58 in a row... Marion Local sets new Ohio record with win over Coldwater

Marion Local quarterback Justin Knouff leans in for his second-quarter touchdown run that gave the Flyers a 21-0 lead over Coldwater at halftime. (Press photos by Sonny Fulks)

The new Ohio record for consecutive wins now belongs to Marion Local…58 in a row…and the Flyers won it in style with their fifth straight shutout, 35-0 over Coldwater.

Coldwater, OH – After 25 years, 14 state titles and all those wins along the way, the one Tim Goodwin and the Marion Local Flyers took home Friday night could one day be the most meaningful of all – a win that belongs to eternity, until someone beats it.

Marion picked up its 58th straight win, losing to New Bremen in the playoffs in 2020, setting the new Ohio record for high school football and surpassing the old record set by the MAC brethren in Delphos from 1996-2000 St. John had set up. It was Marion who broke that streak with a win over Delphos in the state semifinal game that year.

Publisher Sonny Fulks writes about OHSAA sports and the Buckeyes for Press Pros Magazine.

After 25 years, 14 state championships and more memorable milestones than the normally unremarkable Goodwin would like… this one, No. 58, left him almost speechless.

“It’s a lot of games in a row,” he began after collecting his thoughts. “I’m just proud of our guys… the way they listened to what we told them, that the record was for everyone else to talk about and not for us. “Thinking about the record, talking about the record, about the record to hear…none of that would help them get the record. And they needed to hear it because they’re not in the locker room 24/7. I take my hat off to them.”

And like the old Smith-Barney Investments commercial from actor John Houseman…they deserve it. With a completely convincing 35-0 victory over unbeaten Division VI No. 1 Coldwater, Marion once again opened the eyes of all Ohio with its fifth straight shutout – its sixth of the season – and set another Marion local set a football record by allowing opponents just 22 points ahead ten weeks of the regular season.

Griffin Bruns’ 40-yard catch from Justin Knouff scored a touchdown for Marion Local in its win over Coldwater on Friday.

“They’re a juggernaut,” Coldwater coach Chip Otten smiled appreciatively afterwards. Although Otten was disappointed with his own team and the way they ended their season, he was nothing but class in his respect for the record and quality of Marion Local’s recent outstanding season.

“They just have so many weapons, so many great players out there,” Otten began. “And Tim and I talk about how if we’re both undefeated and we play each other in the last game of the season, one of us will go home unhappy. Tonight it was us. This is a really good football team. Still, we thought we could do a lot against them tonight, but they took a lot of it away from them.”

After stopping Coldwater on the game’s first possession, Marion immediately moved 75 yards downfield in seven plays, the biggest being a 40-yard bomb to receiver Griffin Bruns… and two plays later, quarterback Justin Knouff connected with Vic Hoelscher for 15 yards and an opening score…7-0 with 6:49 left in the quarter.

Since 2013, Moeller Trucking has sponsored MAC Sports in Press Pros Magazine, congratulating the Marion Local Flyers on setting a new Ohio record for consecutive wins.

Marion stopped Coldwater again, this time scoring on a two-yard run by Drew Lause with 55 seconds left, capping a 9-play, 71-yard drive…Marion 14-0.

On their third possession, Coldwater quarterback Baylen Blockberger fumbled after a first down run, only to have Marion retrieve the football and seemingly gain all the momentum Coldwater would have for the rest of the evening. With field position near the 50-yard line, Justin Knouff scored on a seven-yard run with 39 seconds left before halftime, increasing the deficit to 21-0.

Marion’s Victor Hoelscher catches the first down pass in the first half of Friday’s 35-0 win over Coldwater.

The second half, like the first, was all about Marion. Marion held Coldwater to just 196 total yards in the game and scored on a 1-yard run by Parker Hess three minutes into the third quarter to make it 28-0. And after trading punts with Coldwater in the fourth quarter, Drew Lause plunged over the goal line for the second time from 13 yards out to make the game 35-0.

Marion would overtake Coldwater by a margin of 394 to 197. But in games of this magnitude… once again it was the disparity in their running ability that simply wore Coldwater down – a total of 211 yards on the ground between Lause (42), Knouff (86), Kamden Eifert (30) and Parker Hess (53).

Miles Pottkotter would lead Coldwater with just 27 yards on 8 rush attempts. Sophomore Braxton Taylor finished with 24 yards on three attempts.

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Additionally, Marion’s defense thwarted most of Baylen Blockberger’s passing opportunities and held the Cavaliers to just 138 yards on 13 of 23 attempts. Mason Welsch led the Cavaliers in catches of 4 and 52 yards.

In comparison, the Flyers’ Justin Knouff would complement the running game with 183 yards and a touchdown on 9 of 14 attempts. Teammate Victor Hoelscher led all receivers with 102 yards and a touchdown. Griffin Bruns added 81 yards on just two catches. And for those who ask weekly about the biggest difference in Marion football at 58 in a row compared to what it was at the start of the series, it is undoubtedly their ability to throw the ball with lightning and thunder…and if they want it. More like if they have to.

Not many highlights… but Mason Welsch’s interception of a pass from Justin Knouff in the second half was a bright spot for Coldwater.

“It (the passing game) makes us more of a dual threat,” Victor Hoelscher said. “We’ve always been known for our running game – that was the motto – and now the passing game is just a big plus for us. Some nights it’s not there, some games it is. Tonight it was there, the running game was there and we executed it well.”

As efficient and balanced as they were on offense, a look at the statistics shows that it was Marion’s defense that once again made the difference. When you limit teams to so few opportunities and points, it’s hard to lose.

“And I really want to recognize our defense,” Goodwin said. “We don’t put much stock in stats, but we only gave up 22 points in 10 games, and that’s a school record – zero touchdown passes in those 10 games, and that’s a team record.” And it’s football in 2024 and not in 1958, so that’s pretty impressive. I’m proud of these guys and it’s a team effort. We were able to build some pressure in key moments tonight, so yeah… definitely a great job by the defense.”

Peoples Bank in Coldwater is proud to sponsor MAC sports on Press Pros Magazine.com.

58 wins make history and continue week after week. And yet, when you have all these titles and now all these victories… how can high school kids appreciate that, despite all it took to get here and despite all that is still to be achieved ?

“I don’t know,” Goodwin added. “I guess you’d have to ask her that. A lot of these kids played last season, and Victor was actually there in 1922 when we were really big. But that’s the icing on the cake…the highlight of many kids over 26 years old. And you don’t just do that out of a dead end. It requires a lot of traction and a lot of commitment from a lot of people.”

Marion Local’s Drew Lause scores the second of his two touchdowns to end the score in the Flyers’ 35-0 win.

A contribution to an evening of records…probably the biggest goal for a home game in Coldwater, and there’s no exact number as to how many people came to see the story.

But there was an exact number for a record-breaking 50-50 draw: $22,480.

“I didn’t win it,” someone laughed. “But it was great just to be a part of it [record] Pot.”

And they say that the best story is the story that is being made.

No one who watched Marion Local on Friday night… for 22 points has given up over ten weeks… for five straight shutouts… although, as Victor Hoelscher said, “the passing game and the running game both work”… no one is willing to believe that they Now I’ve seen the final part of this latest Marion miracle.

For those across Ohio and those like Marine Michael Hemmelgarn reading from Camp Pendleton in San Diego, California on Saturday morning…it is very likely.

You haven’t seen anything yet!