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PREP FOOTBALL: Tigers prepare for regular season home finale against Waseca

Independent file photo Marshall’s Bryce Lance (9) and Gabe Raini (25) celebrate after Lance scored a touchdown during their Sept. 13 game against Belle Plaine. The Tigers will return home tonight to face Waseca.

MARSHALL — The Marshall football team continued its strong play last week in a 56-12 victory against Worthington, with the Tigers racking up 316 yards of total offense while holding Worthington to just 160 yards, including only 25 yards rushing.

This week, the Tigers return to Mattke Field for their regular season home finale against another familiar face in the Waseca Bluejays. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. tonight.

Konnor Aufenthie led the way for Marshall last week with 88 passing yards and two touchdowns while Gabe Raini added 79 yards and a pair of scores on the ground and Brayden Hilgemann had 31 yards and a touchdown as well in the rushing department. Bryce Lance and Trey Steinbach led in receiving with 35 yards each while Steinbach and Raini both found the end zone with a catch. Hilgemann and Lance also recorded a punt return touchdown in the victory.

Marshall coach Terry Bahlmann said they know they have some things to clean up after making some mistakes early on against Worthington, but was pleased with the overall effort from his team.

“Worthington got out fast on us, we made a mistake in our run fits and it hurt us and they’ve got some good skilled guys and made a couple of plays so it shows us what we’ve got to clean up,” Bahlmann said. “Then we got it rolling on offense and our punt return game with Brayden and Bryce each taking one to the house. Overall, it was a good performance again, we just can’t have a breakdown in the first series.”

The Tigers face a Waseca team that’s coming off a 47-18 victory against St. Peter and has been averaging nearly 43 points per game. The Bluejays are led by junior quarterback Ryan Dufault as well as running backs Denver Daniel, Riley Forshee and wide receivers Sam O’Brien and Kyreese Willingham.

Bahlmann said Waseca brings a challenge across all of their sports and they’re looking forward to another battle with them. He added with the forecast calling for temperatures in the mid-30s and snow, special teams and field position will be key areas throughout the game.

“It’s a great rivalry in multiple sports, so we look forward to it and we’ve seen them a lot of times over the years,” Bahlmann said. “Dufault is going to carry the ball and throw the football for them, he’s a good athlete there, so we need to contain him, hopefully get some turnovers and good field position. They’re talking about the weather not being the best, so special teams and field position will play huge in this game.”

Defensively, Bahlmann said they have to contain the open run lanes and maintain pressure on Dufault.

“We need to contain and control our gaps and keep pressure on him (Dufault). He’s going to run it a lot, I think in their close games he’s ran it more than 20 times, so he’s going to have the ball in his hands,” Bahlmann said. “We need to know where we’re at and hopefully make him put in on the ground a couple of times.”

On the offensive end, Bahlmann said they need to continue to fine-tune their plays and be able to provide enough protection and time for their quarterback to make plays downfield.

“Just polish things; everything we want is in and we just need to be ready to make a play when it’s there,” Bahlmann said. “We need to pick up blitz protection and protect the quarterback; we’ve thrown the ball well over the season, we just need to get him some time and make a big play when it’s available.”

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