Falcons win league opener, 42-12

A steady drizzle blanketed the football field in Marathon City on Friday, making for a wet and slippery contest.

Those conditions played right into the hands of the Abbotsford Falcons, who used a methodical and unrelenting ground game to pound the Marathon Red Raider into submission for a 42-12 win in the first game of Marawood action.

“We’ve been on the losing end more than not against them, and the goal was to earn a playoff birth with the win,” Abby head coach Jake Knapmiller said.

It was defense that dominated the first quarter. The Falcons took the opening kick-off, and drove down the field before being stopped on downs.

Marathon went on an 11-play drive that chewed up time, and brought them into the Red Zone, but Ty Falteisek made back to back tackles for loss, and the senior linebacker came in with another tackle that forced a turnover on downs.

Abbotsford took over, and their next drive went into the second quarter. The Falcons drove 72-yards downfield, and capped off their drive with Falteisek shaking free of multiple defenders for a 27-yard scoring run. The two point conversion was stopped but Abby took the early advantage at 6-0.

The Red Raiders answered back with a 60-play scoring drive that resulted in a one-yard TD from Matt Annis with 4:43 to play in the first half. Abby blocked the extra point, and after both teams were held in check for much of the first half, the two offenses came alive.

The Falcons went on a seven play drive that was kept alive thanks to JV Castillo, who converted a third and long. A play later, and it was Falteisek bounding into the endzone from 12-yards out. A Falteisek two point conversion made it 14-6.

Two minutes were left on the clock, and that was all that was needed for each team to score again. Marathon travelled 65-yards in under a minute to make it 1412 with 1:11 before the break.

It turns out that was too much time.

Falteisek busted off a big run before he was finally tackled to the Red Raiders 30yard with 34 seconds to play. Ty hit Marathon with another big run, bringing the ball down to the goal line.

Abby head coach Jake Knapmiller quickly called time out, and with 19 seconds to go, Evan Schunk slid in for a touchdown to make it 20-12.

The two point conversion was stopped, but the Falcons had wrestled the momentum away from Marathon.

The Falcons came out of the break bounding with energy, and as the drizzle got worse, the Falcons hit another level.

Abby set the stage for the second half with a dominating performance on both sides of the ball. Marathon attempted to convert on a fourth and one, but was stopped shy of the sticks, and that play deflated the Red Raiders.

Three plays on offense, and the Falcons were hanging more points on the host as Falteisek scored again, this time from 15-yards out. A two point conversion was good, and Abby led 28-12.

The hits kept coming in the third quarter, with every Abby stop, and every Abby run feeling like body blows.

Abby forced the Red Raiders to punt on their next drive, and then methodically marched down the field that set up a Castillo score from 13-yards out. The two point conversion failed, but the Falcons now had a three score cushion at 34-12.

The Falcons had stopped the Marathon rushing attack, so the Red Raiders went back to the air, only to see Falteisek make a beautiful one-handed interception.

The Falcons and its behemoth offensive line went back to work, battering Marathon defenders and opening lanes for Falteisek. Ty burst through a seam, galloping downfield for a 50-yard touchdown, his fourth of the night.

Falteisek ran it in for two more points, and a stunned Red Raider crowd was left to watch the final minutes as their home team’s offense came undone.

A running clock was put in place for the entire fourth quarter, and the Red Raiders tried to find pay-dirt once again, but their offense was halted at every step.

In the end, Marathon could only muster 12 points despite 229 yards of total offense - 118 on the ground and 111 through the air.

“Our best way to describe the way our defense played was fast and swarming,” Knapmiller said. “We maybe aren’t perfect with technique or reads, but our kids run and hit a lot of times as one unit.”

The Falcons finished with 346 yards, with 339 of those yards coming on the ground. Falteisek recorded a team high 202 rushing yards on 22 carries. Castillo added another 116 on 13 carries. Falteisek also had a team high eight tackles. Evan Reis, Mason Wellman and Alex Sundermeyer all added one tackle for loss.

The Falcons will be back on the road this Thursday for a non-conference game with Rib Lake/Prentice. That game will start at 6 p.m.

PUSH THE PILE -Ty Falteisek keeps his feet moving as he gets a push from behind for extra yardage from Carlos Lara and Evan Schunk (#7). Falteisek rushed for over 200-yards against Marathon. STAFF PHOTO/ROSS PATTERMANN