Matt Krutowskis of Marysville stretches toward the pylon for a touchdown against Reynoldsburg. The Monarchs battled back for a 31-20 victory.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Chad Williamson)
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Surrounded by students in bathing suits, Hawaiian shirts and inflatable swim rings, Marysville football coach Brent Johnson told his players to soak in the environment.
The Marysville student section, complete in beach theme attire, had come onto the field to celebrate Marysville’s 31-20 win over Reynoldsburg Friday.
“I told them after the game ‘this is why we’ve got to defend our house,’” Johnson said. “Look out here. That was fun.
“You’ve got a community. You got a whole Pit (MHS student section) out here. That’s why you do this. It’s fun.”
Despite coming in with an 0-2 record, Reynoldsburg did not make things easy on the Monarchs.
Marysville trailed three times in the contest, 7-3 and 14-10 in the second quarter and 20-17 in the fourth.
But a strong fourth quarter and three second-half touchdowns from Trace Heminger helped the Monarchs put the game away. “The thing I like about this group right now is they just compete,” Johnson said. “And I think that’s a sign of a good team.”
Along with Heminger, the Monarchs also got nice games out of senior running back Matt Krutowskis and junior Nathan Wood. Wood led all rushers with 129 yards on 24 carries, while Krutowskis had the most yards from scrimmage with 141 total, 90 on the ground and 51 receiving.
Heminger went into the game with just seven carries in the first two contests, adding four more Friday and missing the end zone just once.
Wood was getting the bulk of the carries before Krutowskis came to life late in the first half and into the second. Heminger didn’t figure into the game plan until the final 14 minutes of the contest.
Johnson said his coaching staff looks at which players are hot when deciding who to fold into the play calls.
“We did talk about it and say ‘hey, Wood’s got the hot hand right now,’” Johnson said. “And then Trace (Heminger) pops that buck (sweep) and he has a little bit more confidence and now, all of a sudden, he wants it.”
Reynoldsburg’s athleticism gave the Monarchs trouble. Raider QB Jarin Mock completed 18-of-32 passes for 304 yards and a touchdown.
Wideout SiRece Weaver did the bulk of the damage with five grabs for 117 yards, while running back Damon Griffin chipped in 99 yards on five catches.
“They did a lot of ad-libbing and they were fast,” Johnson said. “That was a mismatch. It truly was.”
While not thrilled about the passing yardage, Johnson was pleased his defense held the Raiders to just 48 yards on the ground.
“Coming into this game I was really nervous about the run game because against U.A. (Upper Arlington) and Jerome they had success running the football,” Johnson said. “We kind of took the run game away.”
Reynoldsburg outgained Marysville in total offense, as the Monarchs picked up 263 yards on the ground and 55 in the air. What helped the Monarchs take the win were four Raider interceptions, two by JT Hiltscher, and one each by J.J. Henry and Luke Bonczak.
Reynoldsburg was also flagged 14 times for 125 yards.
Marysville opened the game with a steady six-minute drive that stalled in the Raider red zone with the Monarchs turned the ball over on downs.
Reynoldsburg went three-and-out on the next series and that was the sum total of their offense in the first quarter.
Marysville got on the board with a 34-yard field goal by Trey Phillips 90 seconds into the second period.
Reynoldsburg answered with a 31-yard bomb to Weaver that put the ball at the 3.
Cameron Turner finished the drive with a three-yard plunge. The PAT was good to give the Raiders a 7-3 lead with 8:55 left in the half.
Marysville fended off another scoring threat later in the half with a pick in the end zone. Another MHS interception late in the half set up the Monarchs to take the lead back.
With the ball near midfield and 1:52 left on the clock, MHS QB Brevin Bourquin hit Krutowskis on a pair of passes to move the ball to the 15. He covered the remaining distance on the next play, taking the ball around the left end, running through some tackles and diving for the pylon.
The extra point put Marysville up 10-7 with 1:18 left until halftime, but the Monarchs wouldn’t lead at the break.
The Raiders faced fourth-and-six at the 50 and opted to go for the first down.
Mock, a sophomore, completed a 27-yard pass to move the sticks. On the next play, he hit Troy Martin for a 23-yard touchdown with 31 seconds left in the half. The PAT gave the Raiders a 14-10 lead at the break.
Reynoldsburg threatened again early in the third quarter, but a Monarch interception in the end zone stopped the march.
MHS responded with a five-minute, 80 yard march. It was capped by a 16-yard scoring run up the middle by Heminger. The kick put the Monarchs up 17-14 with 2:32 left in the third.
The Raiders faced fourth-and-10 near midfield late in the quarter. They gambled with a direct snap to Martin who broke loose and ran to the MHS 34.
Turner scored on a six-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter, but a bad snap squashed the PAT try, leaving the Raiders up 20-17.
From that point it was all Monarchs.
Wood and Krutowskis attacked inside and out, moving the ball into the red zone.
Heminger scored his second TD on a five-yard run. The PAT put the Monarchs up 24-20 with 8:32 left in the game.
Marysville picked off Mock on the next series, setting up a short field at the Raider 25.
Krutowskis and Wood punched the ball down to the two and Heminger took it in from there. The PAT closed out the scoring at 31-20 with 4:22 left in the contest.
Reynoldsburg moved back down the field, but burned up most of the clock in doing so.
MHS took over on downs to close out the game.
The Monarchs, now 2-1, will travel to Hilliard Bradley Friday.