The MFL MarMac football team is heading into the postseason with even more confidence after downing previously undefeated Northeast 35-14 in the regular season finale in Monona on Oct. 16.
Bulldog head coach Dan Anderson called it a “big win for Bulldog football.”
“We haven’t had a win like that for a few years now,” he told the players after the game. “You guys should have so much confidence.”
Outside a pair of second quarter touchdowns, the Bulldogs were largely able to corral Rebel quarterback Maxzen Eskildsen, one of the top rushers in the state who was averaging nearly 200 yards per game. He finished with just 68, and Northeast had only 108 rushing yards total.
“We didn’t let him get outside and take off,” according to Anderson.
He credited a good game plan. The Bulldogs dominated time of possession and skillfully managed the game clock to keep the Rebels off the field. They “emptied the playbook” on special teams, offense and defense.
Although undefeated, MFL MarMac knew fifth-ranked Northeast had played a lot of close games.
“They just had some big plays against teams and got teams down. But we locked them down and followed the game plan,” Anderson said.
More importantly: “[The Bulldogs] believed they could win.”
After surrendering the touchdowns to Northeast in the second quarter, trailing 14-6 at halftime, “the kids responded and played a really good second half,” Anderson said.
MFL MarMac scored 14 unanswered points in the third quarter, then another 15 more in the fourth to seal the victory.
Players combined for 306 rushing yards, including a 123-yard performance by senior Blake Schutte, who scored three touchdowns. Daxton Diemel racked up 73 yards on 15 carries and Kashton Decker had 64 yards on seven touches. Rylan Schroeder toted the ball nine times for 44 yards and a touchdown.
Bulldog quarterback Easton Lange completed three of five passes for 83 yards, highlighted by a 52-yard touchdown reception to Decker.
Defensively, Anderson praised the team’s tackling. MFL MarMac was successful at “daring [the Rebels] to run it right up the gut,” unlike the outside yardage to which they were accustomed.
Along with his strong offensive performance, Schutte led the defense with 9 total tackles, including 1.5 for a loss. Cameron Hagensick secured 6 tackles, Noah Troester and Taco Thompson each had 4.5 and Diemel finished the game with 4. Lange snagged an interception.
The win improved MFL MarMac to 4-4 overall and 3-2 in Class 1A - District 5. They enter the playoffs as a four seed, and will make the nearly three-hour trek to one-seeded Clarion-Goldfield-Dows (7-1) for the opening round this Friday, Oct. 23.
“We’re going to be playing a number one seed from here on out, but we just proved we could beat an undefeated number one seed. That team was ranked fifth in the state. The number one offense in the state of Iowa in yards, and we held them to 14 points,” Anderson said. It shows that, “if we do all three phases of the game, we’re good enough to win against some really good teams.”
