Marysville’s Nick Johnson (54) blocks for JJ Henry (29) on this play. The Monarchs lost their Homecoming game, 15-14, to Hilliard Darby.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Chad Williamson)
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Anyone who thought Marysville’s game against Hilliard Darby wouldn’t be decided in the final minutes doesn’t know their history.
The previous three contests have been decided on the final few plays and Friday’s game for the Monarchs was no different.
Cole Horvath’s Hail Mary grab in traffic and the subsequent two-point conversion upended a gutsy effort by the 2-4 Monarchs, handing them a 15-14 loss.
“We told them all week there are going to be ups and downs in this game,” MHS coach Brent Johnson said. “It’s the fourth year in a row this game’s come down in the last possession of the game. It’s a dogfight.”
In actuality, Darby’s score with 1:51 left in the game was an eternity compared to the last three years.
In 2020 the Panthers scored with 19 seconds left to decide the game and the following year the contest went into overtime before the Monarchs won.
Last year Marysville scored with 29 seconds left in the contest to pull out the victory.
This year, the Monarchs appeared to have the Panthers on the ropes as they faced fourth-and-27 when they landed the death blow.
Quarterback Sage Kean broke out of the pocket and launched a moon ball from the out near the Marysville 38. It came down in a pocket of five Monarchs and two Panthers.
The ball pretty much dropped right into the middle of the ring of Monarchs where Horvath was waiting.
He snared the ball inside the five, backed up a few steps and fell into the end zone.
“Fourth-and-27… you gotta get off the field,” Johnson said. “That’s what it came down to.”
Marysville was flagged for pass interference on the scoring play and by rule, Darby could take the penalty on the point-after or the kickoff.
The Panthers opted to move the ball half the distance to the goal on the free try and went for two. Kean turned up on an option keeper for the go-ahead points.
“That’s just a tough high school football game,” Johnson said.
Marysville went out and scored all of its points in the first quarter.
The Monarchs called a fake punt on their first drive. Matt Krutowskis took the direct snap and rumbled 28 yards to the 17.
Quarterback Brevin Bourquin hooked up with Micah Walls to move the ball to the 3 and then rolled around the left end on a keeper to open the scoring. The PAT gave Marysville 7-0 lead with 5:46 left in the first quarter.
Darby tried to return the favor, going for it on fourth-and-3 at the MHS 37 on the next drive. The Panthers got got rolled up and Marysville took over.
After completing three passes in the first drive, Bourquin went back to the air, hitting Damon Wade for 12 yards. He then found Nathan Woods for a big 47-yard catch-and-run that put the ball inside the 5.
Sophomore Corbin Wallace hit paydirt from three yards out and the PAT closed out the Monarch scoring with a 14-0 lead with 35 seconds left in the first quarter.
The only score of the second quarter came from the Panther defense, as Darby’s Daniel Woodruff slipped inside a Bourquin offering in the flat and raced 23 yards for a score. The PAT made the score 14-7 with 7:44 left in the half.
Darby looked to tie the contest on the opening drive of the second half.
It marched nearly 70 yards before fumbling the ball away inside the MHS 5.
The Panthers got only one possession in the final quarter, but it was a long one. Darby took a Monarch punt with 7:47 left in the game.
A late pass interference call on a deep ball gave the Panthers a first down near midfield.
They could muster only one yard on the next two plays and faced third-and-long. A sweep picked up seven yards, but the Panthers had to call a QB keeper on fourth-and-2 to move the sticks.
Darby picked up another first down at the Monarch 24, but then got tagged for a holding call.
Two incomplete passes and a big sack by Marysville’s Nick Johnson set up the fateful fourth-and-27 play with about two minutes left.
After the Darby go-ahead score, Marysville was hit with a holding call, three incompletions and a sack as it gave the ball back to Darby to close out the game.
That stat sheet showed an even contest with Darby holding the edge on first downs at 12-10, but Marysville taking a 223-196 advantage in total yards.
The Monarchs rushed for 119 yards with Krutowskis leading the way with 53 yards on five carries.
A pair of Monarch sophomores saw their first extended action in the backfield as Wallace had 10 carries for 28 yards and a score. J.J. Henry had 11 runs for 25 yards.
Bourquin had his most effective game of the season, completing 6-of-10 passes for 104 yards.
The Monarch defense did a good job of keeping the Darby veer offense in check most of the night, allowing only 126 yards on the ground an another 70 in the air.
The Monarchs will travel to 2-4 Dublin Jerome on Friday.