Marion Local football adds to OHSAA state championship record with another title Saturday

Steve Doerschuk, The Repository
·7 min read

CANTON — As if by fate in the offseason, Marion Local went up, Kirtland went down, and they collided in the postseason like two charging rhinos.

The result was a 14-6 Marion Local victory in which two great offenses got thrown back a century by snarling defenses in the OHSAA Division VI state final at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.

The Flyers added to their Ohio record with their 13th state title in a game kicking off the final day of state championship games for the 2022 season. Marion Local finishes 16-0 for a second straight season. State title No. 12 a year ago, also in Canton, enabled the Flyers to pass St. Ignatius for the most OHSAA state championships.

Marion Local’s Darren Meier holds up the Division VI state championship trophy after the Flyers defeated Kirtland on Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022, at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
Marion Local’s Darren Meier holds up the Division VI state championship trophy after the Flyers defeated Kirtland on Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022, at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.

Kirtland head coach Tiger LaVerde said Saturday's football fight was "about what we thought it would be."

Ditto for Marion Local head coach Tim Goodwin, who observed, "When we moved up from Division VII to Division VI, and Kirtland moved down from Division V to Division VI, we kind of figured that if we wanted a trophy, we would have to beat Kirtland."

Kirtland led 161-142 in net offensive yards. Marion Local found a way to amass 51 of the yards on the Flyers' lone scoring drive. Kirtland's points came on a 22-yard "drive" that followed a fumble recovery.

The difference was a senior safety Nathan Buscher's third-quarter interception, returned 57 yards for a touchdown. It pushed Marion Local's lead to 14-0.

Kirtland’s Macguire Boyd strips the ball from Marion Local's Darren Meier and recovers the fumble in the Division VI state final, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022. at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
Kirtland’s Macguire Boyd strips the ball from Marion Local's Darren Meier and recovers the fumble in the Division VI state final, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022. at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.

Marion Local High School is in the center of a town called Maria Stein, 200 miles from Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. Kirtland, is on the opposite part of the state, 65 miles from Benson.

Kirtland is enjoying amazing success under 17th-year head coach LaVerde, reaching the state finals 11 times and winning six championships since 2011. Marion Local is an even bigger monster under 24th-year pilot Tim Goodwin, reaching 16 state finals and winning 13 state titles.

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Kirtland’s Will Beers tackles Marion’s Darren Meier after teammate Macquire Boyd stripped the ball loose in the Division VI state final, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022, at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. Boyd recovered the fumble.
Kirtland’s Will Beers tackles Marion’s Darren Meier after teammate Macquire Boyd stripped the ball loose in the Division VI state final, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022, at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. Boyd recovered the fumble.

LaVerde arrived with a 2-1 record against Goodwin in state finals.

Sheets of rain swept through just before kickoff, but the clouds broke, and sun drenched the field before the first quarter was out.

The stadium never warmed up much, but it remained a hot contest until Kirtland tight end Gino Blasini nearly caught a deep, fourth-down pass near the Marion Local 10-yard line. In trying to field the ball from his back, he couldn't hang on with 2:43 left.

Marion Local’s Kyle Otte is brought down by Kirtland’s Will Beers short of the goal line, setting up Marion’s first score during the second quarter of the Division VI state final, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022, at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
Marion Local’s Kyle Otte is brought down by Kirtland’s Will Beers short of the goal line, setting up Marion’s first score during the second quarter of the Division VI state final, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022, at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.

The Flyers were able to hold on and the Hornets' season ended in disappointment in Canton again (the Hornets had their 55-game winning streak snapped in the Division V finals last year by Versailles, of the MAC).

Here’s a look at some of the key things to know about the game:

Player of the game: Tate Hess, QB-DB, Marion Local

Marion’s Tate Hess hurdles the tackle attempt of Kirtland’s Will Sayle in the Division VI state final, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022, at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
Marion’s Tate Hess hurdles the tackle attempt of Kirtland’s Will Sayle in the Division VI state final, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022, at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.

Hess, a 6-foot-2 senior, helped keep the Flyers in good field position, completing all nine of his throws, all short ones, through three quarters. One time the Flyers threw Kirtland a curveball and had Hess go out for a pass. Kyle Otte threw him a 24-yard completion. On defense, playing cornerback in a battle of players wearing jersey No. 10, he blanketed Kirtland's best receiver, Gino Blasini, who had two catches on nine targets. Hess is one of the top athletes in the Midwest Athletic Conference, which has won more state playoff football championships than any other Ohio league, with 41. MAC member New Bremen won Saturday's Division VII title game. In dueling New Bremen in last year's MAC basketball race, Hess scored 19 points in Marion Local's overtime win.

Play of the game: Nathan Buscher's pick-six for Marion Local

Marion Local’s Nathan Buschur (5) returns an interception 57 yards for a touchdown against Kirtland during the third quarter of the Division VI state final, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022, at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
Marion Local’s Nathan Buschur (5) returns an interception 57 yards for a touchdown against Kirtland during the third quarter of the Division VI state final, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022, at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.

Senior safety Nathan Buscher returned an interception 57 yards for a touchdown with 6:42 left in the third quarter. Kirtland had just gotten an interception from Gino Blasini and enjoyed some of its best field position of the day, near midfield. Reluctant to pass but unable to get its vaunted run game rolling, Kirtland opted to throw on third-and-7. Freshman QB Jake LaVerde went over the middle, but Buscher jumped the route and had clear sailing. A 7-0 game turned into a 14-0 Marion Local lead.

Three stats to a title

Marion’s Tate Hess (10) breaks up a pass intended for Kirtland’s Gino Blasini on fourth down with 2:43 left in the fourth quarter of the Division VI state final, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022, at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
Marion’s Tate Hess (10) breaks up a pass intended for Kirtland’s Gino Blasini on fourth down with 2:43 left in the fourth quarter of the Division VI state final, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022, at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.

2.4: Kirtland's 6 points Saturday almost seemed an offensive outburst against a Marion Local defense that amassed a state-record 11 shutouts in 2022. In going 16-0, the Flyers allowed an average of 2.4 points a game. Sixteen of the 39 points allowed by the defense were scored by Division VII state finalist New Bremen in a game the Flyers won 38-16. In six playoff wins, including the 14-6 conquest of Kirtland, Marion Local outscored the opposition 232-3. Prior to Kirtland's TD Saturday, the Flyers had not allowed a touchdown in more than two months (Sept. 23, a 27-7 MAC win over Versailles, a 2021 state champ).

200: Prior to facing Marion Local, Kirtland outscored five postseason foes 200-18 and was averaging 40 points a game. The Hornets aimed to dent Marion Local's defense with running backs Tommy Gogolin and Rocco Alfiero, who had rushed for 1,543 and 1,264 yards, respectively, previously in 2022. Aside from a 16-yard run by Alfieri and a 7-yard gain by Gogolin, the Flyers held those two to a 2.7 average on 26 carries. Kirtland had rushed for 4,786 yards at 7.8 per carry coming in.

3 of 16: Marion Local's defense came up big on third and fourth downs, Kirtland converted only 3 of 16, which played out in frustrating possessions and bad field position for the Hornets. They were 2-of-13 on third-down conversions and 1-for-3 on fourth downs. Hornets head coach Tiger LaVerde likes to run the ball on at least 80% of the offensive snaps, but Marion Local forced lots of third-and-longs. "We didn't have that many third-and-longs the entire rest of the year," Kirtland coach Tiger LaVerde said. "We punted 13 times all season before today's seven punts." Kirtland's defense played a tremendous game, as well, as Marion Local went 2-of-12 on third downs.

They said it

Kirtland’s Will Sayle makes a catch but it is called incomplete for coming down out of bounds during the fourth quarter against Marion Local, forcing a punt in the Division VI state final, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022, at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
Kirtland’s Will Sayle makes a catch but it is called incomplete for coming down out of bounds during the fourth quarter against Marion Local, forcing a punt in the Division VI state final, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022, at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.

Marion Local head coach Tim Goodwin as he read a stats sheet showing his offense didn't get far against Kirtland: "We had 142 yards ... holy cow. I didn't think it was that bad. But that's Kirtland. They play hard and physical. But this was a blast, playing a close game against a great team. This was two teams that are wired for the quest."

Marion Local safety Nathan Buscher on his 57-yard interception return for a touchdown: "I just read the quarterback and saw the ball and went and got it. I saw open field and headed there and kept running."

Marion Local fullback-linebacker Darren Meier on limiting Kirtland to 161 yards and 6 points: "We knew they had a high-powered offense, and we knew No. 2 (RB Tommy Gogolin) had a great game last week. We needed 11 hats to the ball."

Kirtland head coach Tiger LaVerde on his defense allowing only 142 yards: "You ask your kids to play hard, and our kids did. Our entire defense played lights out. They played as hard as they could."

Kirtland’s Macguire Boyd recovers the ball he stripped from Marion Local’s Darren Meier in the Division VI state final, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022, at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
Kirtland’s Macguire Boyd recovers the ball he stripped from Marion Local’s Darren Meier in the Division VI state final, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022, at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.

LaVerde, seated next to his son, senior Philip LaVerde, on playing in a fourth consecutive state championship game: "What these guys accomplished the last four years is incredible. It sucks that we lost, but I couldn't be more proud of the kids."

Two-way Kirtland lineman George Prusock III, who played in all four title games: "I've seen so much. There is so much to remember from four championship games."

Kirtland’s George Prusock holds the Division VI runner up trophy after losing to Marion Local in the Division VI state final, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022, at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
Kirtland’s George Prusock holds the Division VI runner up trophy after losing to Marion Local in the Division VI state final, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022, at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Marion Local wins OHSAA football state championship over Kirtland