp-att-yards-int): H 11-30-170-1; M 7-11-49-1.
Total yards: H 312; M 452.
Penalties (no.-yards): H 3-19; M 6-37.
Fumbles (total-lost): H 0-0; M 0-0.
Punting (no.-avg.): H 5-34.6; M 2-32.0.
Individual Statistics
Rushing: H, Jose Concepcion 20-143, Jayqon Owens 1-4, Kyle Allen 3-minus 5. M, Brant Bohman 16-162, Ryan Krueger 9-140, Caden Pearce 11-54, Isaiah Baierl 7-31, Sam Hinson 2-10, Will Voss 3-4.
Passing: H, Allen 11-28-170-1, Max Muthig 0-2-0-0. M, Krueger 7-11-49-1.
Receiving: H, Josh Giese 6-81, Owens 4-70, Braden Valafskey 1-19. M, Bohman 2-19, Isaac Meverden 2-17, Joey Goettl 2-5, Preston Wagner 1-8.
Interceptions (defense): H, Logan Grossman. M, Nolan Hertel.
Punting: H, Malachi Fyksen 5-34.6. M, Krueger 2-32.0.
Records: Hortonville 2-1 overall and Valley Football Association South Division; Marshfield 3-0 overall, 2-0 VFA West Division.
Paul Lecker is publisher of MarshfieldAreaSports.com.
Author: News Desk
This piece was posted by our news team! Contact us or submit stories at [email protected].
