The Marshall Lions were on the verge of making school history Saturday. It’s been a banner year for the Marshall sports program. Only eight months ago the basketball Lions took third place in the state, and the 11-1 football Lions were only the second school football team to make it to the Final Four in the state playoffs.
The weather was perfect Saturday afternoon as thousands of Marshall and Maroa-Forsyth fans surrounded Bush Field for the Final Four game.

The teams were pretty evenly matched, but the Lions made some costly mistakes that they have not made all year and fell to the Maroa-Forsyth Trojans 14-31.

Marshall chose to receive the ball to begin the contest and were moving the ball up the field at a good pace. Taylor Duncan completed his first pass to Dustin Morey and then Andre Strohm ran for a first down. Duncan followed that run up with a nine-yard gain of his own. The Lions only needed one yard to get another first down, but the ball squirted out of Strohm’s hold and Dalton Coventry of Maroa recovered the ball and took the ball to Marshall’s 39 yard line.
Wyatt Washburn picked up a 17-yard run for another first down. Marshall’s defense stepped up to the plate and stopped the Trojans on downs just short of the goal line. Kicker Alex Chiligiris made a 25-yard field goal to put the Trojans up 3-0.

Patrick Parsley took the kick off deep at the four yard line and ran the ball out to the 30. The Lions were unable to move the ball against the tough Maroa defense and had to punt on fourth down. It was a short punt by T. Duncan.

Maroa-Forsyth was called for holding and took over at their own 42 yard line. Quarter-back Stelzriede faked a hand-off to running back Coventry and ran the ball for nine yards across the mid-field line.
On the next play, Stelzriede completed a pass to Justin Barnes. The pass was tipped and Barnes was unable to hold onto the ball. It was recovered by Lee Combs. With just over three minutes left in the first quarter, T. Duncan completed a pass to Jacob Duncan for a first down. Strohm carried the ball on the next two plays but only gained three yards. On third down, T. Duncan was blitzed by Coventry and was unable to connect with his intended receiver Austin Wetnight.
Duncan made a nice punt all the way to the seven yard line.  The Trojans had the ball as the first quarter ended, but the Lions held them to just three points.

As the second quarter began, the Trojans were held to only a one-yard gain. The next play, however, would energize the Trojans. On third down and five from the 23 yard line, Stelzriede made a quick pass out to Washburn. He actually bobbled the ball but caught it in midair and continued all the way to the end zone for a 76-yard touchdown run. The PAT was good and Maroa  extended their lead to 10.

On their next possession, Marshall progressed up the field before things started going awry. On first down and in Trojan territory, Strohm almost broke loose but was brought down by Coventry. On the next play, T. Duncan was forced to fall on the ball due a low snap for a seven-yard loss. On third down, T. Duncan was sacked by none other than Dalton Coventry.  Marshall had to punt and the Trojans took over at the 20 yard line.

After having possession of the ball for a few minutes, the Trojans punted. It went out of bounds on the 10-yard line where the Lions took over.

Strohm picked up five yards, but T. Duncan’s pass was intercepted by Trojan Alex Colvin. It took only two plays and about 10 seconds for the Trojans to get the ball into the end zone on a pass to Washburn. The point after was good, and Maroa led 17-0.

To begin the second half, the Trojans started with good field position on their own 42 yard line. They were successful in using the short pass in this series of plays. On fourth down from the Lion’s 30, the Trojans decided to go for it. Lee Combs pressured the quarterback, causing him to miss his mark.

Marshall took over on the 30.  T. Duncan hit Wetnight and got some good blocking from his offensive line to pick up good yardage on the next play.  T. Duncan then com-pleted a pass to J. Duncan inside the 15 yard line.

Marshall was called for illegal procedure and was facing second down and 13. An incomplete pass and a pass with no gain left the Lions still needing 13 yards on fourth down. Jordan Grooms came through on fourth down and scooped up a low pass to get the Lions to the two yard line and another first down.

Strohm took the ball in from the two and with Nelson’s  extra point kick, the Lions were on the board.

The Trojans went four up and four down and punted to the Lions in their next possession. Marshall was able to move the ball over mid-field, but Maroa’s Washburn intercepted a pass at the 35 yard line and to the dismay of the Lion fans, took it 64 yards for a touchdown. With the extra point, the Trojans stretched out their lead to 17 (24-7).
Maroa tried an on-side kick, but it didn’t go the required 10 yards, and Marshall took over near mid-field. On first down, T. Duncan threw a lateral pass to J. Duncan who was going to attempt to pass. The Trojans read the play and sacked J. Duncan for an 11-yard loss.
On the first play of the last quarter, T. Duncan kept the ball and scrambled for a 17- yard gain. With a completed pass to Morey, Marshall gained a first down.  Strohm ran for 14 yards and another first down advancing the Lions to the nine yard line.

Illegal procedure was called against the Lions, moving them back to the 13. T. Duncan kept the ball on second down. He was hit several times but kept his legs moving and scrambled into the end zone for a much needed score. Luke Nelson hit the point after and Marshall trailed by only ten (14-24).

On the next play, Marshall fans thought their team had been handed a lucky break when the Trojan quarterback fumbled the ball on first down, but it was recovered by Maroa.

Coach Josh Jostes put all of his money on big Dalton Coventry for the last eight and half minutes of the game. Coventry kept pushing up the middle for small gains which added up to several first downs. He got the Trojans down to the one yard line. Stelzriede kept the ball on a quarterback sneak to add six more to the Trojan score. The extra point was good and the Trojans pulled ahead 31-14 with only three minutes left.

The Trojans did not let up as the Combs took the kick off. On first down, Coach Evers put J. Duncan under center who made an incomplete pass to T. Duncan. On second down, Coach Evers continued to mix things up as Strohm took the snap but fumbled the ball. Facing third down and 20 yards, T. Duncan connected with Morey at mid-field.

Coventry picked up his third sack as he came after T. Duncan for a 10-yard loss.  Duncan then completed a short pass, but Marshall was called for illegal formation and set back again. Under heavy pressure, T. Duncan’s second yard pass was incomplete, but he  then completed a third down screen pass to Strohm.

The Lions had to go for it on fourth down. Duncan was blitzed again and was unable to complete a fourth down pass. With just seconds remaining, Maroa took over and let the clock run out.

Marshall’s exciting run for the state championship came to an end with the disappointing loss to the Trojans 14-31.

Coach Todd Evers said that Maroa had shown up to play. “We knew they were good and fast. We just made too many mistakes,” said Coach Evers.

He continued as he talked about his players and the fans, “This is an indescribable feeling. Thank you to all of the fans and supporters. I’m really going to miss the seniors. We spent a lot of time together. They were freshmen my first year here. I was their freshman coach. We’ve become like family.”

 

  Marshall Stats

Taylor Duncan - 18 carries, 37 yds, 1TD; Andre Strohm - 14 carries, 47 yds, 1TD.

Jordan Grooms - 1 reception, 14yds; Dustin Morey - 4 receptions, 75 yds; Jacob Duncan - 2 receptions, 51 yds; Andre Strohm - 2 receptions, 10 yds; Austin Wetnight - 2 receptions, 16 yds.

Taylor Duncan - 11/20, 166 yds, 2 interceptions.

Patrick Parsley - 1 KR, 28 yds; Lee Combs - 3 KR, 47 yds.

Luke Nelson - 2/2.

Patrick Parsley - 3, Jordan Grooms - 2, Taylor Duncan - 5, Jacob Duncan - 1, Lee Combs - 3, Logan Cannady - 2, Trey Trudeau - 5, Branden Bartnick - 1, Jared Boyll - 6, Jacob Minnich - 4, Dalton Sanders - 9, Tyler Bishop - 11.

 
2009 Marshall Football Cumulative Stats
 
Rushing

Patrick Parsley - 8 carries, 59 yds, 1TD; Taylor Duncan - 210 carries, 949 yds, 19 TDs; Jacob Duncan - 21 carries, 109 yds, 2 TDs; Lee Combs - 27 carries, 118 yds, 1 TD; Kody Kile - 21 carries, 50 yds; Taylor Sanders - 17 carries, 80 yds; Andre Strohm - 146 carries, 1137 yds, 11 TDs.

Jordan Grooms - 4 rec, 42 yds; Dustin Morey - 26 rec, 420 yds, 3 TDs; Jacob Duncan - 18 rec, 507 yds, 7 TDs; Lee Combs - 3 rec, 37 yds; Conor Littleton -  11 rec, 169 yds, 2 TDs; Andre Strohm - 9 rec, 68 yds, 1 TD; Austin Wetnight - 20 rec, 244 yds, 2 TDs; Taylor Maurer - 1 rec, 7 yds.

Taylor Duncan - 93/183, 1502 yds, 16 TDs, 9 interceptions; Taylor Sanders  -  1/1, 7 yds.

Patrick Parsley - 5 KR, 156 yds, 1 TD; Logan Goldsberry - 1 KR, 15 yds; Jacob Duncan - 4 KR, 54 yds; Brock Hook - 3 KR, 27 yds; Lee Combs - 12 KR, 202 yds; Kody Kile - 2 KR, 35 yds; Andre Strohm -  2 KR, 33 yds.

Luke Nelson  -  PAT 42/48, FG 6/7.

Kendall Bombard - 1, Patrick Parsley - 61, Jordan Grooms - 11, Austin Osborn - 2, Logan Goldsberry -  4, Dustin Morey - 6, Taylor Duncan - 38, Dylan Reed - 11, Jacob Duncan - 52, Matt Mason -1, Brock Hook  - 3, Lee Combs -61 (1 sack), Gary Sanders -1, Logan Cannady -24, Sam Chubb - 22, Kody Kile - 2, Paul Wieland - 2, Conor Littleton - 10, Trey Trudeau - 52 (11.5 sacks), Taylor Sanders - 11, Andre Strohm - 55 (1 sack), Austin Zerrussen - 2, McQuaid Peterson - 3 (0.5 sack), Sam Wetherell - 12 (0.5 sack), Colby Boyer - 13, Branden Bartnick - 3, Nolan Miller - 1, Jared Boyll - 91 (1 sack), Dalton McNeely - 10, Jacob Minnich - 40 (2 sacks), Nick Kahl - 2, Adam Kendall - 6 (1 sack), Dalton Sanders - 108 (16 sacks), Aaron Rhoads - 27 (1.5 sacks), John Kuhn - 1, Michael Brown - 11, Tyler Bishop - 84 (7 sacks), Rodney Troutman - 12, Austin Wetnight - 3, Taylor Maurer - 1.