This story is sponsored by American Family Insurance/Randy Le Moine Agency LLC
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – After surrendering an early safety, Marshfield ripped of touchdowns on six of its next seven offensive possessions, and added a score on defense as well, as the Tigers cruised to a 47-8 win over Fond du Lac in their 2013 Valley Football Association South Division opener Friday night at Beell Stadium.
Keiron Howlett scored from 1 and 50 yards, Caleb Alexander had scoring runs of 3 and 57 yards and quarterbacks Colton Zahradka and Luke Zuiker each tossed a touchdown pass for the Tigers (2-1 overall, 1-0 VFA South.).
Alexander returned the opening kickoff 86 yards for a touchdown, but the play was called back due to a holding penalty. Fond du Lac held the Tigers and on the ensuing punt attempt, the snap went over punter Craig Zalizniak’s head into the end zone, where he landed on it, giving the Cardinals a safety and an early 2-0 lead.
From there, the Tigers couldn’t be stopped.
A 38-yard pass play from Zahradka to Jeffery Allison and a 20-yard run by Howlett put the ball on the 1, where Howlett scored from on the next play to put Marshfield up 7-0.
The Tigers’ next drive lasted just two plays as Zuiker hit Jace Krasselt on a 29-yard pass and Alexander ran in from 3 yards away for another score.
Fond du Lac turned the ball over on downs for the second straight time, Howlett scored on the very next play, scampering 50 yards untouched to make it 21-2 after the first quarter.
Ian Pillai recovered a fumble on Fond du Lac’s next possession and this time the Tigers needed only three plays to score again. Alexander ran 57 yards down the right side to make it 27-2.
Matt Oestreich returned an interception 37 yards for a touchdown just 48 seconds later and Mitch Zillman capped the scoring in the first half by catching a 10-yard touchdown pass from Zahradka, giving Marshfield a 41-2 lead at halftime.
Zillman, one of the team’s starting middle linebackers, lined up at fullback on the play and caught a pass in the flat for the score.
“I was mostly expecting to block when I got in on offense, but when I got the ball, I was really excited,” Zillman said.
Zuiker hit Allison for a 64-yard touchdown on the Tigers’ second offensive play of the third quarter to wrap up their scoring.
Fond du Lac did score a touchdown during mop-up time in the fourth quarter, but the Marshfield defense stood strong again. Wausau West scored on the Tigers’ No. 1 defense on the opening drive of the season opener. Since, Marshfield’s starting defense has not allowed another touchdown.
“We’ve been able to bend but not break,” Zillman said. “Sometimes they’ve been able to get in the red zone, but we’ve been able to get some turnovers. Everybody really stepped up.
“Everybody was real down after that (opening game loss to Wausau West),” Zillman said. “We didn’t know what to expect but now we’re back on track.”
Goettl said the experience of the Tigers’ defense has shone through early in the season.
“What’s been the key? Effort and good, hard work,” Goettl said. “We’ve got a bunch of great linebackers in the middle and the defense is coming into its own. Their playing together and playing as a team. We’ve got a bunch of good, professional kids. We’re a senior dominated team and we’re liking that.”
Marshfield returns to action next Friday, Sept. 13, with another home game against Neenah. The game begins at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on WDLB-AM 1450 and wdlbwosq.com.
Tigers 47, Cardinals 8
Fond du Lac 2 0 0 6 – 8
Marshfield 21 20 6 0 – 47
First Quarter
F – Safety, Marshfield snap into end zone, 8:52.
M – Keiron Howlett 1 run (Brad Krueger kick), 5:48.
M – Caleb Alexander 3 run (Krueger kick), 3:09.
M – Howlett 50 run (Krueger kick), 1:24.
Second Quarter
M – Alexander 57 run (run failed), 11:09.
M – Matt Oestreich 37 interception return (Krueger kick), 10:21.
M – Mitch Zillman 10 pass from Colton Zahradka (Krueger kick), 2:10.
Third Quarter
M – Jeffery Allison 64 pass from Luke Zuiker (kick missed), 7:49.
Fourth Quarter
F – Phillip Johnson 40 run (kick missed), 6:02.
Team Statistics
First downs: Fond du Lac 10; Marshfeild 10.
Rushing (att-yards): Fond du Lac 41-217; Marshfield 28-235.
Passing (comp-att-yards-int): Fond du Lac 6-13-67-2; Marshfield 7-12-176-0.
Penalties (no.-yards): Fond du Lac 6-45; Marshfield 9-74.
Fumbles (total-lost): Fond du Lac 2-1; Marshfield 3-0.
Individual Statistics
Rushing: F, Phillip Johnson 7-74, Justin Maratik 13-53, Quinn Woelfel 4-45, Troy Dehart 5-30, Kyle Pierce 7-27, Jake Walgenbach 5-minus 9. M, Keiron Howlett 10-115, Caleb Alexander 4-65, Thomas Gisvold 6-52, Luke Zuiker 2-6, Colton Zahradka 2-3, Devan Wrege 1-0, Derek Coffren 3-minus 6.
Passing: F, Walgenbach 6-13-67-2, Said Mahamed 0-4-0-0. M, Zuiker 3-6-118-0, Zahradka 3-5 52-0, Coffren 1-1-6-0.
Receiving: F, Brian Luteyn 4-33, Ty Krueger 1-31, Mark Dilling 1-3. M, Jeffery Allison 2-102, Alexander 2-10, Jace Krasselt 1-29, Wrege 1-25, Mitch Zillman 1-10.
Fumble recoveries (defense): M, Ian Pillai.
Interceptions (defense): M, Matt Oestreich 2.
Records: Fond du Lac 0-3, 0-1 Valley Football Association South; Marshfield 2-1, 1-0 VFA South.