This story is sponsored by Victory Apparel
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
Click here to check out the Valley Football Association South scores, standings and future schedule
MARSHFIELD – With the game on the line again, the Marshfield defense stepped up in a big way to save the day.
The Tigers ‘D’ stopped D.C. Everest twice on fourth down in the final 4 minutes to preserve a 24-17 victory on Friday night at Beell Stadium, giving Marshfield its second-straight come-from-behind victory to start the 2015 season.
Nick Hoheisel ran for 184 yards and a touchdown, and Braden Bohman had a 34-yard touchdown run to provide the game-winning score for the Tigers, who are now 2-0 overall and 1-0 in the Valley Football Association South. This season, the VFA decided to make the second cross-over game a conference matchup.
Everest reached the Marshfield 6 before the Tigers stopped it on fourth-and-2 with 3:41 left in the game. After Marshfield had to punt, the Evergreens pushed the ball to the Tigers 20 with less than a minute to go, but a holding penalty pushed them back to 37 and Marshfield forced three-straight incompletions to end the game.
“There were definitely some big plays their offense had,” Marshfield senior linebacker Aaron Peters said. “We had to keep coming out and pushing as hard as could. We really wanted the win and had to keep pushing though.”
After a mistake-filled 19-14 victory over Wausau East last week, the Tigers were able to limit their mistakes. Everest compiled 367 yards of offense, but other than a 62-yard touchdown by Stephen Paoli II on the third play of the fourth quarter, Marshfield was able to hold its own for most of the game.
“We’re playing with a bunch of guys that didn’t think they could go last year and got themselves prepared this year,” Marshfield coach Denny Goettl said. “I’m really excited about our defensive backs. We put some of our big offensive linemen in there at the end. Get ‘em in and get ‘em going. That shored some things up at the end when we stopped them on that last drive.”
Hoheisel broke through a wall about 10 yards down field and busted off a 71-yard touchdown run to put Marshfield up 7-3 with 1:33 to go in the first quarter.
Everest regained the lead late in the half when Jamison Frame scored from the 5.
Marshfield took over looking for a late score. Quarterback Tyson Slade hit Bohman for a 12-yard pass on third-and-12, and connected with Hoheisel for a 21-yard pass on third-and-10 to keep the Tigers moving down the field in the final minute.
Zach McManus capped the drive with a 40-yard field goal on the final play of the half to tie the game 10-10.
Marshfield took the lead on its first possession of the second half, driving 74 yards in 10 plays. Hoheisel had a 39-yard run and the Tigers benefitted from a personal foul penalty on a sack of Slade. Two plays later, Slade snuck in from the 1 to put Marshfield on top 17-10 with 3:24 to go in the quarter.
The lead held until Everest tied in on its first possession of the fourth quarter on Paoli’s 62-yard touchdown run.
Marshfield quickly responded, putting together a clutch 58-yard scoring drive.
Slade connected with Jon Hardinger for a 21-yard pass on third-and-12, and four plays later Bohman ran in from the 24 to put the Tigers on top for good.
“We don’t have any superstars on our team,” Goettl said. “It’s not a degrading thing. The way we all have to help each other out and have each other’s backs is what makes us stronger. We’re never going to be in a blowout situation. We’re going to fight for everything we get.”
Marshfield hosts Neenah (2-0, 1-0 VFA South) on Sept. 4 at Beell Stadium. The game begins at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on WDLB-AM 1450 and wdlbwosq.com.
Tigers 24, Evergreens 17
D.C. Everest 3 7 0 7 – 17
Marshfield 7 3 7 7 – 24
First Quarter
DCE – Troy Schwan 25 field goal, 2:13.
M – Nick Hoheisel 71 run (Zach McManus kick), 1:33.
Second Quarter
DCE – Jamison Frame 5 run (Brad Goetsch kick), 2:37.
M – McManus 40 field goal, 0:00.
Third Quarter
M – Tyson Slade 1 run (McManus kick), 3:24.
Fourth Quarter
DCE – Stephen Paoli II 62 run (Goetsch kick), 10:38.
M – Braden Bohman 24 run (McManus kick), 7:42.
Team Statistics
First downs: Everest 17; Marshfield 15.
Rushing (att-yards): Everest 45-260; Marshfield 35-205.
Passing (comp-att-yards-int): Everest 6-17-107-0; Marshfield 14-23-148-0.
Penalties (no.-yards): Everest 7-53; Marshfield 6-54.
Punting (no.-avg.): Everest 4-34.8; Marshfield 5-34.8.
Individual Statistics
Rushing: DCE, Stephen Paoli II 27-221, Riley Petersen 6-12, Brady Uekert 4-7, Sam Stoik 3-6, Nick Kohnhorst 1-5, Jamison Frame 1-5, Isaac Frieders 3-4. M, Nick Hoheisel 21-184, Braden Bohman 6-43, Tyson Slade 6-2, Jon Hardinger 1-minus 5, Zach McManus 1-minus 19.
Passing: DCE, Petersen 6-17-107-0. M, Slade 14-23-148-0.
Receiving: DCE, Kohnhorst 3-58, Dylan Ellenbecker 2-30, Connor Dickinson 1-19. M, Hardinger 6-61, Hoheisel 3-31, McManus 3-30, Bohman 2-26.
Fumble recoveries (defense): DCE, Jamie Moe.
Punting: DCE, Brad Goetsch 4-34.8. M, McManus 5-34.8.