Saturday, October 11th, 2025
Hanging on
Marion Local survives against Anna in double overtime
By Joe Schatz
Photo by Nick Wenning/The Daily Standard
Marion Local's Kamden Eifert avoids Anna defenders on his way to the goal line during Friday's game with Anna. The Flyers held on in overtime to get a 28-27 victory.
MARIA STEIN - Over the course of Marion Local's now 72-game winning streak, there have been a fair share of blowouts, leading to boring football games. After a thrilling 28-27 double-overtime victory over Anna, Coach Tim Goodwin was asked just how exciting games like that are.
"I wish they weren't," Goodwin replied as he exited the field with a subtle grin.
Marion did not lead until their final possession in the second overtime, and escaped after a dramatic two-point conversion attempt by Anna fell incomplete.
Before the excitement, it was four quarters of adrenaline and grit by both teams. Anna (5-3) started with the ball, but could not get anything going. It was a similar experience by Marion, who could not find the end zone on fourth and goal of its opening drive.
Anna grabbed more momentum on Marion's second drive, as Brennen Hess' pass was intercepted by an Anna linebacker, who returned it to Flyer territory.
Photo by Nick Wenning/The Daily Standard
Marion Local's Derek Knapke (22) latches on to Anna's Brody Murray during Friday's game at Booster Stadium.
The Rockets faced a second and 29 on the drive, but two big plays gave the visitors a first down. Eventually in the red zone, a six-yard run by Zebadiah Pleiman put Anna up 7-0 with under a minute to go in the first quarter.
A 57-yard pass from Hess to Brayden Mescher opened Marion's next drive, and brought the crowd back into the game. Just four seconds into the second quarter, Marion tied things up two plays later on a Kamden Eifert run from six yards out.
While most teams would shrink in this moment; on the road against a great team, Anna did not. The Rockets used a fake punt on fourth down to pick up nearly 30-yards, as lineman Noah Wilt took a direct snap and ran past almost every defender.
Facing another fourth down inside Flyer territory, Anna quarterback Logan Ziegenbusch threw a perfect, over the shoulder pass to Pleiman for a touchdown. After the point-after, the Rockets had a 14-7 lead with seven minutes left in the half.
Photo by Nick Wenning/The Daily Standard
Marion Local's Brayden Mescher (5) is brought down by Anna's Tyson Vaubel.
Marion ate up a lot of clock, but could not get points on the board. Anna got possession again, and craziness ensued. Ziegenbusch's pass was caught by Pleiman, but Marion's Mescher ripped the ball out, before fumbling it himself on the return. After some discussion, it was deemed Marion recovered the fumble.
The Flyers then fumbled the ball right back to Anna on the next possession, as Cale Nagel got it stripped from him as he was going down. Seeing enough, the Rockets just kneeled out the clock and went into the half leading 14-7.
It was the third time this season that Marion Local trailed at the half, (also against St. Henry and Versailles) and changes were needed. Hess was not getting good protection, and was sacked three times in the first half.
Marion opened the second half with possession, but a third down sack forced the Flyers to punt. Anna could not pick up a fourth down the following drive, as the Marion defense stood tall.
Trying to get momentum back, Hess found Mescher for 21-yards on third down to keep their drive alive. A 22-yard pass to Andrew Schmakers on third and 19 gave the fans some more juice, and the Flyers capitalized.
Facing a second and goal from the three, Eifert pounded his way in for six, and with the extra point by Thomas Winner, the game was tied at 14-all nearing the fourth quarter.
Marion's defense forced another punt, but Hess' pass was intercepted by Ziegenbusch on the ensuing drive. It was a flea-flicker, but a little too much air on the pass made it an easy target.
While it did not result in points, it did give Anna more juice defensively. The next Marion possession ended with a failed fourth down. The Rockets returned the favor. After a long drive, an incomplete pass on fourth down gave the Flyers the ball back on their own 33 with two minutes to go, and all three timeouts.
After driving to midfield, Hess was sacked trying to get off a Hail Mary. Overtime was on deck for fans who have not seen overtime since 2020.
"Our defense played well in the second half, and gave our offense plenty of opportunities," Goodwin said. "We just didn't take advantage of them, credit to Anna for that."
Anna opened overtime with the ball on the Marion 20. The Rockets found themselves in a fourth-and-13, but Ziegenbusch scrambled to pick up the first at the eight yard line. It was Pleiman again who broke open on a pass to give Anna the lead back at 21-14.
Marion opened their possession with a 12-yard pass from Hess to Mescher to set up first and goal. Eifert found the end zone for a third time on the night, and Winner's extra point tied the game at 21-all.
In the second overtime, Marion started with the ball. A pair of solid runs by Eifert put the Flyers on the doorstep. On the third play of the possession, Eifert ran through a big hole from the offensive line to score for the fourth time and give Marion a 28-21 lead. He finished with four scores on 31 carries.
"Thankfully Kam (Eifert) has some good vision, and made some really good cuts tonight," Goodwin said.
Anna needed a touchdown and extra-point to continue the game. On their third play of the possession, Ziegenbusch found Brody Murray from 14-yards out to make the score 28-27. With a big decision to make, Anna called timeout and put the offense on the field, looking for the win. Marion responded with a timeout of its own.
"We reminded them of a couple of things they might see and wanted to get a look at their formation," Goodwin said.
On the two-point play, Ziegenbusch used a quick drop back and looked Pleiman's way. The Rocket receiver made an inside cut to try and create separation, but Mescher, playing as the defensive back, got his hand on the receiver and the ball sailed just a bit high.
Marion had survived.
"We told the (defensive backs) to compete like crazy, a flag wasn't the end of the world there," Goodwin said.
