BRODHEAD - Marshall senior quarterback Ty DeForest still had some magic in his right arm late in the fourth quarter.
With Brodhead-Juda clinging to a four-point lead, and Marshall facing a fourth-and-5 from the home team's 24-yard line, DeForest zipped a 20-yard pass to senior Sam Schwenn to keep a drive alive. Three plays later, DeForest had a 1-yard TD run on a quarterback sneak with 1 minute, 38 seconds to go that proved to be the difference in Marshall's 9-7 win over Brodhead-Juda in a WIAA Division 4 Level 2 playoff game Friday night.
"It's just a blur, but a good blur," said DeForest, an Illinois State recruit and a player invited as a preferred walk-on for the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "It's awesome. It's the first time we have done it (advance to the state quarterfinals) in Division 4. We have done it in Division 5, but it's the first in Division 4. To get that monkey off our back is crazy."
It was a defensive slugfest throughout the game. DeForest, who entered the game averaging 102 rushing yards and 99 passing yards per game with 27 total touchdowns, was bottled up by the Brodhead-Juda defense most of the game. DeForest rushed for 40 yards on 20 carries and completed just 3 of 14 passes for 41 yards.
Brodhead-Juda's Brennan Bescup blocked the extra point after DeForest's touchdown. The home team Cardinals (9-2) had one last try to rally. Junior Ned Slocum took a kickoff and handed off to Jake Pickel. The ball popped out of Pickel's hands and into the air before Marshall (10-1) recovered the fumble to seal the game.
With the win, Marshall advances to play Lodi in the state quarterfinals next Friday.
"There were a lot of plays out there," Brodhead-Juda coach B.J. Bockhop said. "That was not the one play that made the difference. It was a slugfest. It's a hard game to lose. We can't let one game define our season. In a couple of days they will look back on the great season they had. It stings now."
Bescup rushed for 49 yards on 13 carries and scored one touchdown. Senior running back Griffin Day rushed for 57 yards on 12 carries, but the Cardinals were limited to just 139 total yards.
"Everyone is like brothers on this team," Bescup said. "We have been working for this since middle school. It just didn't come out the way we wanted it to. It was just some unnecessary mistakes and turnovers. When you get in a big game it (turnovers) really count for the other team."
The first half was a defensive battle with the only scoring coming on DeForest's 25-yard field goal about midway through the first quarter. It stayed that way until the fourth quarter.
Brodhead-Juda forced and recovered a fumble at Marshall's 25-yard line with 9:46 left in the fourth quarter. Five plays later, Bescup raced in for a 9-yard TD run on a bootleg on third-and-goal to give the home Cardinals a 7-3 lead midway through the fourth quarter.
"Our defense just played phenomenal," Bockhop said. "It was a battle the whole game."
Brodhead-Juda was called for a late hit on the ensuing kickoff to set up Marshall's game-winning drive. That set the stages for DeForest's late-game heroics. Schwenn dropped a pass late in the fourth quarter right before the game-winning touchdown. DeForest gave his teammate a second chance to deliver and he came through.
"Sam had dropped a pass earlier," DeForest said. "I knew the line would create a pocket. I just told him (Schwenn), 'You dropped one before, but what are you going to do now.' He made the catch and bounced off tackles and almost scored. I'm just speechless."
With Brodhead-Juda clinging to a four-point lead, and Marshall facing a fourth-and-5 from the home team's 24-yard line, DeForest zipped a 20-yard pass to senior Sam Schwenn to keep a drive alive. Three plays later, DeForest had a 1-yard TD run on a quarterback sneak with 1 minute, 38 seconds to go that proved to be the difference in Marshall's 9-7 win over Brodhead-Juda in a WIAA Division 4 Level 2 playoff game Friday night.
"It's just a blur, but a good blur," said DeForest, an Illinois State recruit and a player invited as a preferred walk-on for the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "It's awesome. It's the first time we have done it (advance to the state quarterfinals) in Division 4. We have done it in Division 5, but it's the first in Division 4. To get that monkey off our back is crazy."
It was a defensive slugfest throughout the game. DeForest, who entered the game averaging 102 rushing yards and 99 passing yards per game with 27 total touchdowns, was bottled up by the Brodhead-Juda defense most of the game. DeForest rushed for 40 yards on 20 carries and completed just 3 of 14 passes for 41 yards.
Brodhead-Juda's Brennan Bescup blocked the extra point after DeForest's touchdown. The home team Cardinals (9-2) had one last try to rally. Junior Ned Slocum took a kickoff and handed off to Jake Pickel. The ball popped out of Pickel's hands and into the air before Marshall (10-1) recovered the fumble to seal the game.
With the win, Marshall advances to play Lodi in the state quarterfinals next Friday.
"There were a lot of plays out there," Brodhead-Juda coach B.J. Bockhop said. "That was not the one play that made the difference. It was a slugfest. It's a hard game to lose. We can't let one game define our season. In a couple of days they will look back on the great season they had. It stings now."
Bescup rushed for 49 yards on 13 carries and scored one touchdown. Senior running back Griffin Day rushed for 57 yards on 12 carries, but the Cardinals were limited to just 139 total yards.
"Everyone is like brothers on this team," Bescup said. "We have been working for this since middle school. It just didn't come out the way we wanted it to. It was just some unnecessary mistakes and turnovers. When you get in a big game it (turnovers) really count for the other team."
The first half was a defensive battle with the only scoring coming on DeForest's 25-yard field goal about midway through the first quarter. It stayed that way until the fourth quarter.
Brodhead-Juda forced and recovered a fumble at Marshall's 25-yard line with 9:46 left in the fourth quarter. Five plays later, Bescup raced in for a 9-yard TD run on a bootleg on third-and-goal to give the home Cardinals a 7-3 lead midway through the fourth quarter.
"Our defense just played phenomenal," Bockhop said. "It was a battle the whole game."
Brodhead-Juda was called for a late hit on the ensuing kickoff to set up Marshall's game-winning drive. That set the stages for DeForest's late-game heroics. Schwenn dropped a pass late in the fourth quarter right before the game-winning touchdown. DeForest gave his teammate a second chance to deliver and he came through.
"Sam had dropped a pass earlier," DeForest said. "I knew the line would create a pocket. I just told him (Schwenn), 'You dropped one before, but what are you going to do now.' He made the catch and bounced off tackles and almost scored. I'm just speechless."
