Photo by Jake McNeill: Marshall running back Gavin Schaefer celebrates after scoring a touchdown in the second half of the Section 2AAAA championship game against Hutchinson at Mattke Field in Marshall on Friday night. Marshall defeated Hutchinson to advance to the state tournament for the first time since 2017.

MARSHALL — From the second the opening kickoff left the tee, the Marshall football team looked fired up and ready to go for its Section 2AAA championship match against the Hutchinson Tigers. Hutchinson had ended Marshall’s season one win shy of the state tournament each of the last two seasons, but the hometown Tigers scored 21 unanswered points to start the game and closed out the section title bout with a 35-13 win.

“The two years I’ve been here, they’ve ended our season, so this year we had them in the back of our mind all season,” Marshall left tackle and team captain Jake Allex said. “We knew we had to be better than last week and we came out here, played physical and did what we had to do.

“[Friday’s win] showed that we can play ball, but the job’s never done until you have a state chip. We’re confident, but we’ve got to stay humble and know we’ve got to keep getting better and keep working.”

Two years ago, Marshall was a perfect 9-0 before getting stomped 52-30 by Hutchinson. Marshall was competitive for the first three quarters in last year’s championship as well, but injuries and penalties skewed the score late as they lost 30-14 against Hutchinson. Both games were played in Hutchinson.

“Last year we thought we played well in the first half and didn’t get it done in the second half, so we made it a goal to come back,” Marshall head coach Terry Bahlmann said. “A lot of times we said you don’t get second chances. We got a second chance at this one. I thought our kids played really physical all night and our run game was dominant.”

Marshall started its game-opening drive at its own 49-yard line and quarterback Levi Maeyaert quickly found Jack Meier for an 18-yard gain to get deep into Hutchinson territory. The Marshall ground-and-pound offense took over from there, with Schaefer carrying Marshall up to the goalline before Maeyaert punched across a QB keeper for a 6-0 lead through the game’s first four minutes.

Hutchinson couldn’t get anything going on its first possession and punted after three plays. The Marshall Tigers took advantage of the quality field position. Andrew Stelter, running toward the sideline, made a diving grab for a 12-yard gain to the Marshall 47 and a pair of Schaefer runs for 21 yards got Marshall into enemy territory.

On second down, Hutchinson tackled Mason Eickhoff for a 2-yard loss but Schaefer pushed through for the third-down conversion and a Hutchinson neutral zone infraction left Marshall just outside the red zone.

Schaefer kept the chains moving, running the ball on three of the next four plays to get Marshall right on the goalline, and Maeyaert once again crossed the plane on a QB keeper to get Marshall on the board again. Maeyaert then rolled to his right and hit Stelter on the flat to convert the 2-point attempt for a 14-0 Tiger lead on the first play of the second quarter.

All night long, Schaefer was an absolute wrecking ball for the Marshall Tigers. He carried the ball 28 times for a whopping 234 yards and a pair of touchdowns to lead the rushing attack, while Eickhoff added another 11 carries for 70 yards and a score.

“Just working hard all the time, doing what your taught and running hard,” Schaefer said when asked what allowed him to put out that kind of effort against Hutchinson. Confidence could also have been a contributing factor, as Schaefer said he felt all season long like he knew that Marshall was going to get over the hump against Hutchinson this time around.

On its second possession of the game, Hutchinson showed signs of life when Nathan Thode hauled in a 33-yard gain on third-and-6 to get the ball to the Marshall 28-yard line. The visiting Tigers tried to throw deep again on the next possession, but Jayden Meister intercepted the ball at the 10-yard line and returned it all the way to midfield to stop the Hutchinson drive and set up the Marshall Tigers well.

The play marked the first of two interceptions on the night for Meister. Trailing by three possessions late in the fourth quarter, William Van Marel breathed some life into Hutchinson’s offense by hauling in a 30-yard gain on a double-move route to get the visiting Tigers to the Marshall 47-yard line. Rostberg tried to go deep again on the next play, but Meister elevated above the receiver to make a one-handed, cross-body catch for his second interception of the night at the Marshall 17-yard line.

“I don’t really think of anything when I’m in the game, it’s just instincts. When the ball’s in the air, you’ve got to go get it every time,” Meister said of the play. While it’s not his first time intercepting a pass, he said he’s never made a catch like that before. “Definitely the first one, but hopefully the first of many.”

Marshall settled for a 3-and-out on the ensuing possession after Meister’s first interception, but a punt from Josh Kraft down by the coffin corner was downed at the 2-yard line. Marshall stuffed Hutchinson each of the next three plays and took right back over deep in Hutchinson territory at the 35-yard line after the punt.

While Marshall was unable to take advantage of field position on the previous drive, they took full advantage this time around. Schaefer broke a pair of tackles for a 17-yard gain on the first play from scrimmage and broke off another eight on the next play. Two carries later, he took it into the end zone for his first score of the day and a 21-0 Marshall lead.

“The work we put in and the attitude they’ve had [allowed this group to build the early lead],” Bahlmann said. “We knew what it was going to take. Hutchinson’s defending state champs. They’re traditionally the top 4A school in the state that everybody thinks about. We knew it wasn’t going to be an easy out, so we had to bring it every play.”

Just as it seemed Marshall was going to pitch a perfect game in the first half, Hutchinson’s offense came alive late. Thode converted a third-and-7 with a catch over the middle to get close to midfield and a facemask a few plays later brought Hutchinson to the Marshall 29-yard line. 

Marshall’s defense stood tall and a clutch tackle from JR Vierstraete shut Hutchinson down on third-and-1, but Thode broke through the line on fourth down to bring the ball to the Marshall 7-yard line. He then made a toe-tap grab in the back corner of the end zone to get Hutchinson on the board with 32 seconds left in the first half.

Hutchinson brought its momentum into the first possession of the second half when Graydon Rostberg found a wide-open Thode for a 61-yard touchdown on third-and-6, making it a one-possession game despite Marshall blocking the point after.

Schaefer took matters into his own hands to prevent Hutchinson from getting an opportunity to tie the game. He marched the Tigers down the field all by himself, breaking off big gains on three consecutive runs before finding paydirt and extending the Marshall lead to 28-13 with nine minutes to play in the third quarter.

While the defense didn’t have much time to rest after the quick Marshall drive, they still looked energized. Hutchinson picked up a short gain on first down but JR Vierstraete came up with a 10-yard sack on second down and forced an incompletion by applying pressure on third to get Marshall the ball back. 

“We knew they were going to have some plays against us, but you just have to come back the next play, put your head down and work in the trenches,” Vierstraete said. “Our defense is just really really good. Our coaches put in good game plans and we executed.”

The Tigers once again went 3-and-out but a big hit from Vierstraete on the punt pinned Hutchinson at its own 9-yard line.

With 90 seconds to play in the third quarter, Hutchinson tried to take a deep shot but Shep Jensen made the interception in triple coverage to give Marshall the ball back, though Marshall punted once again on the possession. 

The two teams exchanged punts until Mason Eickhoff scored the dagger, breaking off a 42-yard touchdown run to make the score 35-13 with five minutes left in the game. 

With its seventh consecutive win, Marshall improves to 9-1 on the season as it claims its first section championship since 2017 after four losses in the final over that span.

“We’ll enjoy it tonight,” Bahlmann said. “The seeding will come out, we’ll see who we play, gather the information, get ready, get healthy next week and come out and give it our best.”

The Class AAA state tournament quarterfinals will be played on Thursday at 6 p.m. Now seeded 1 through 4 in the North and South, the 1 and 4 seeds will play at Blaine High School while the 2 and 3 seeds will play at East Ridge. Seedings will be announced this weekend.