The way on Friday was without an offensive touchdown.
The Flyers pushed their nation-leading winning streak to 74 games by beating Midwest Athletic Conference rival Coldwater 7-6 in front of a standing-room only crowd at Booster Stadium in Maria Stein.
It’s the third one-point win the squad has managed this season to keep the streak alive.
“It was a hard-fought game,” Goodwin said. “We left some things out there. I’m sure they would think they left some things out there.”
Both squads struggled offensively throughout and managed a combined 22 first downs.
The Cavaliers put together a long drive on their second possession of the third quarter, and Bryce Couchot kicked a 40-yard field goal with 1:39 left in the third quarter to give the squad a 3-0 lead.
It lasted 15 seconds.
Marion Local junior Andrew Schmackers fielded the ensuing kickoff, ran straight for about 20 yards and then cut to his left, dodged defenders and raced up the home sideline on a 98-yard kickoff return. Thomas Winner kicked the extra point to give the Flyers a 7-3 lead.
Schmackers described dodging defenders as “close, dirty work,” along the home sideline and credited his teammates for blocking and creating an open lane.
“Coldwater has a great kicker, but he kicks it a long ways,” Goodwin said. “We thought, you know, there’s a chance we could get a good return. …Schmackers made a great move to get it in. Even if it was a long (return), I don’t know if we could have scored.”
The Cavaliers responded with another lengthy drive, but they stalled in the red zone, and Couchot kicked a 27-yard field goal with 7:07 left in the fourth.
The Flyers finished with their best drive of the game to run out the clock. Among the key first downs the squad earned was on a run on a fourth-and-one at midfield.
“The defense played hard and stiffened up when we needed to,” Goodwin said. “The offense, when we needed that last drive, we did it.”
Soon after the game, former OHSAA executive director Jerry Snodgrass presented Marion Local players with the MAC championship trophy — their ninth straight either out shared or outright, and their fifth consecutive outright.
It’s the fifth consecutive undefeated regular season for the squad. The Flyers are the No. 1 seed in Division VII, Region 28 and will have a bye week in Week 11 before starting postseason play with a home game in Week 12.
“We’re going to take it as a normal week, just get better,” Schmackers said. “… We just stay calm and work hard. Stay consistent, give it all we’ve got.”
Credit: Bryant Billing
Credit: Bryant Billing
Coldwater (6-4, 5-3 MAC) will have a home game to start postseason play next week.
“We’ve had a lot of bounce-back situations,” longtime coach Chip Otten said. “… After each loss, we’ve played really well. Part of the growth was we started three D-lineman who are all sophomores, really stout, good football players. That’s been huge.
“These guys have come in and played really well. Really like this team, they’re good kids. They’re playing hard. Hopefully we can mentally get back now at this point after some tough losses.”
Coldwater had 198 total yards of offense while Marion Local had 197. Marion Local was 2-of-4 on third-down conversion attempts.
In addition to the two turnovers on downs, Ben Meier also intercepted a pass for Coldwater.
“This is going to hurt because we felt like we obviously played well enough to maybe win,” Otten said. “I think they’ll bounce back.”
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