Bryan Blacka of Jonathan Alder (right) brings down MHS quarterback Walker Heard Friday evening. The Pioneers won, 35-32, in overtime.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Chad Williamson)
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If it was on ESPN, Friday night’s contest between Marysville and Jonathan Alder would have earned the Instant Classic tag.
After the wild 35-32 overtime victory by the Pioneers, it is doubtful that there would be a player, coach or fan who wouldn’t like to see that game again.
The atmosphere at JA was almost surreal, especially in the second half as each team seemed like it had the game in the bag on more than one occasion. The wild fourth quarter saw Marysville storm back from five down, to take an eight-point lead, only to see the Pioneers drive in the last minute to score with 11 seconds left and then convert the two-point conversion to send the game into OT.
The extra period also had its share of drama, with each team believing it had won the game.
“I’ve never been a part of a game like that,” JA coach Brett Glass said. “Not even close.”
First-year Monarch coach Brent Johnson was more reserved, though he still realized the show that both teams had just put on.
“It’s high school football at its very best right there,” Johnson said before pausing. “ – but we can’t accept that.”
Marysville came into the season as a team searching for an identity. In previous years, the Monarchs has struggled for wins and often found themselves on the wrong end of blowouts. At times the last two years, the Monarchs would quit.
The Monarchs also found themselves often backed into a corner and relying on one weapon to fuel the offense, tailback Thomas Rush who often carried the ball more than 30 times per game.
The 2017 Monarchs seemed to have not only found grit, but they also found more offensive weapons to shoulder the load.
Rush still picked up 127 yards and two scores on 25 carries, but he had help. Along with finding more weapons, the Monarchs also found the cutback lane.
Marysville’s wing T offense attacked Alder from a lot of angles and used misdirection to create running lanes. Aside from Rush, running backs Tayden Jackson and Devin Slabaugh, as well as quarterback Walker Heard all picked up more than 40 yards.
“On offense we did what we wanted to do,” Johnson said. “Our kids ran the ball hard.”
Glass agreed, “We couldn’t stop their run game.”
On the other side of the field, the Pioneers are well aware of their identity – a balanced team in a program that wins.
Returning 1,500-yard rusher Jamie Dye picked up where he left off last year – running for 99 yards and a pair of scores.
Returning 1,200-yard passer Preston Eisnaugle was even more impressive – chucking the ball for 171 yards and three touchdowns.
“Everyone on our team, from number one to 63, never gave up,” Glass said.
JA held the edge in the first quarter thanks to a seven-yard scoring run by Dye and point after by Ethan Gordin.
Marysville answered in the second quarter as the ground game came alive and Jackson capped a drive with a 19-yard scoring run. Thomas Wolfe hit the PAT to tie the game at 7-7 with six minutes left in the half.
Each team scored again before the half – JA on a 63-yard sprint by Dye and the Monarchs on a five-yard run by Rush. The Monarch extra point missed the mark, however, putting the halftime score at 14-13 Jon Alder.
In the second half, Dye passed the torch on offense to Eisnaugle as he hooked with Bryan Blacka for a 22-yard touchdown on the opening drive of the period.
Marysville answered with a 73-yard march that took almost seven minutes off the clock. The drive stalled inside the 10, however and the Monarchs had to settle for a 23-yard Wolfe field goal that made the score 21-16.
After forcing a punt at the end of the third period, the Monarchs took their first lead of the game when Rush broke look through a big hole and raced 42 yards for a touchdown. The two-point try failed, but the Monarchs held a 22-21 lead just over a minute into the fourth quarter.
A JA fumble that was picked up by the Monarchs at the Pioneer 34 began a wild sprint to the finish.
Though moving down only a third of the field, the Monarchs somehow managed to eat up more than six minutes of the final period clock. Heard converted a big fourth down with a pass to Mike Bonzak, then Rush added a first down carry to the 11.
Heard broke loose on a keeper to the one-yard line and scored a play later. Wolfe’s PAT put the score at 29-21 with less than three minutes to play.
JA got great field position on the kick return, starting near midfield, but a run and three incomplete passes turned the ball back over to the Monarchs with two minutes left to play.
Marysville moved the ball a short distance in three plays but faced fourth-and-two at the JA 38. The Monarchs left the clock drain down to 1:07 and called timeout to talk strategy.
The MHS offense came out onto the field for fourth down, but only attempted to draw an offsides penalty before taking a delay of game. Marysville punted, but the ball was tipped and Marysville gained little field position as the Pioneers took over at the 31 with 1:02 to play.
Johnson said the coaching staff discussed running a play on fourth down in an attempt to move the sticks and put the game away. Ultimately they opted to pin the Pioneers deep, but did not get the kind of kick they were hoping for, he said.
Eisnaugle hit Dalton Potts for a big 28-yard gain and then backed that up with a strike to Blacka for 11 with 25 seconds left.
Somehow, with under 20 seconds left, Dylan Devier broke out of his route unnoticed and was standing wide open in the end zone for an easy 30-yard touchdown with 11 seconds left in the game.
Eisnaugle then went back to Blacka to convert the two-point conversion and send the game into OT tied at 29-29.
With the ball placed at the 20-yard-line for overtime, the Monarch offense sputtered for the first time in the second half. Marysville was forced to settle for a 30-yard field goal by Wolfe, thanks in part to holder Sam Essig who teed up a low snap.
JA took over for its shot from the 20, and Marysville appeared to have won the game on the first play. Eisnaugle’s first pass floated near the sidelines and Essig used his sticky fingers again to haul in the interception, which would have ended the game with a Monarch win.
The officials saw it differently, however, calling pass interference and giving the ball back to the Pioneers.
Marysville held on first and second down, but on third down Eisnaugle found Blacka from 11 yards out for the game winning touchdown.
Marysville will host Delaware Friday. Jon Alder will host Marion Harding next week.