Marion Local wins fifth state title

CANTON, Ohio (AP) - It's time for Maria Stein Marion Local football players to take another tradition ride on town fire engines following a fifth state football championship.

   Adam Bertke passed for 278 yards and four touchdowns as the Flyers (13-2) rolled to their fifth title, 61-21 over New Washington Buckeye Central in Division VI on Saturday.

   "First, we're going to go home and ride around for a while," senior Logan Albers explained. "It's going to be wild, fire trucks honking, everybody acting crazy."

   It's a scene Mercer County residents have not experienced since winning back-to-back titles in two different divisions in 2006-07. This year's players were kids then, dreaming of the day they would get their chance.

   Football is big at the school, which has 111 boys enrolled -- 54 on this year's team.

   "Everybody in town knows who is on the team," senior Jack Homan said. "You go into any gas station, they know you, they ask about the latest game. It's a great feeling."

   Bertke, a 6-foot-4 sophomore, may get a chance to do it again with the powerhouse program. He completed 14 of 18 passes including three TDs to Lee Pierron.

   "He's the real deal," Buckeye Central coach Jason Ratliff said. "We were a little nervous early, then settled down and played better. What jumps out at you is their speed. Not just their receivers and backs, but their linemen."

   The Bucks (12-3), runnerup in 1995, were seeking their first championship, but fell behind 34-0 by halftime. Adam Paynter ran for scores of 17 yards and 23 yards late to help make the score a bit more respectable.

   The Flyers (13-2) were wary of Buckeye Central despite their early lead.

   "We wanted to jump out early because as you saw they could move the ball, Marion Local coach Tim Goodwin said. "From there it maybe snowballed on them."

   The Flyers had 487 yards total offense and also scored on two long plays by the defense. Alaric Keller scooped up a fumbled and rambled 38 yards in the first quarter to score. Trevor Homan went 85 yards with an interception in the third quarter to make it 54-14.