By Jim Henry

jhenry@joplinglobe.com

MARYSVILLE, Kan. — From the game’s first series, Marysville displayed confidence in its running attack.

Facing fourth down-and-2 from its 38-yard line, the Bulldogs never considered punting. Instead, quarterback Ben Malotte went off right tackle and picked up five yards, extending what developed into a 70-yard, 13-play scoring drive that consumed half of the quarter.

“I felt like we could pick it up, and that’s no disrespect to Galena whatsoever,” Marysville head coach Brad Hammett said. “Had we not made it, it might not have been a good call, but I felt like we could pick it up, keep our drive going. We wanted to play in the lead against these guys without a doubt because they are a very good football team.”

Marysville, in fact, scored on its first two drives and never relinquished the lead en route to a 31-21 victory over Galena on Saturday afternoon in a Class 3A semifinal game at Homer Hanson Stadium.

Malotte’s early fourth-down conversion was the first of his many big plays as he accounted for 263 yards and four touchdowns. The 180-pound senior rushed for 133 yards and two touchdowns and completed 7-of-13 passes for 130 yards and two scores.

Running back Dave Blumer, another 180-pound senior, contributed 100 yards on 17 rushes behind an offensive line that averaged 240 pounds tackle to tackle.

“Our offensive line has been playing well all year,” Hammett said. “Dave Blumer and Ben Malotte each have been three-year starters for us. Neither one of them have real great speed but they run pretty hard. They are a good combination, and we try to utilize them the best we can.”

“We knew they were good,” Galena head coach Beau Sarwinski said. “They were physical, and we expected it coming in. We had to make some adjustments inside. They were doing things that were causing trouble for us, so our kids had to start staying lower and creating some piles. We did at times, but that grind ... after a while, it gets to you. They are a good football team. I wouldn’t be surprised if they won it all.”

Galena (12-1), making its first football state semifinal appearance in school history, trailed 14-7 at halftime and 21-14 after quarterback Jacoby Martin found wide receiver Colton Leet open on a stop-and-go pattern for a 34-yard touchdown strike just over a minute into the fourth quarter.

But Marysville answered with a 59-yard, 13-play, almost seven-minute drive for Nic Stoll’s 27-yard field goal and a 24-14 lead with 3:59 remaining.

The drive appeared to stall when a high snap resulted in a 23-yard loss and a third-and-30 from the 40-yard line. But Malotte found Kyle Bruna for a 34-yard gain down the right side to the 6, and Stoll kicked his field goal four plays later.

A minute later, Bruna intercepted a fourth-down pass, and Malotte scored on a 38-yard keeper to make it 31-14 with 2:38 remaining.

Galena quickly moved 80 yards in seven plays and scored on Martin’s 17-yard pass to Codie Perry with 1:43 left, but Marysville’s Jesse Nelsen recovered Scott Anderson’s onside kick.

Playing from behind, Galena was limited to 103 yards on 25 rushes but completed 20-of-33 passes for 268 yards.

Martin was 18-of-31 for 230 yards and three scores, the first one a 6-yarder to Cody Clark late in the first half. Troy Albright completed both of his halfback passes for 38 yards.

Leet caught nine passes for 114 yards, and he had a 62-yard interception return for a touchdown erased by an illegal block. Clark had six receptions for 69 yards, and Perry had four for 60 yards.

“We came out a little flat,” Martin said. “We still played physical. When you get this far, it’s anybody’s game. Marysville is a heck of a team. It was their day today.

“We fought back. We played hard. We had a history-making season, and nobody can take that away from us.”

“We missed some opportunities, and they made some plays,” Sarwinski said. “I really think it came down to they made more plays than we did today. At times we were better than they were, and at times they were better than us. They made more plays and had the least amount of mistakes.

“It’s been a great season,” Sarwinski said. “We’ve had a lot of great moments, and our kids and our coaches need to go back and remember those and enjoy it. It doesn’t come along very often. Hopefully we can continue to do this.”