Monarch Jayden Simmons tries to avoid a Springfield tackler. The Monarchs finished the 2019 campaign with their first playoff appearance since 2013. (Journal-Tribune photo by Chad Williamson)
The Marysville High School football team took another step forward during the 2019 season.
That’s the opinion of head coach Brent Johnson.
After posting 4-6 and 5-5 records during Johnson’s first two seasons on the job, MHS compiled a 6-4 mark during the regular season and earned its first state playoff berth since 2013.
Although the Monarchs fell to Springfield, 23-0, during last Friday’s post-season game, Johnson was pleased with his team’s overall season.
“We made great strides in creating the results we want for our program,” he said. “I think we were better from a football cultural standpoint.
“We were a very close-knit team and played physical football this year.”
One of the main reasons for the Monarchs’ success was the fact there was plenty of quality roster depth.
“This was the first year we were able to play guys on the line on just one side of the ball,” said Johnson. “Our offensive and defensive linemen played with just one unit and that was a huge step forward.
“We were more detail-oriented in understanding our offensive schematics,” he said. “Our defense ran to the ball well and didn’t give up many big plays.
“We made teams work for what they got.”
If there was one thing Johnson was concerned with this past season, it’s that the Monarchs were a little more one-dimensional on offense than he wanted.
Marysville rushed for more than 2,700 yards and passed for a little more than 800.
“We’ve got to be more two-dimensional with our offense,” said Johnson. “We did throw the ball more this season (14 attempts per game as compared to less than 10 the past two seasons) than in year’s past, but we have to be more balanced than what we were this year.”
The Monarchs put better stats on the board than the Ohio Capital Conference Central Division’s Big Three (Dublin Coffman, Upper Arlington and Hilliard Davidson), but still dropped those games.
“We just need to learn how to close out those types of games,” said Johnson.
The Monarch boss said it was important for his team to earn its first post-season berth in six seasons.
“Now, we can talk about having made the playoffs, instead of talking about hoping that we make it,” said Johnson. “We know what it takes to earn a post-season berth and we want to use this experience in order to grow as a program.”
The Monarchs will be moving into a new OCC division next year as the conference goes through realignment.
Marysville’s divisional opponents starting with the 2020 campaign will be Hilliard Darby, Dublin Jerome, Thomas Worthington, Olentangy and Olentangy Berlin.
The realignment is due to student enrollment.
The OCC has put MHS in the Cardinal Division under the new alignment.
“I think it’s going to be a highly-competition division and we will match up better with those teams,” said Johnson.
“We can focus on winning a divisional title and if that happens, the playoffs will be there.”