Monarch running back Matt Krutowskis (15) and a Hilliard Bradley defender get “grabby” with each other’s face masks on this play. Krutowskis rushed for 91 yards during MHS’ 38-14 loss.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Chad Williamson)
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“The third quarter was awful.”
That short sentence from head coach Brent Johnson summed up a long and painful story for Marysville High School’s football team Friday evening.
The Monarchs trailed Hilliard Bradley by just a 14-7 margin at halftime on the Jaguars’ home field.
What followed after the 20-minute intermission was nothing short of a nightmare.
Bradley (4-0) blistered MHS (2-2) for 24 points in the third quarter en route to a 38-14 victory.
A litany of mistakes spelled doom for the Monarchs during the second half.
The first indication, though, that things might not go MHS’ way actually came with a little more than five minutes left in the second quarter.
With the score knotted at 7-7, Marysville regained possession on the Bradley 32-yard-line after the Jaguars shanked a punt.
Quarterback Brevin Bourquin hit Drew Fraker with a pass down to the 11.
Matt Krutowskis and Luke Montgomery burrowed through the Jag defense to place the pigskin on the Bradley four.
Krutowskis was then held to no gain and Marysville had fourth-and-three.
Nathan Wood took the next handoff, but was stopped cold by a swarming Bradley defense
The Jaguars took over on their own four-yard-line with 5:06 left until intermission.
A couple of snaps garnered only 10 yards.
The next play, however, was the start of some not so spectacular events for the Monarchs.
Bradley quarterback Bradyn Fleharty took the snap from the shotgun at the goal line.
He fired the ball downfield to Daniel Shaffer, who had beaten the MHS secondary.
Shaffer snared the ball, turned on the after-burners and was off on an 86-yard scoring jaunt.
Jake Walter’s extra point sent Hilliard Bradley into halftime with a 14-7 lead.
Johnson agreed that was basically a 14-point turnaround.
“We couldn’t put the ball in the end zone from the four-yard-line and then gave up the big pass,” he said.
Both teams tallied first-quarter touchdowns before the later turn of events.
Bradley forced MHS to punt on the first series of the night.
Taking possession on their own 41, the Jaguars were led down the field by Fleharty.
Using his legs, the QB did what Johnson feared he might … ad-lib enough to get off some vital plays.
The last one of the possession resulted in a 51-yard TD strike to Garrett Sever.
Walter’s PAT gave the home team a 7-0 edge with a little more than seven minutes left in the quarter.
Marysville responded with its first touchdown after an exchange of punts.
Krutowskis capped a six-play, 60-yard drive with a three-yard score.
Trey Phillips’ conversion knotted the game at 7-7.
The opening minutes of the second quarter resulted in a punting match.
Bradley’s shank gave Marysville the ball at the Jags’ 32, but the Monarchs came away empty.
The 86-yard touchdown pass led to the go-ahead score Bradley didn’t relinquish.
The teams swapped punts on the next two possessions.
MHS then advanced down to the Bradley 44 with 5.5 seconds to play in the quarter.
An incomplete pass ended the half.
“I thought we played well against their quarterback in the first half,” said Johnson.
Fleharty used more of his legs during the second half, gaining hard-earned yardage with his long, loping strides and rolling out to hit some strategic passes.
“He’s elusive,” said Johnson, “and he ad-libbed well. He got around our ends because we didn’t get good jams on the line of scrimmage.”
Bradley increased its lead to 17-7 midway through the third quarter.
The Jaguars marched into the red zone and got down to the MHS four-yard-line.
An apparent touchdown was waved off due to a holding penalty.
Bradley settled for Walter’s field goal for the 10-point advantage.
MHS had to punt after getting to midfield on its next series.
The Jags only had possession long enough for Fleharty to bob and weave for a 72-yard touchdown.
Walters booted the extra point for a 24-7 advantage.
Things really began to sour for Marysville at that point.
The Monarchs lost a fumble on their own 25-yard line.
The Jags moved down to the 18, but were whistled for a helmet-to-helmet infraction.
A holding call pushed the home team back even more as Bradley faced second-and-35 from midfield.
Undaunted, Fleharty found Preston Wolfe uncovered for a long pass down to the MHS three.
From there, the quarterback waltzed in for the score.
Walters’ extra point pushed Bradley out to a 31-7 spread.
The next Hilliard touchdown came after a second MHS fumble at its own 21.
“We gave them a couple of pretty short fields,” admitted Johnson.
Fleharty capped a brief possession by rolling out and running for a 14-yard TD.
Walters’ PAT pushed the Jaguars out to a 38-7 lead.
At that point, the running clock rule was invoked and continued for much of the fourth quarter.
The Monarchs scored a consolation touchdown on a 10-yard run by Trace Heminger.
Phillips’ kick narrowed Marysville’s deficit to 38-14 and the final 90 seconds were played with a regulation clock.
“Hilliard Bradley made some big plays to change things,” said Johnson. “I’m still proud of our guys… they kept playing even when things got ugly.”
Fleharty was definitely the star of the game.
He picked up 140 rushing yards on 17 carries.
Fleharty completed 10-of-20 passes for 251 yards.
His arms and legs helped account for each Bradley touchdown.
The Monarchs still mounted a stout ground game, picking up 274 yards on 53 attempts.
Krutowskis led the charge with 91 yards on 14 carries.
The Monarchs will return home on Friday to host Grove City.