OSHKOSH (WAOW) -
Marshfield allowed 42 unanswered points against Homestead as it fell, 49-8, in its Level 4 playoff game at Titan Stadium in Oshkosh.
Marshfield entered the WIAA Division 2 game completely dominating its postseason opponents. The Tigers had not allowed more than 14 points in each of its playoff games before Saturday.
However against Homestead, a much different story unraveled as the Tigers fell one win shy of a trip to Camp Randall Stadium.
"You come into a game like this and you expect a lot more to happen and to go well on our side but the turnover bug gets you," Marshfield head coach Dennis Goettl said.
Already down 21 nothing in the second, Tigers' RB Riley Gebelein was unable to recover the kick return, giving Homestead the ball back. That drive led to another TD as Homestead QB Jake Laihinen rolled over the goal line for the team's fourth touchdown of the afternoon.
The Homestead scoring would not stop as Laihinen found an open Jay Schneider, who took it all the way to the end zone giving Homestead a 33-0 lead.
An interception from Marshfield QB Bo Howard further set the Tigers back, as Homestead scored 42 unanswered points, all in the first half.
"There's no reason we couldn't have took it to them," Howard said. "But we just came out there and we were more focused than we were, and we didn't play our game today."
In the fourth quarter, Tigers RB Keiron Howlett scored Marshfield's lone touchdown, avoiding the shutout.
"Things like that where you make a few mistakes and kids get down a little bit and it just seems like we didn't bounce back like we've done all year long," Goettl said.
After the game, Goettl told his team repeatedly that the loss happened for a reason, but admitted that he didn't know what that reason was.
The Tigers finish with a 10-2 record.
