This story is sponsored by Norm E Lane Farm
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – How quickly things can change in the game of football.
Marshfield’s Trevor Peterson returned a fumble 12 yards for a touchdown 1:36 into the second half to put the Tigers up 19-0 in a Valley Football Association South Division showdown against Wisconsin Rapids on Friday night at Beell Stadium.
The overflow Homecoming Game crowd was buzzing and it looked like Marshfield was heading to its seventh straight win.
Not so fast.
Suddenly, the Tigers’ defense couldn’t stop Wisconsin Rapids’ vaunted running game. The Raiders put together three long scoring drives and Devin Peterson’s 1-yard touchdown run with 1:40 left in the game lifted Wisconsin Rapids to a 22-19 comeback victory.
Rapids improves to 6-1 overall and 5-0 in the VFA South, while knocking Marshfield to 6-1 overall and 4-1 in the conference with two games remaining.
Marshfield held Wisconsin Rapids to 39 yards rushing in the first half but couldn’t stop the Raiders in the second half as they racked up 232 yards on the ground – 119 from Peterson, who ran 38 times for 136 yards in all.
Marshfield had just two first downs in the second half and ended the game with nine penalties for 70 yards, including two personal fouls in the third quarter and five penalties in the fourth quarter.
“Flat out mistakes,” Marshfield coach Denny Goettl said cost the Tigers the game. “They didn’t have any penalties and we did. We dropped passes, we don’t run routes right, we have guys in wrong positions. We just didn’t do things right when the pressure got to us a little bit. We stuffed them up and they started going off tackle on us a little bit, stretched out defensive line out and that was a good adjust by them.
“They have some good players. A 22-19 game, that’s a championship football game. It was a good game.”
After a scoreless first quarter that saw Marshfield quarterback Elliot Ashbeck throw a pair of interceptions, the Tigers’ offense finally got rolling in the second.
Wisconsin Rapids had back-to-back sacks to thwart the Tigers’ drive, but Ashbeck completed a 14-yard pass to Riley Gebelein to get Marshfield back in field goal range and Gus Utecht hit a 22-yarder to make it 3-0.
Justin Sternweis recovered a fumble on Wisconsin Rapids’ second play of its next possession, but again mistakes stalled Marshfield’s drive.
On both third and fourth downs at the 6, a Marshfield receiver dropped a potential touchdown pass and again Utecht kicked a 22-yard field goal to put the Tigers up 6-0.
Marshfield drove 56 yards on seven plays just before halftime and this time the Tigers capitalized. Ashbeck tossed a screen pass to Cody Tarnowski, who ran 24 yards down the left sideline to score a touchdown and Marshfield led 13-0 with 55 seconds in the half.
Peterson’s touchdown return of a fumble that he stripped from running back Rylan Lubeck’s grasp came 1:36 into the third quarter and the Tigers went up 19-0 after a blocked extra point.
Suddenly the tables turned.
Rapids put together a seven-play, 72-yard drive. Devin Peterson carried five times on the drive on 50 yards and scored from 13 yards out to get the Raiders on the board.
Marshfield stopped Rapids’ next drive but in the fourth quarter, the Tigers didn’t have an answer for the running game.
Wisconsin Rapids put together scoring drives of 78 and 57 yards in the final 11 minutes, with all of the yardage coming on the ground.
Conversely, Marshfield managed just 8 yards on three fourth-quarter possessions and did not have a first down.
The Tigers final possession ended meekly, as they committed two penalties, Ashbeck was sacked and threw three incomplete passes.
Marshfield hadn’t been in a close game all season, blowing out its first six opponents by the tune of a 263-72 score. Goettl said he was concerned how the Tigers would react in a tight contest.
“I kind of saw some things and we have to go back and adjust now,” Goettl said. “It’s a good time to see that. If this happens in the playoffs, you’re done, so at least we have a chance with a couple of more games. That’s the good thing for us.”
Marshfield hosts Menasha (5-2, 4-1 VFA South) next Friday.
Raiders 22, Tigers 19
Wisconsin Rapids 0 0 7 15 – 22
Marshfield 0 13 6 0 – 19
SECOND QUARTER
M – Gus Utech 22 field goal, 7:22.
M – Utech 22 field goal, 4:56.
M – Cody Tarnowski 24 pass from Elliot Ashbeck (Utech kick), 0:55.
THIRD QUARTER
M – Trevor Peterson 12 fumble return (kick blocked), 10:24.
WR – Devin Peterson 13 run (Zach Bassuener kick), 7:26.
FOURTH QUARTER
WR – Cort Halbur 52 run (Bassuener kick), 9:06.
WR – Peterson 1 run (Peterson pass from Halbur), 1:40.
TEAM STATISTICS
First downs: Wisconsin Rapids 11; Marshfield 14.
Rushing (att-yards): Wisconsin Rapids 60-271; Marshfield 21-62.
Passing (comp-att-yards-int): Wisconsin Rapids 0-4-0-0; Marshfield 15-32-154-2.
Fumbles (total-lost): Wisconsin Rapids 4-2; Marshfield 2-0.
Penalties (total-yards): Wisconsin Rapids 7-36; Marshfield 9-70.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: WR, Devin Peterson 38-136, Colt Halbur 12-79, Zach Campbell 4-21, Rylan Lubeck 6-7. M, Riley Gebelein 13-40, Elliot Ashbeck 4-25, Cody Tarnowski 2-7, Caleb Cline 1-minus 1, Team 1-minus 9.
Passing: WR, Halbur 0-4-0-0. M, Ashbeck 15-32-154-2.
Receiving: M, Jordan Litwaitis 5-60, Austin Littmann 4-44, Tarnowski 2-35, Gebelein 2-25, Cline 1-12, Brandon Brown 1-12.
Fumble recoveries (defense): M, Justin Sternweis, Trevor Peterson.
Interceptions (defense): WR, Zach Bassuener, Alex Marriott.
Records: Wisconsin Rapids 6-1, 5-0 Valley Football Association South; Marshfield 6-1, 4-1 VFA South.