By Tom Reck
MARSHALL, Ill. — The 2009 high school football season ended Saturday afternoon for the Lions as they lost to Maroa-Forsyth 31-14 in a Class 2A semifinal playoff contest.
The Trojans will put an 11-2 record on the line against Morrison in the Illinois Class 2A championship game Friday at the University of Illinois, seeking their second state championship.
Marshall concluded an 11-2 season, winning 11 in a row and becoming only the second team in school history to reach the Final Four of the playoffs.
“I will miss this group of seniors. My first year here, they were freshmen. I’ve been through everything with them. They have been a big part of my life and something I will never forget, especially the way they played, not just this season but all four years,” said Marshall coach Todd Evers.
The Trojans were forced to kick a field goal — only the second of the season for the team and Alex Chiligiris — on their first possession after driving to the Marshall 10-yard line but scored two touchdowns in the first half to hold a 17-0 lead at the intermission.
The Lions were forced to punt on their first two possessions; Taylor Duncan recovered an Trojan fumble to set up the second one, but the Lions could not capitalize on the takeaway.
Wyatt Washburn scored three times for the winners and his first came on a reception from sophomore quarterback Logan Stelzriede that began as a fumbled reception and turned into a 76-yard play that put the Trojans up 10-0 at the start of the second stanza.
“It was a screen pass … that he [Washburn] bobbled to himself and caught it. [And] we had a missed tackle,” said Evers.
The Trojans made it 17-0 after Alex Colvin intercepted Duncan’s pass at the 25-yard line and returned it to the 9 to set up Stelzriede’s 7-yard pass to Washburn for the score.
Evers said Maroa-Forsyth did not do anything they had not seen on film, but added that some adjustments were made in the second quarter and again at halftime.
Those changes seemed to pay off in the second half as the Trojans were held on a fourth-and-7 situation at the Marshall 30 and the Lions began their first scoring drive of the day.
Andre Strohm capped the 70-yard drive with his 3-yard run while after Taylor Duncan and brother Jacob hooked up on a 40-yard pass play that gave the Lions a first down at the M-F 13-yard line, but 10 points was as close as the Lions were to come in the game.
Marshall forced the Trojans to punt on their next possession and the Lions were driving again when Washburn intercepted a Duncan pass and returned it 56 yards for the third touchdown and a 24-7 lead.
Marshall cut the lead to 10 again, going 51 yards for its second touchdown with Taylor Duncan eluding more than one tackler on a gutsy 12-yard touchdown run that came with more than nine minutes left in the game.
The Trojans basically clinched matters with a 60-yard drive that took six minutes off the clock. Dalton Coventry rushed for nearly 800 yards in the first 12 games of the season and got 44 in the drive that ended with Stelzriede scoring on 1-yard keeper.
“We knew going into the game Maroa was a great team and they showed it … and made more plays than we did. We made a lot of mistakes that really hurt us,” said Evers after the game.
“This team as a whole did not have it in them to give up, down 17-0 and scoring. They got this place going,” he said. “Maroa is great and well-coached. I like their chances next week regardless who they play.”
Maroa-Forsyth 31, Marshall 14
Maroa-Forsyth 3 14 7 7 — 31
Marshall 0 0 7 7 — 14
MF — Alex Chiligiris 25 FG, 6:47 1st
MF — Wyatt Washburn 76 pass from Logan Stelzriede (Chiligiris kick), 11:11 2nd
MF — Washburn 7 pass from L.Stelzriede (Chiligiris kick), 0:19 2nd
M — Andre Strohm 3 run (Luke Nelson kick), 5:44 3rd
MF — Washburn 56 interception return (Chiligiris kick), 0:29 3rd
M — Taylor Duncan 12 run (Nelson kick), 9:21 4th
MF — L.Stelzriede 1 run (Chiligiris kick), 3:19 4th
MF M
First downs 12 11
Rushes-yards 27-103 32-75
Passing yards 177 162
Comp-Att-Int 15-20-0 11-21-2
Return yards 69 0
Fumbles-lost 3-1 2-1
Punts-avg 2-34.5 3-35
Penalties-yards 2-15 3-15
Individual statistics
Rushing: Maroa-Forsyth — Dalton Coventry 12-63, L.Stelzriede 7-21, Dustin Hoffman 7-18, Washburn 1-1. Marshall — Strohm 13-57, T.Duncan 16-45, Jacob Duncan 1-minus 10, team 2-minus 17.
Passing: Maroa-Forsyth — L.Stelzriede 15-20-0, 177 yards. Marshall — T.Duncan 11-20-2, 162; J.Duncan 0-1-0.
Receiving: Maroa-Forsyth — Washburn 6-107, Justin Barnes 6-52, Blake Stelzriede 1-13, Toby Propst 1-4, Joe Hockaday 1-1. Marshall — Dustin Morey 4-75, J.Duncan 2-49, Austin Wetnight 2-15, Strohm 2-10, Jordan Grooms 1-13.
Next — Maroa-Forsyth (11-2) plays at 1 p.m. Friday at the University of Illinois for the Illinois Class 2A state championship. Marshall finished 11-2.
