Article On Marysville Game

From the MARYSVILLE ADVOCATE:

Marysville showed athleticism and a variety of options on the field Friday night for its Gatorade scrimmage, which was more like a series of offensive executions from the 40-yard line than a mock game.

“I thought our effort was great and we think we can have a very athletic team this season,” said Bulldog coach Dustin Heuer. “We just need to clean up some little things.”

The little things that cause penalties. There were a handful of times plays came back, yardage was lost, but in the end senior quarterback Jack Blumer was good with keepers, scoring on a run or passing to senior wide receiver Gabe Pieschl for other touchdowns.

The backfield was primarily a rotation of junior running backs Derek Roever and Raudy Latta.

“I thought the scrimmage went pretty well,” Heuer said. “We were a little sloppy from a penalty standpoint but I thought from an assignment perspective we were relatively solid. Offensively we are always striving to be more consistent and to not force ourselves backwards into difficult situations. It was a great learning opportunity to be on the field with officials to get a better simulation of a game.”

Heuer said he loved the pursuit he saw on defense and he thinks this group will be athletic.

“We need to make sure to trust each other and make sure all 11 bodies are where they need to be,” he said.

Marysville kicks off the season at 7 p.m. Friday at No. 4 Rossville. It’s a confrontation between the MHS Bulldogs and the Rossville Bulldawgs that kpreps.com considered a top 3A game. Last year’s game was a 28-21 win late for Rossville. The Bulldawgs didn’t string together an undefeated season, but it was a third straight state championship run.

“Rossville will have an almost entirely new cast of players, but coming off their success the past few seasons, I am sure we will get nothing but the best effort from their kids,” Heuer said. “They aren’t overly complicated but they are good at what they do. I think this is a great measuring stick going forward for our team. I feel like playing a great team right out of the gate helps us prepare for our North Central Kansas League schedule.”

The Dogs open league at 7 p.m. Sept. 8 against visiting Abilene, the only team Marysville lost to last fall. That 14-12 outcome is very much remembered. The loss kept Marysville from winning the league title, which the Bulldogs haven’t done since the 2008 season.

“We’re all ready to play Friday but being excited doesn’t mean we don’t have a lot of things to continue to work on this week,” Heuer said. “These guys have worked extremely hard this offseason and I think they really want to continue to move the program forward and accomplish more than last year. This game is big for our program going forward. Even last year, despite the outcome, I thought that opening game really showed our kids we belong with the top teams. These guys really want to take the next step.”