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Pirates break loose on senior night
By Scott J. Adams, Sports Writer
Saturday, October 20, 2007 | No comments posted.
COOS BAY - And suddenly Marshfield was off the mat - and swinging.
Brogan Oswald snaked in for three touchdown runs; Shane Daly, Levi Meline, Justin Kirk and Dylan Boyer came up with second-half turnovers and the Pirates snapped a four-game losing streak with their first Midwestern League win of the season, a 34-0 romp over Springfield on Friday.
For Marshfield (3-5 overall, 1-2 league), it was a solid victory that fell on both homecoming and senior night at Pete Susick Stadium — and immediately put playoff buzz back into Coos Bay.
“There’s always been life in us — this was just a make-it-or-break-it game that we needed to win and we stepped up for it,” said Marshfield linebacker Will Messerle. “For us seniors, this might have been our last home game — we want to get another back here and maybe host a playoff game if we keep winning. Anything feels possible for us right now.”
The Pirates drew plenty of cheers from the packed audience, but the biggest may have come midway through the fourth quarter when Willamette’s 21-13 win over Thurston was announced. With the Wolverines’ win, Marshfield now sits a game behind four teams tied for first in the league standings.
The Pirates have two league games remaining, starting with Friday’s matchup against Thurston in Eugene.
“When there’s only a five-team league, it’s amazing what can happen from here on out,” said Marshfield coach Kent Wigle. “We were prepared emotionally tonight and we caught them by surprise. The kids played hard out there — both sides I thought.”
A week after surrendering 382 yards of total offense in a 37-13 loss at Willamette, the Pirate defense delivered one of its best games of the season. Marshfield held quarterbacks Zack Olson and Mike Travess to a combined 12 yards passing and forced five punts.
“This was a huge statement for our defense and for our team,” said Meline, a senior wideout/defensive back. “To keep that zero on the scoreboard — it’s just given us a huge confidence boost.”
That was seen in the first half when the Bucs capitalized off a sluggish Millers offense that mustered two first downs.
Marshfield set the tone for the evening on its opening possession. From their own 41-yard line, the Pirates put together an 11-play, 59-yard drive that included a conversion on fourth-and-one from the 50.
Jesse Fox put the Bucs in front with a 3-yard touchdown dive seven plays later.
“We just weren’t physical enough with them from the start,” Springfield’s first-year coach Dave Heuberger said. “We got out-played and we got out-coached — I didn’t have them prepared for this.”
Oswald, who went 4-of-5 passing while tallying 151 all-purpose yards, put Marshfield in front 14-0 with his first touchdown run, a 1-yard sneak with 9:53 left in the second quarter.
“My offensive line did a great job opening up holes tonight,” said Oswald, who tallied 107 of Marshfield’s 306 rushing yards on 13 carries. “We wanted to run a lot of trap option tonight, and every time I turned around there was a big hole to run through.”
Oswald’s second touchdown run, which followed Daly’s fumble recovery on the opening kickoff of the second half, may have been his best. The 6-foot-2 senior escaped a collapsing pocket, then weaved his way through three would-be tacklers.
“I think our offense took some big steps tonight,” Wigle said. “We finally got a little reward after getting kicked around the past couple weeks.”
With Marshfield leading 21-0, Springfield (4-3, 2-1) put together its biggest possession of the night. The Millers reached the Bucs’ 3-yard line on a short run by Dusty Jarvis, setting up a fourth-and-goal situation. From there, Travess rolled an option run but fumbled the pitch to Jarvis.
Meline came up with the loose ball less than a foot from the sideline.
“It was a big play — we just wanted to keep them from scoring,” Meline said. “That put our momentum over the top.”
The play avenged an earlier fumble by Meline after he broke loose for 48 yards on a reverse in the first quarter. Jordan Thavisack came up with the recovery after Meline was stripped from behind.
“I was looking for a little redemption from that,” Meline said.
Oswald added his third touchdown run immediately after Kirk intercepted Olson at the Millers’ 26-yard line. Oswald turned an option up field, met two tacklers inside the 5 and stretched the ball across the goal line.
Marshfield forced a punt on Springfield’s next drive, then posted its final score on a fourth-down, 3-yard touchdown run by freshman Talo Silver. He was one of five running backs to get a carry for the Pirates, joining Cameron Winfrey who posted a game-high 127 yards on 17 touches.
Boyer, a Marshfield freshman linebacker, provided a fitting touch for the night when he recovered a fumble on the game’s final play.
“Everyone was having fun tonight,” Oswald said. “We’ve got plenty of motivation all of a sudden and it feels good. Hopefully we can take that into Thurston next week.”
Jarvis ended with 83 yards on 17 carries for the Millers, who host Churchill on Friday.
Brogan Oswald snaked in for three touchdown runs; Shane Daly, Levi Meline, Justin Kirk and Dylan Boyer came up with second-half turnovers and the Pirates snapped a four-game losing streak with their first Midwestern League win of the season, a 34-0 romp over Springfield on Friday.
For Marshfield (3-5 overall, 1-2 league), it was a solid victory that fell on both homecoming and senior night at Pete Susick Stadium — and immediately put playoff buzz back into Coos Bay.
“There’s always been life in us — this was just a make-it-or-break-it game that we needed to win and we stepped up for it,” said Marshfield linebacker Will Messerle. “For us seniors, this might have been our last home game — we want to get another back here and maybe host a playoff game if we keep winning. Anything feels possible for us right now.”
The Pirates drew plenty of cheers from the packed audience, but the biggest may have come midway through the fourth quarter when Willamette’s 21-13 win over Thurston was announced. With the Wolverines’ win, Marshfield now sits a game behind four teams tied for first in the league standings.
The Pirates have two league games remaining, starting with Friday’s matchup against Thurston in Eugene.
“When there’s only a five-team league, it’s amazing what can happen from here on out,” said Marshfield coach Kent Wigle. “We were prepared emotionally tonight and we caught them by surprise. The kids played hard out there — both sides I thought.”
A week after surrendering 382 yards of total offense in a 37-13 loss at Willamette, the Pirate defense delivered one of its best games of the season. Marshfield held quarterbacks Zack Olson and Mike Travess to a combined 12 yards passing and forced five punts.
“This was a huge statement for our defense and for our team,” said Meline, a senior wideout/defensive back. “To keep that zero on the scoreboard — it’s just given us a huge confidence boost.”
That was seen in the first half when the Bucs capitalized off a sluggish Millers offense that mustered two first downs.
Marshfield set the tone for the evening on its opening possession. From their own 41-yard line, the Pirates put together an 11-play, 59-yard drive that included a conversion on fourth-and-one from the 50.
Jesse Fox put the Bucs in front with a 3-yard touchdown dive seven plays later.
“We just weren’t physical enough with them from the start,” Springfield’s first-year coach Dave Heuberger said. “We got out-played and we got out-coached — I didn’t have them prepared for this.”
Oswald, who went 4-of-5 passing while tallying 151 all-purpose yards, put Marshfield in front 14-0 with his first touchdown run, a 1-yard sneak with 9:53 left in the second quarter.
“My offensive line did a great job opening up holes tonight,” said Oswald, who tallied 107 of Marshfield’s 306 rushing yards on 13 carries. “We wanted to run a lot of trap option tonight, and every time I turned around there was a big hole to run through.”
Oswald’s second touchdown run, which followed Daly’s fumble recovery on the opening kickoff of the second half, may have been his best. The 6-foot-2 senior escaped a collapsing pocket, then weaved his way through three would-be tacklers.
“I think our offense took some big steps tonight,” Wigle said. “We finally got a little reward after getting kicked around the past couple weeks.”
With Marshfield leading 21-0, Springfield (4-3, 2-1) put together its biggest possession of the night. The Millers reached the Bucs’ 3-yard line on a short run by Dusty Jarvis, setting up a fourth-and-goal situation. From there, Travess rolled an option run but fumbled the pitch to Jarvis.
Meline came up with the loose ball less than a foot from the sideline.
“It was a big play — we just wanted to keep them from scoring,” Meline said. “That put our momentum over the top.”
The play avenged an earlier fumble by Meline after he broke loose for 48 yards on a reverse in the first quarter. Jordan Thavisack came up with the recovery after Meline was stripped from behind.
“I was looking for a little redemption from that,” Meline said.
Oswald added his third touchdown run immediately after Kirk intercepted Olson at the Millers’ 26-yard line. Oswald turned an option up field, met two tacklers inside the 5 and stretched the ball across the goal line.
Marshfield forced a punt on Springfield’s next drive, then posted its final score on a fourth-down, 3-yard touchdown run by freshman Talo Silver. He was one of five running backs to get a carry for the Pirates, joining Cameron Winfrey who posted a game-high 127 yards on 17 touches.
Boyer, a Marshfield freshman linebacker, provided a fitting touch for the night when he recovered a fumble on the game’s final play.
“Everyone was having fun tonight,” Oswald said. “We’ve got plenty of motivation all of a sudden and it feels good. Hopefully we can take that into Thurston next week.”
Jarvis ended with 83 yards on 17 carries for the Millers, who host Churchill on Friday.
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