“The conditions today in the heat were horrible,” Marion Local head coach Tim Goodwin said. “But thankfully we had some depth and fought through. We threw some kids out there, and I think they did a good job.”
Leugers, a senior, took over at quarterback midway through last season but played like a four-year starter against the Eagles. He dodged tackles, scrambled for big runs and looked poised in the pocket under pressure.
“That quarterback’s an extra run guy that’s hard to account for,” CJ head coach Marcus Colvin said. “That’s a problem when you have a team like this that can run and throw the ball, and then sneak a quarterback out in some run game stuff. It’s hard to game plan for that.”
The Flyers led 7-0 with 6:48 left in the second quarter when play resumed, and it didn’t take long for them to score again. Chaminade Julienne went three-and-out on its first possession on Saturday, and after a couple of quick big gains, Leugers scored on a 15-yard run.
Marion Local got the ball back quickly after another CJ three-and-out. Leugers broke through the line on a run up the middle and scored a 27-yard touchdown with 1:39 left, which put Marion up 20-0 after a missed extra point. CJ drove down to the Flyers’ 15-yard line on the next drive but turned the ball over on downs with about 10 seconds remaining.
Leugers added another touchdown run late in the third period from 35 yards out, which came a couple of plays after he threw a 28-yard pass to Tyler Mescher, who caught the ball in stride with three nearby defenders.
CJ scored in the second half on two touchdown passes from Ryan Peltier to Darian Jones. The second pass from 27 yards cut the Flyers’ lead to 26-14. Marion Local responded with a long drive that Nate Moeller capped off with a four-yard touchdown run with 5:34 left in the fourth. Leugers found Ryan Thobe in the front right corner of the end zone for a two-point conversion.
Marion Local (1-0) plays at home against McComb High School next Friday and CJ (0-1) travels to Miamisburg. Colvin said playing a physical team like Marion Local is good practice for the Vikings, who are anchored by Ohio State offensive line recruit Josh Myers.
“We don’t mind playing tough teams like a Miamisburg or a Marion Local, because it’s only going to make us tougher down the road,” Colvin said. “There’s no doubt we got a little better today playing a football team of that caliber.”
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