This story is sponsored by Victory Apparel
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – Wisconsin Rapids put together two impressive drives in the fourth quarter to overcome a seven-point deficit and defeat Marshfield 24-21 in a Valley Football Association game Friday night in Marshfield’s Homecoming game at Heiting Community Stadium.
Two plays after converting a fourth-and-1, Wisconsin Rapids quarterback Teal Lucas hit Evan Mathews with a 42-yard touchdown pass down the right sideline to tie the game at 21-21 with 5:24 to go.
After forcing Marshfield to a second-straight three-and-out, the Raiders drove 66 yards in 14 plays, converting two third-and-long plays in the process, and Ashton Fischer nailed a 19-yard field goal with four seconds left to give the Raiders the win and send Marshfield to its first VFA loss and snapped its four-game winning streak.
Marshfield will have to win a pair of road games – at Stevens Point on Oct. 7 and at Hortonville on Oct. 14 – to earn a share of the VFA title. Wisconsin Rapids finishes its conference season at home against Appleton West on Oct. 7, and Wausau West will be at home against Hortonville and D.C. Everest the final two weeks as each can also finish no worse than tied for the championship if it wins out.
“If we could have got up by 14, it’s tough for them to come back,” Marshfield coach Denny Goettl said. “It’s that simple. We should have scored and it was penalties that killed us again. That’s the big thing, we can’t stop holding…that’s on us, that’s on me.
“We had it in our hands and things we should have controlled and didn’t. We got stuffed on dive plays, had some open receivers in the end zone, those plays have to be made.”
Marshfield started quickly. After taking over on the 35 following a failed fake punt by the Raiders, fullback Braden Anderson scored from the 9 to give the Tigers a 7-0 lead just 3:17 into the game.
Wisconsin Rapids bounced back with a quick four-play, 77-yard drive than included runs of 33 and 36 yards by Leo Brostowitz, the second for a touchdown, to tie the game.
The Raiders took the lead in the second quarter, going 91 yards in just six plays. A 27-yard run by Brostowitz and a 30-yard gain by Lucas set up a 12-yard TD from Brostowitz with 2:05 to go before halftime.
The Tigers weren’t content to run out the clock and retaliated. A 39-yard pass from Trevor Foemmel to Luke LeMoine set up a 6-yard touchdown by Foemmel to tie the game at 14-14 with 41 seconds left in the half.
Marshfield received the opening kickoff of the second half and ran down the field. Despite a holding penalty setting them back, the Tigers were able to put the ball in the end zone as Foemmel connected again with LeMoine, this time for an 18-yard touchdown, giving the Tigers a 21-14 lead.
Marshfield reached the Rapids 26 on its next possession but failed on fourth down and never threatened again.
After both teams exchanged punts to start the fourth quarter, Rapids was able to put together its first scoring drive, running the ball five times before surprising the Tigers with a pass play as a streaking Mathews hauled in the pass from Lucas and hauled it to the end zone.
Marshfield didn’t gain a yard on its next possession and Wisconsin Rapids took over at its own 33 before grinding out the long drive to set up the game-winning field goal.
“We know we’re good enough,” Goettl said. “We have to play well now to get a share of the conference championship.”
Brostowitz finished with 211 yards on 25 carries as the Raiders (5-2 overall) racked up 308 yards on the ground and 388 yards overall, while holding Marshfield to 266.
Foemmel finished with 73 yards rushing and 79 yards passing, while Jeff Marsh added 64 yards on the ground for Marshfield (4-3 overall).
Raiders 24, Tigers 21
Wisconsin Rapids 7 7 0 10 – 24
Marshfield 7 7 7 0 – 21
First Quarter
M – Braden Anderson 9 run (Braxton Kurth kick), 8:43.
WR – Leo Brostowitz 36 run (Ashton Fischer kick), 6:41.
Second Quarter
WR – Brostowitz 12 run (Fischer kick), 2:05.
M – Trevor Foemmel 6 run (Kurth kick), 0:41.
Third Quarter
M – Luke LeMoine 10 pass from Foemmel (Kurth kick), 8:39.
Fourth Quarter
WR – Evan Mathews 42 pass from Teal Lucas (Fischer kick), 5:24.
WR – Fischer 19 field goal, 0:04.
Team Statistics
First downs: Wisconsin Rapids 12; Marshfield 10.
Rushing (att-yards): WR 47-308; M 37-179.
Passing (comp-att-yards-int): WR 5-10-80-0; M 4-10-79-0.
Total yards: WR 388; M 258.
Penalties (no.-yards): WR 4-30; M 7-58.
Fumbles (total-lost): WR 0-0; M 0-0.
Punting (no.-avg.): WR 3-28.7; M 3-43.7.
Individual Statistics
Rushing: WR, Leo Brostowitz 25-211, Teal Lucas 16-76, Brennan Huber 3-14, Connor Bubolz 3-7. M, Trevor Foemmel 12-73, Jeff Marsh 12-64, Braden Anderson 4-17, Eli Colby 3-26, Mason Seidl 6-minus 1.
Passing: WR, Lucas 5-10-80-0. M, Foemmel 4-10-79-0.
Receiving: WR, Bubolz 3-34, Evan Mathews 2-46. M, Luke LeMoine 3-68, Sam Meverden 1-11.
Records: Wiscosnin Rapids 5-2, 4-1 Valley Football Association; Marshfield 4-3, 3-1 Valley Football Association.