“We’ve had a great season,” said Flyers coach Tim Goodwin. “18 seniors on this team. We’ve been watching this class for a long time because they just have a different vibe about them. They’re very tight knit, very kind, compassionate, very hard working and also very skilled. It’s been a really fun year.”
Marion Local beat Columbus Grove 41-6 in a D-VII state semifinal game last week to advance to its 18th state championship game since 2000. They’ve allowed just 27 points during the postseason.
The Flyers are seeking their fourth straight title and 15th overall. The key to their success, Goodwin said, has always been focusing on their high expectations, regardless of the opponent.
“Over the years, we’ve just focused in on ourselves in terms of our preparation and our standard of play,” Goodwin said. “When you focus on that kind of standard, it makes you much more consistent. We want to practice this week and prepare. It’s fun playing a new team. We want to go there Friday morning and play the best game of the year. That’s what we’re working towards.”
Only one team has come within two touchdowns of the Flyers all season — a 21-7 victory over Minster in the Region 28 championship game this season. Marion Local beat rival Coldwater — who advanced to the D-VI state title game — 35-0 in Week 10. The Flyers’ Week 1 opponent, Linton-Stockton (Ind.), advanced to the Indiana Class 2A state title game.
Marion Local will face a Jeromesville Hillsdale program that’s competing in its first-ever state championship game. Hillsdale won regional titles in 2010 and 2017, but finally broke through to the state final this season.
“Our players definitely believe that they have an opportunity to win a state championship and as a football program, you always want to go up against great programs and that’s what Marion Local is,” said Hillsdale coach Trevor Cline. “We know about their history. They’ve been a powerhouse in Division VI and Division VII for many years and they’re a very well respected program and how they run their program is extremely impressive. Our guys expect to show up and compete on Friday and they look for the opportunity to go up against a program of that caliber.”
The key for the Falcons, Cline said, will be taking advantage of the Flyers’ mistakes.
“Watching them on film, they’re a very solid program,” Cline said. “You don’t win 60 some games and multiple state championships in a row by mistake and obviously it’s because of how they go about things. They do at times make mistakes on their film, and we gotta be able to capitalize on that because the teams that have been able to capitalize on that have been able to move the football, but the teams that don’t take advantage of it, obviously they have a hard time. We just gotta make sure when they do make mistakes on the offensive side of the ball or defensive side of the ball, we gotta make sure we make the most of that opportunity.”
The Flyers senior class is also looking for perfection. They’ve never lost during their run to four state championship games. Their last loss came against Minster in eighth grade, Goodwin said.
“This is a class that’s just different,” Goodwin said. “If we had 8 a.m. films on a Saturday morning, they would all be in the locker room at 7:30 just because they wanted to hang out together. We’ve never had a class that was as tight as this class, or as kind to kids. They’re really great kids. I’m probably going to be crying all day Friday just because it’s my last shot with them.”
All seven state title games will be televised live on Spectrum News 1, as well as online at OHSAA.tv.
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