Monarch running back Griffin Johnson (22) and a Thomas Worthington opponent appear to be “duking it out” on this play. Johnson rushed for 231 yards, but the Monarchs fell 35-17.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Chad Williamson)
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There are a thousand ways to lose a football game and only a precious few opportunities to ensure a win.
Marysville experienced both Friday night during a roller coaster 35-17 loss to Thomas Worthington at home.
“It’s kind of a blur right now,” Marysville coach Brent Johnson said. “I don’t have a lot of answers for you.
“Our kids played hard,” he said. “I’ve got to go back and look at the film.”
Up 17-0 early in the second quarter, MHS appeared ready to put the game away and the Cardinals appeared to be ready to allow it. However, a crucial penalty on a punt gave the visitors the slightest glimmer of hope before halftime.
From there, Thomas Worthington gained confidence with every drive while Marysville unraveled with mistakes.
The Cardinals reeled off 35 unanswered points to stun the Monarchs.
“A game of momentum and we didn’t close the door,” Johnson said. “We had our shots to get it back, but we just couldn’t.”
The win was the first by Thomas Worthington over the Monarchs since 2002, a string of nine intermittent games stretching back two decades to when Marysville was a Division II team.
The game could not have started better for Marysville. The Monarchs came away with points on three of their first five drives.
Xavier Heller just missed a 39-yard field goal on the opening drive, but Nascere Smith cracked the end zone later in the quarter, racing in from 30 yards out with 4:13 on the clock.
The Monarchs took that advantage into the second period, where Heller connected on a 31-yard field goa.
Griffin Johnson later found a crease on the right side and raced up the sidelines for a 45-yard touchdown.
While the MHS offense was pushing out to a 17-0 advantage with eight minutes left until the half, the defense was pitching a shutout by dialing up a steady stream of blitzes.
Linebackers Colton Powers and Ethan Moeller had success getting to the quarterback, as did linemen Stephen Garcia and Henry Anontvechruck.
Marysville tallied 10 sacks and had Cardinal QB Will Cooper scrambling for his life and missing open receivers in the first 16 minutes of the contest.
The first MHS miscue came midway through the second period when QB Brady Seger tried to air it out. However, he was intercepted at the TW 12.
The Monarch defense held, forcing to the Cardinals to punt from the shadow of their own goal post.
Marysville took the kick near midfield with a chance to extend its lead before the half.
However, the Monarchs were flagged for a running into the kicker penalty, which gave the Cardinals a fresh set of downs.
The reversal of that change of possession energized Thomas Worthington, while it seemed to open a floodgate of MHS problems. From that point on, Marysville, committed two more turnovers, was flagged for penalties that left them in third-and-long situations and had difficulty tackling in space.
“It was more than just that penalty,” Johnson said. “There were a few times we were driving and got behind the sticks.”
The second chance was just what the Cardinals needed to gain confidence.
TW picked up a quick first down and then a few plays later, MHS was flagged for a pass interference infraction that put the ball at the Marysville 31 with under three minutes to play in the half.
Marysville forced a fourth-and-six at its own 27, but Cooper came up big. He connected with Joey Zalewski at the two-yard line. Running back Jaden Fields punched it in from there with 1:25 left in the half to put the score at 17-7 after the PAT.
Marysville moved into scoring position in the waning seconds. It pushed to the TW 36 with under 30 seconds to play.
Seger, though, was picked off on a screen pass to end the threat.
If the late score seemed like a bad dream for Monarch fans, the entire second half was a nightmare.
In the second half, the Cardinals cracked the Monarchs’ defensive code, jabbing Marysville with short, quick routes and relying on receivers to break tackles.
The Cardinals scored quickly after the break when Cooper hooked up with Zalewski on third and long. He raced for a 59-yard touchdown pass.
Marysville saw its third quarter offense unraveled by a fumble on its first series and a crucial holding penalty on its second.
“A bunch of little things add up to a big thing and in this league you can’t do that,” Johnson said.
The Monarchs pinned the Cardinals inside their own 10 on a punt late in the quarter, but an MHS face mask penalty on the next play gave Worthington breathing room near the 30 as the game entered the third quarter with Marysville still clinging to a 17-14 advantage.
The last 12-minutes, however, saw the Cardinals tear off 21 points.
Worthington faced fourth-and-one at the MHS 40 in the early stages of the quarter.
Cooper ditched the short passing game in favor of a lob downfield where he found Javon Hern completely uncovered along the right sidelines. He cruised in for a 40-yard touchdown. The point after was good and the Cardinals held their first lead at 21-17 with 10:16 left in the game.
Marysville, though, responded
Griffin Johnson ripped off a 47-yard run to put the ball at the Worthington 32. Smith popped loose for another first down and the Monarchs were 16 yards away from the go-ahead score.
The next three plays were bottled up, setting up fourth-and-five at the 11. Johnson found a little room inside, but was hauled down at the 8, when he needed the 6 to move the chains, with 6:39 left to play.
Needing the ball back, the MHS defense appeared to have Cooper dead to rights on a third down sack.
However, he slipped loose and ran the ball out to his own 38.
A couple of passes put the Cardinals in scoring position. Cooper found Hern in the right corner of the end zone for a 31-yard score with three minutes left. The PAT put the score at 28-17 with just three minutes left to play.
Needing two scores, Marysville threw four straight passes, but connected on none of them.
That gave the ball back to the Cardinals and sealed the game with 2:34 left to play.
Worthington ran the ball three times with no success, but on fourth down, up by two scores with under 50 seconds left, Cooper flipped 31-yard touchdown pass to Zalewski in the back right corner of the end zone.
The PAT closed out the scoring at 35-17
The 18-point loss was not reflected on the stat sheet, where the teams shared nearly identical, but very different yardage.
Marysville ran for 370 yards. Thomas Worthington passed for 389.
Marysville had zero passing yards. The Cardinals ran for minus four yards.
Both teams had 15 first downs.
The loss spoiled a pair of dynamite performances by Marysville backs. Johnson had 231 yards rushing and a score on 24 carries and Smith broke out for 134 and a TD on 15 totes.
Colton Powers, who set the MHS single-game record of six touchdowns last week, only had four rushing attempts for 10 yards in the game. The Cardinals apparently saw the Jerome tape and jammed defenders into the tackle box, where Powers finds most of his yardage.
The loss drops the Monarchs to 5-3 overall and 2-1 in the Ohio Capital Conference Cardinal Divison.
Coach Johnson said a league title is still attainable through work.
“The same formula applies when you win and when you lose,” he said. “You go and get better … I’m not going to panic or anything.”
The Monarchs travel to 5-3 Olentangy Berlin Friday night. Dublin Jerome’s 17-7 win over Berlin last night means every team in the division has at least one loss.
“Things are still in front of us, but it’s harder now,” Johnson said of a league title.