 PHOTOS: Marion Local vs. Lucas
A 28-6 thumping of Lucas from Richland County secured a Division VII state championship at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. That padded Marion Localâs state championship total to 11. That also ties Cleveland St. Ignatius for the most in state history.
 RELATED: Trotwood-Madison embraces state title
Just as incredible, Marion Local coach Tim Goodwin repeatedly was asked if it ever gets old winning so many state titles.
âNaw,â he said, grinning. âTo tie Ignatius for the record, that makes this one pretty cool.â
 RELATED: Rams win another state football title
How does Marion Local do it? That starts with playing in the best small-ball league in Ohio, the mighty Midwest Athletic Conference.
A 10-team affiliation that excels in all sports, girls and boys, Marion Local earned the MACâs 35th state football title, and the Flyers werenât alone in doing so this weekend. On Friday, Anna, the newbie among MAC football members, won its first state football title following a 48-14 number on New Middletown Springfield.
âWinning a championship is just amazing,â said Marion Local senior running back/linebacker Brandon Fleck, who scored on three short runs and rushed for a game-high 133 yards. âIt means everything to this (Maria Stein) community. All the players, all the past players, everybody gets excited about it.â
 PHOTOS: Trotwood vs. Mansfield Senior, state final
That began on Saturday with Dylan Heitampâs 1-yard TD run midway through the first quarter. Fleck followed with two more scores to make it 21-0 and a likely blowout brewing.
Instead, Carson Hauger returned a kickoff 96 yards to pull Lucas within 21-6. However, two deep Lucas drives were undone in the fourth quarter when Nathan Ungruhn recovered a fumble and Charles Huelsman followed with an interception.
 PHOTOS: Anna vs. New Middletown Springfield, state final
Goodwin labeled it a fitting example of how the Flyers (13-2) did it this season. Keep plugging and overcome mistakes.
Lucas (12-3) coach Scott Spitler had another take.
âWe were playing the bar of small-school football in Marion Local and going toe to toe with them,â Spitler said. âWeâre not there yet. Thatâs what everybody saw (Saturday). We donât give up; we just keep fighting.â
 RELATED: Anna wins state football title
It was the Flyersâ ninth consecutive state championship appearance. Since 2000, Marion Local has played in 14 state championships and all have been with Goodwin as the Flyersâ head coach.
The Flyers lost 18 starters from last yearâs D-VI state runner-up team, making this as much of a refreshed Flyers team as could be. They made their lasting mark on Marion Local football.
 RELATED: State final MAC attack
âA lot of these kids have waited a long time to get to play,â Goodwin said. âItâs just satisfying to see young people grow like that. We had a great senior class who wanted to do it. When you want to do something and you have a great attitude and are willing to work for it, good things can happen and thatâs what happened to these guys.â
 RELATED: âItâs a monster challengeâ
 RELATED: Trotwood-Madison twins deliver
 RELATED: Legacy at work for Trotwood players
 RELATED: All-Area football teams
 RELATED: Anna eliminates Mechanicsburg in state semi
 PHOTOS: Anna vs. Mechanicsburg, state semi
 RELATED: Trotwood OK with boys basketball delay
 RELATED: All-Area football teams
 PHOTOS: Badin vs. Trotwood-Madison, regional final football
 RELATED: Final football power rankings
 RELATED: MAC teams state poll champs
 SOCIAL MEDIA: You should like Marc Pendleton on Facebook and Twitter
About the Author