Margaretta, Keller run past Willard

WILLARD — There's no denying what Margaretta wants to do. The Polar Bears are going to run the ball and dare the opponent to stop it. Friday at Terry King Stadium in Willard, it was Judah Keller's turn to have a big night on the ground. Keller had three first-half rushing touchdowns as Margaretta rolled to a 42-0 Sandusky Bay Conference River Division victory. "We think we have a nice set of skilled kids," Polar Bears coach Gary Quisno said. "Get the ball to them and go. But yes, Judah had a great night. You can see offensively and defensively he's a physical football player. We feed off of that." Keller entered the night leading the Polar Bears (3-1, 1-0 SBC River) with 36 rushes for 274 yards on the season, but had scored just two of Margaretta's 10 rushing touchdowns through three games. He had more than that by halftime. "It's incredible to run behind these guys," Keller said. "Coming into this season, we were going to run the Wing-T offense, which last year we didn't do. Coach Quisno's motto is to hit them until they don't want to be hit anymore. That's what our line has been doing. We've been grounding and pounding." Willard (2-2, 0-1) picked up four first downs on its first drive, but turned the ball over. Margaretta cashed in with a 60-yard, seven-play drive. It was capped when Keller exploded through the line and was off to the races for a 31-yard score. Jake Bouy added the extra point and the Polar Bears were up 7-0 just 34 seconds into the second quarter. After the Crimson Flashes went three-and-out, a nice punt return gave Margaretta a short field. Zack Bouy went for 15 yards on the first play of the ensuing Polar Bears drive and later, Keller scored on an eight-yard scamper. Jake Bouy's extra point made it 14-0 with 9:33 left in the first half. "In the offseason with coach (Lucas) Poggiali, we've been working on my vision and making moves and not just running everybody over," Keller said. "I really feel like that's helped me a lot. I can make people miss now, which adds another element to my running the ball game." Jake Rothhaar was hurt on Willard's first offensive drive. Josh Huston came on in relief and was greeted by Kale Bailey. A pass from Huston sailed a bit and Bailey went up and snatched the interception. He returned it 43 yards for the touchdown and 21-0 lead. It was Bailey's second interception of the season. "It definitely changed, but (Huston) came in and did a nice job, I thought," said Quisno of Rothhaar exiting the game. "He ran the ball well. I hope (Rothhaar) is OK. You hate to have anyone get hurt. He's a nice athlete as a sophomore. He's going to be a real nice football player and I hope he's able to bounce back." Margaretta scored one more time before the half ended. Tyson Bailey went for 17 yards on a run, Carter Luzader added a 16-yard rush and Keller scored on a 19-yard carry. Jake Bouy made it 28-0 with 2:01 left in the second quarter. "I think we picked up the intensity and started hitting a lot better," Quisno said. "I thought we picked up the contact and were the more physical team." Keller then turned to the defensive side to make a play. On Willard's first possession of the second half, he tracked down a deep pass from Huston and picked it off. Margaretta went to the air to cash in. Facing third down, Bouy went over the top and found Bailey in stride for a 35-0 lead. Bouy's extra point put the game in a running clock with 7:57 left in the third quarter. After a Crimson Flashes punt, Keller added his biggest run of the night. He went for 55 yards and on the next play, Luzader scored on a 16-yard rush. That increased the Margaretta lead to 42-0 with 33 seconds left in the third quarter. "Like I told them just now, if we keep playing physical like we are, I think we can play with anybody in the league," Quisno said. "With only 34 guys, we have to stay healthy like everybody does. We have to keep getting better. We can't be satisfied with this first win because there's going to be tougher games down the road." Luzader added a fourth-quarter interception in the end zone to keep the shutout intact. After a 21-20 loss to Vermilion in Week 1, the Polar Bears' defense has a pair of shutouts to their name. Margaretta has given up a total of seven points over the last three weeks. "This is really three games in a row," Quisno said. "Last week they scored on our JV. It's basically three weeks in a row we've kept them out of the end zone. They've played well." Margretta 0 28 14 0 — 42Willard 0 0 0 0 — 0 M — Judah Keller 31 run (Jake Bouy kick)M — Keller 8 run (Bouy kick)M — Kale Bailey 43 interception return (Bouy kick)M — Keller 19 run (Bouy kick)M — Bailey 64 pass from Bouy (Bouy kick)M — Carter Luzader 16 run (Bouy kick)