When you make mistakes early in a game, there is plenty of time for atonement.
Errors made late often stay with you until the final gun.
Marysville clawed its way back from a 17-point first quarter deficit created by a trio of miscues Friday night at Hilliard
Darby.
A fourth misstep late in the game delivered a kill shot as the Panthers came away with a wild 31-28 decision.
“In my opinion that was two heavyweights going at it,” Marysville coach Brent Johnson said.
Clinging to a four-point lead late, Marysville appeared to have the game wrapped up when Benjamin Bickerstaff fell on a
Panther fumble with 1:15 left to play.
Johnson said the Monarchs couldn’t kneel on the ball because Darby still had a timeout and would have regained
possession.
The Monarchs opted to go for a first down to kill the clock. On second down Ryan Kern, who had been the offensive
star for the Monarchs on the night, had the ball stripped away at the MHS 29 with just over a minute left to play. Kerns had
129 yards rushing and two TDs.
MHS held the Panthers in check, setting up a fourth down play at the 11 with only a few ticks left on the clock.
As it would turn out, there was plenty of time left for Darby’s Connor Jones to slip around the right end and find his way
into the end zone with 19 seconds left for the deciding score.
The fact that Marysville held a lead late in the game is fairly remarkable given its disastrous start.
Marysville started the game by fumbling the opening kickoff. It later allowed Darby to recover a pooch kick and threw an
interception that gave the Panthers the ball at the MHS 5.
When the dust settled on the first 12 minutes of the game, Panther QB Blake Horvath had touchdown runs of 6, 1 and 5
yards and kicker Josh Digioia had a 35-yard field goal.
The lone bright spot came on Marysville’s first offensive snap of the night, when junior Gabe Powers took a handoff left
and cut back against the pursuit. He turned upfield for a 62-yard touchdown.
MHS had the ball to start the second quarter. It also had a 24-7 disadvantage.
It would have been easy for MHS to lose energy, but Kern gave the squad a shot in the arm by ripping off a 41-yard
scoring run. Logan Hall’s second PAT put the score at 24-14, seven seconds into the quarter.
The Panther offense found itself without Hall for much of the middle quarters as he nursed an unknown injury. Horvath
never got comfortable with his replacements in Darby’s read option attack, leading to muffed exchanges and a general
lack of timing.
With each defensive stop, the Monarch defense gained confidence, led by Powers, a standout on defense, who prowled
sideline-to-sideline making tackles.
Last week against Hilliard Bradley, Powers had a quiet game as he shadowed the Jaguars’ top receiver, holding him to
just a handful of catches, but also being out of position for tackles.
Powers was able to read and react against Darby, as he and the MHS defense held the Panthers to ascoreless second
quarter.
MHS’ offense struck again before halftime when a pair of first downs on the ground were backed up by a 16-yard
completion from quarterback Ethan Musel to tight end Nick Kessler that put the ball at the Darby 10. Kern capped the
drive with his second score, an easy six-yarder through a big hole over the right side.
Hall’s PAT left the Monarchs trailing by just three, 24-21, at the turn.
Marysville’s scrappy defense continued after the break as Tanner Powers picked off a Horvath offering and returned it to
the Darby 36.
The Monarchs failed to convert the solid field position into points on their opening drive of the half, but got things going
on their second.
A pass from Musel to Cameron Jones picked up 22 yards and set the Monarchs up just outside the red zone.
A false start on third down appeared to derail the MHS drive.
Needing eight yards for a first down, Musel found Kern on a screen. Kern maneuvered 15 yards to put the ball inside the
Panther 10.
Sophomore Griffin Johnson fought his way around the left end, breaking tackles and stretching across the goal for a six-
yard go-ahead score. Hall’s PAT put MHS up 28-24 with 2:04 left in the third quarter.
“A lot of teams down 24-7 would have folded,” Johnson said.
Just before entering the fourth quarter, Darby punted.
Jones was forced to scoop up a low snap and in doing so, went to a knee. That gave the Monarchs the ball at the
Panther 18.
Hall tried to give Marysville some breathing room with a 30-yard field goal, but missed the mark.
The teams traded punts, with Marysville’s boot being downed at the one-yard line with just under four minutes left in the
game.
Marysville was close to picking up a safety on first down, but the Panthers earned a first down and then pushed out
farther on an MHS facemask.
With two minutes left in the game, Darby pushed to the MHS 25 on three receptions by Matthew Sech.
This set the stage for the late Darby fumble, a favor Marysville returned two plays later.
That paved the way for Jones’ game-winning fourth-down scamper.
Johnson said he was proud of his team’s energy throughout the game and insisted they would be able to grow from the
experience, despite its heartbreaking outcome.
“We are built for this,” Johnson told his team after the game, challenging the resiliency of his squad.
The 1-1 Monarchs, will host Dublin Jerome Friday.