Marion Local comes as advertised, routs Patrick Henry

LIMA – Marion Local entered Friday's Division VII state semifinal with a big reputation. And the Flyers came away with a big, big win to back it up. Marion Local turned excellent field position into two early scores, stunned Patrick Henry with a blocked-punt-touchdown with 10 seconds left in the first quarter, returned an interception for a second defensive TD, and showed why year-in and year-out it is one of Ohio's most successful prep football programs by beating the Patriots 42-0 at Lima Senior Spartan Stadium. "They are just a tremendous program," said Patrick Henry coach Bill Inselmann. "We won our region (Region 26) and we beat Columbus Grove, which was the Division VI regional champ. So I have to believe we were the best Northwest Ohio had to throw at them and we still got beat 42-0, so hats off to them." Ohio's Division VI state champion a year ago, Marion Local will go for its 14th state football title – all since 2000 – next Saturday when the Flyers (15-0) face Dalton (13-1) in the 10:30 a.m. Division VII state final at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton. Dalton defeated Caldwell 55-7 in another Division VII state semifinal game played in Zanesville. After an exchange of punts, Marion Local mounted back-to-back scoring drives that both started on Patrick Henry's side of the field. Ethan Heitkamp capped the first with a 9-yard burst on a fourth-and-1 call; Kyle Otte went 8 yards for the second with 1:10 left on the first-quarter clock. Then came the stunner. Following another solid defensive stop, Patrick Henry's Jorge Delgado was back to punt from just outside his own end zone. Drew Lause shot in and blocked the kick, though, and Carter Jones caught it on the bounce and took it 5 yards for the score. "We were able to capitalize," said Marion Local coach Tim Good, who this season – his 24th at the school – earned his 300th career win. "When we show up at a game we have three facets: offense, defense, special teams. We work hard on all three and we expect all three to perform well." They certainly did Friday. Offensively, Marion Local churned out 230 yards, with quarterback Justin Knouff's 9-yard TD run putting the Flyers up 28-0 at the half. Heitkamp (9 carries, 75 yards) scored his second touchdown of the night on a 27-yard TD run in the third quarter. Defensively, Marion Local limited Patrick Henry to 177 yards and intercepted two passes, with junior safety Daniel Everman returning one 46 yards for the score that put the Flyers up 35-0 and triggered a running clock most of the second half. "The blocked punt, stuff like that really hurts you," Inselmann said. "I thought our defense came out and battled hard. Field position was a big thing, though. They have a good kicker, they have good kids on their special teams and field position hurt us all night. "Yeah, they beat us in every facet of the game." Patrick Henry ended the season at 13-2. The Patriots started off 6-0, but then had some key injuries and lost two of their next three games before rebounding to win the Region 26 title. "I'm so proud of this group," Inselmann said. "We had some tough losses in the middle of the season but they never quit. They persevered, they overcame adversity and as a parent or a coach if you can teach them to do that, then that's something you should be proud of." Marion Local &emsp;&emsp;21 7 14 0 — 42 Patrick Henry &emsp;&emsp;0 0 0 0 — 0 First Quarter ML – Heitkamp 9 run (Bills kick) ML – Otte 8 run (Bills kick) ML – Jones 5-yard return, blocked punt (Bills kick) Second Quarter ML – Knouff 9 run (Bills kick) Third Quarter ML – Everman 46 interception return (Bills kick) ML – Heitkamp 27 run (Bills kick) &emsp;&emsp;PH &emsp;&emsp;ML &emsp;&emsp; First Downs &emsp;&emsp;8 &emsp;&emsp;12 Rushes-yards &emsp;&emsp;26-80 31-187 Passing Yards &emsp;&emsp;97 &emsp;&emsp;43 Comp-Att-Int &emsp;&emsp;7-22-2 7-13-0 &emsp;&emsp; Fumbles-Lost &emsp;&emsp;1-0 &emsp;&emsp;1-0 &emsp;&emsp; individual statistics rushing — Patrick Hnery, Miranda 11-63; Creager 11-11; James 4-6. Marion Local, Heitkamp 9-75, Otte 7-43, Eifert 2-24, Lause 2-23, Hess 4-13, Knouff 7-9. PASSING —Patrick Henry, Creager 7-22-2, 97 yards. Marion Local, Knouff 6-12-0, 43; Mescher 1-1-0, 0 yards. receiving — Patrick Henry, Smith 3-54, Johnson 2-28, Mireanda 2-15. Marion Local, Otte 4-25, Heitkamp 1-9, Pohlman 1-9, Pavelka 1-0.