By Paul Lecker

Sports Reporter

MARSHFIELD – The Marshfield football team grabbed its first win of the season with a stellar defensive performance and blanked Wausau East 29-0 in a nonconference game Saturday at Beell Stadium.

The game was played Saturday afternoon after thunderstorms caused a postponement on Friday night.

Marshfield (1-1) held East to 222 yards of offense in the win. The Lumberjacks (1-1) averaged just 2.7 yards per rush as the Tigers held them to 91 yards on 34 carries. Marshfield also had four sacks and two interceptions.

Senior quarterback Derek Coffren tied a school record with four touchdown passes for Marshfield. He joins Joe Buss (1996), Ben King (2001), Andy Mikula (2002), Luke Accola (2009) and Elliott Ashbeck (2011) as the record holders for most TD passes in a game.

Coffren hit Kegan Fassler for a 28-yard touchdown and connected with Tanner Boson for a 30-yard scoring strike in a span of 3:38 late in the first quarter to put the Tigers up 14-0.

Marshfield made it 20-0 when Coffren threw a 9-yard TD to tight end Zach McManus with 5:39 left in the first half.

The Tigers defense got in the action in the second half, forcing East quarterback Kyle Daniel to slip and fall in the end zone for a safety with 5:35 remaining in the third quarter. The safety was set up by East fair-catching a punt on its own 4-yard line.

A 22-yard run and a 10-yard reception by Nick Hoheisel set up Marshfield’s final score – a 9-yard pass from Coffren to Fassler with 1:58 to go in the third.

Coffren ended up 17 of 25 for 172 yards passing for the Tigers. He had two interceptions in addition to his four touchdown passes.

Marshfield opens its Valley Football Conference South Division season Friday, Sept. 5, at Fond du Lac (2-0).

Tigers 29, Lumberjacks 0
Wausau East 0 0 0 0 – 0
Marshfield 14 6 9 0 – 29
First Quarter
M – Kegan Fassler 28 pass from Derek Coffren (Zach McManus kick), 4:49.
M – Tanner Boson 30 pass from Coffren (McManus kick), 1:11.
Second Quarter
M – McManus 9 pass from Coffren (kick missed), 5:39.
Third Quarter
M – Safety, Wausau East’s Kyle Daniel downed in end zone, 5:35.
M – Fassler 9 pass from Coffren (McManus kick), 1:58.
Team Statistics
Rushing (att-yards): Wausau East 34-91; Marshfield 27-105.
Passing (comp-att-yards-int): Wausau East 12-27-131-2; Marshfield 17-28-172-2.
Fumbles (total-lost): Wausau East 0-0; Marshfield 1-0.
Individual Statistics (incomplete, will be updated)
Rushing: WE, Alex Becker 17-36, Gabe McGinnity 1-24. M, Thomas Gisvold 13-39, Isaac Cline 7-29, Derek Coffren 6-28, Nick Hoheisel 1-22.
Passing: WE, Kyle Daniel 12-26-131-2, McGinnity 0-1-0-0. M, Coffren 17-25-172-2, Tyson Slade 0-3-0-0.
Interceptions: WE, Sam Romanski, Andy Cravens. M, Mitch Zillman, Mason Metz.
Records: Wausau East 1-1; Marshfield 1-1.

(Hub City Times Sports Reporter Paul Lecker is also the publisher of  MarshfieldAreaSports.com).