Marysville’s Tanner Powers (7) and a Lancaster player contend for a loose ball on Friday. The Monarchs rolled to a 24-0 victory. (Journal-Tribune photo by Chad Williamson)
Marysville fans attending Friday night’s football game against Lancaster saw something they never imagined – the high school version of the 1996 Ohio State Buckeyes.
Like that OSU team which saw Joe Germaine and Stanley Jackson share time at quarterback with differing skill sets, this year’s Monarchs squad has a pair of signal callers each bringing their own talents onto the field.
The results speak for themselves as Marysville handled the Golden Gales, 24-0.
Ethan Musel, who started last year, gave the Monarchs senior leadership and flash with his legs, extending drives with runs of 20 and 21 yards.
Junior Brady Seger brought his arm to the field, completing 5-of-5 passes for 71 yards and a pair or touchdowns.
“Each kid brings a different aspect of the game,” MHS coach Brent Johnson said.
Johnson said one of the two QBs was chosen for particular drives based on what the coaching staff wanted to attack at that point in the game. The coach said he was pleased there is no friction between the two athletes.
“I was proud of those two for that,” Johnson said. “We’ve built a culture where kids understand the importance of team before self.”
While the dual quarterback reveal was shiny and new, the Monarch defense was the real star of the show.
Led by OSU-signee Gabe Powers at linebacker, the MHS defense only allowed Lancaster into the red zone one time. That chance came after the Golden Gales ripped off a sweep for 35 yards and a long pass for 32 yards on the same drive.
If you take those 67 yards off the books, the Monarch D only allowed 80 yards of offense the rest of the game. And it didn’t even feel like the Gales picked up that much.
“Our defense rallied, man,” Johnson said.
While Powers roamed sideline-to-sideline making numerous tackles, he was by no means the only disruptive force on that side of the ball.
Undersized interior lineman Erryl Will and end Benjamin Bickerstaff lived in the backfield and never let plays materialize from Lancaster’s wing-T offense.
Fellow linebacker Colton Powers also crashed holes and had a handful of tackles.
The big question mark for the Monarchs going into the game centered around the cohesiveness of an offensive line that sports four new starters.
While Marysville’s stats look good with more than 300 yards of offense, 247 of which came on the ground, the line seemed to bog down at times and was flagged for holding and false start infractions that killed a few Monarch drives.
The Golden Gales’ defensive strategy did nothing to ease the young linemen into the varsity spotlight. Lancaster squeezed down its four-man defensive front and was satisfied with having them dive into the legs of the MHS linemen, essentially creating piles of bodies along the line. This resulted in Marysville’s early success coming on plays around the end.
Still, after a scoreless first quarter and a lone touchdown drive in the first half, Johnson admitted he was getting a little antsy for his offense to break out.
“I even found myself wanting that big play,” Johnson said. “But you have to be satisfied with those dirty yards.”
And that’s just what the Monarchs did in the early going. After holding Lancaster to three-and-out on its opening series, the Monarchs put together a nice five-minute drive that stalled out inside the Lancaster 20, where the Monarchs faced fourth-and-3.
Marysville went for the first down as Musel dropped back to pass.
He was forced to scramble. As he passed the sticks, a Gale defender put his helmet on the ball and it squirted free as Lancaster recovered.
On the ensuing possession, the Golden Gales hit the big run and big pass to put the ball at the MHS 15. Slapped back to reality, the MHS defense drove the Gales back 17 yards on the next three plays and forced them to punt after being in the red zone.
Marysville finally started to click on its second possession of the second quarter, following a 37-yard punt return by Tanner Powers that put the ball at the Lancaster 21.
Gabe Powers took a handoff around the left end and shot up the sidelines for an easy touchdown on the next play.
The score, though, was negated on a holding call. Marysville eventually fought back to a third-and-three situation but was hit with another penalty, this time a false start, that moved the ball back.
But then the Monarchs went to the air as Seger dropped back and found Gabe Powers at the goal line on a 19-yard pass.
Powers rolled back into the end zone for the score. JJ Riggsby nailed the extra point for a 7-0 MHS lead with 5:14 left in the first half.
A penalty stalled Marysville’s opening drive of the second half and the Monarchs settled for a 37-yard field goal from Riggsby.
Later in the quarter,a lightning delay stopped the game for about 45 minutes.
WHen the teams returned to the field, the Monarchs hit the gas.
Musel ripped off a 21-yard run and Griffin Johnson picked up a first down of his own as Marysville moved inside the Lancaster 5.
Three plays later .Jerimiah McNeal went into the end zone from a yard out and Riggsby’s PAT made the score 17-0 with just under five minutes left in the third quarter.
Marysville’s final scoring drive came with Seger under center in the fourth quarter. Marysville started the drive near midfield and Johnson quickly picked up a first down.
From there, Seger dropped back and found Tyler Weber wide open along the home sidelines for a 45-yard touchdown.
Johnson said the turnover and penalties have to be corrected, but he was pleased with his squad’s efforts in its first contest of the season. Marysville’s week one opponent backed out of its game last week.
“We had to knock the rust off and we are young up front,” Johnson said. “But every rep is a good rep.”
The 1-0 Monarchs will travel to Pickerington North on Friday. North beat Lancaster 23-10 in the opening week of the season.