Marengo saves key plays for big moments in win over Woodstock

MARENGO – Marengo saved its big plays for when the Indians truly needed them against Woodstock, and it paid off handsomely.

In the second half alone, the Indians converted three fourth-down opportunities, had two fumble recoveries and grabbed an interception to outlast the Blue Streaks 23-21.

“In the fourth quarter, our defensive coach came to me and said I might have to play defense and I haven’t played defense all season, I didn’t know what in the heck to do. So, I go into the game and I knew I had to make a play and that’s what I did.” On his only other play on defense, he deflected a pass.

—  David Lopez, Marengo quarterback

Marengo quarterback David Lopez stepped up on both sides of the ball to make significant plays for the Indians (1-1). He was 11 of 17 passing for 129 yards and a touchdown, he rushed 49 yards on 13 carries and had the game-clinching interception on defense.

While the offensive contributions were not a surprise, it was the interception as Woodstock was driving late in the game that stood out.

“In the fourth quarter, our defensive coach came to me and said I might have to play defense and I haven’t played defense all season, I didn’t know what in the heck to do,” Lopez said. “So, I go into the game and I knew I had to make a play and that’s what I did.” On his only other play on defense, he deflected a pass.

“He hasn’t played defense since last year and I am so happy for him, he is asked to do a lot at quarterback and for him to make that play on defense is really impressive,” Marengo coach Paul Forsythe said.

While Woodstock grabbed the early momentum with a 14-0 lead after the first quarter, Marengo focused on using the running game to jumpstart their offense. The Indians used running back Isaac Anthony to do the dirty work for the ground game. His power running produced the first points of the night for Marengo with a short touchdown run.

“Three or four yards per carry is what we needed to do, that’s my job to get the running game going and it feels great to contribute that way,” Anthony said.

The senior finished with game with 23 carries for 86 yards and two touchdowns, while also recovering a fumble on defense.

In the second half, Marengo also kept drives alive by converting fourth downs.

“We were expecting to make a big jump from last week where we had trouble on third and fourth downs and we were resilient today and our guys did what they needed to do tonight,” Forsythe said.

Woodstock got off to a strong start in the first quarter. Exclusively running the ball, the backfield tandem of Landen Stoltz and Max Miller led the Blue Streaks to the end zone twice. Stoltz rushed for 85 yards on 17 carries while scoring two touchdowns and Miller ended the game with 80 yards on 15 carries. In the second half, the passing game clicked when quarterback Caden Thompson hit Charlie Gilmore with a 29-yard touchdown pass.

“We executed very well in the first half and we did some things really well in the second half, but we had some adversity later in the game that we couldn’t overcome,” Woodstock coach Mike Brasile said.