MFL MarMac cruises past Postville 70-7 in playoff opener
Bulldogs Logan Brown (right) and Tristen Koehn pave the way for runner Bryce Radloff in MFL MarMac’s 70-7 win over Postville on Oct. 16. (Photos by Audrey Posten)
Cole Allert chases down the Postville runner.
By Audrey Posten, Times-Register
The MFL MarMac football team cruised through its first-round playoff game on Oct. 16, defeating winless Postville 70-7.
The game was a re-match of the final week of the regular season, when the Bulldogs won 60-0 despite a slow start.
“The score last week, I didn’t think was really indicative. We won convincingly, but we didn’t play very good in the first half,” said head coach Dan Anderson. “We challenged our guys all week. I said, ‘Those guys haven’t won a game. They’re going to come over here and give us their best shot. I’m sure their coach is saying “Don’t look at the score board, just play football.” That’s the same thing we tell you guys. Just play football the way you know how to play football.’ And they did.”
Cullen McShane kicked off the scoring at 8:49 in the first quarter, returning a blocked punt for the first of his six touchdowns that night. The extra point put MFL MarMac up 7-0.
Just over a minute later, McShane helped make it 14-0 when he ran over 50 yards for another touchdown.
At the 5:45 mark in the first quarter, McShane tallied his third TD on a 36-yard reception from quarterback Max Havlicek. With the extra point, the Bulldogs led 21-0.
Two minutes later, fullback Gabe McGeough made it into the end zone for a 27-0 MFL MarMac advantage.
It became 34-0 as the first quarter ended, as McShane picked up his fourth score.
The second quarter included a nine-yard touchdown from McGeough, followed by another McShane end zone run. With less then five minutes remaining in the half, McShane recovered a fumble and took it to the house—a move that pushed MFL MarMac ahead 54-0.
“In the first half, every time we touched the ball we were scoring. The defense was playing lights out. Special teams, everything—we were spot on,” Anderson said.
In the second half, the Bulldogs’ younger players got their shot on the field. Late in the third quarter, back-up quarterback Carver Blietz-Bentien connected with Cole Allert for a touchdown, and a Brandon Christofferson two-point conversion made it 62-0.
It wasn’t until midway through the fourth quarter that Pirate quarterback Riley Rankin picked up Postville’s first points, bringing the score to 62-7.
An Austin Schlee touchdown run, followed by an exciting two-point conversion by lineman Tyler Wille, set the total at 70-7 with less than two minutes left in the game.
“We told [Wille] we’d try that at some point,” said Anderson. “He’ll remember that. Football is about making memories, and everybody is going to remember that. We want to win football, but have these guys have a good experience. These guys are having that, and so are the coaches and our fans. It’s been great.”
The Bulldogs attempted just four passes in the game: Havlicek was 1-2 for eight yards and a touchdown, while Blietz-Bentien went 1-2 for 36 yards and a touchdown.
It was the rushing attack that challenged the Pirates, as MFL MarMac totaled 393 yards on the ground. McGeough racked up 135 of those, along with two touchdowns, on seven attempts. McShane ran the ball three times for 100 yards and three touchdowns, while Schlee picked up 57 yards and a touchdown on six runs.
Nineteen Bulldogs made it into the tackle column on Friday—McGeough leading the way with 7.5. Schlee earned 4 and Chauncy Drahn and Bryce Radloff each had 3.5.
The team also forced seven turnovers, including two fumble recoveries by McShane and one each by Christofferson and Cayden Ball. Kale Miene picked off two passes and Allert one.
“It was a complete effort,” said Anderson. “We had several interceptions, and special teams played well, with a blocked kick for a touchdown. We score touchdowns in a lot of different ways.”
Now, the Bulldogs will look to continue that success against 3-5 East Buchanan, who defeated Bellevue 30-6 to advance to the second round. The Friday, Oct. 23 game will begin at 7 p.m. in Monona.
“[East Buchanan] is going to be a lot different,” noted Anderson. “They’re really a physical team. They’ve got three backs plus the quarterback—they’re a four-back offense kind of like us. That can really give you some problems. We need to have a good week of practice. But we get to host again, and there’s no place like home.”
