ST. MARYS, OHIO - Bath overcame four fumbles and a second-half St. Marys uprising to post 24-14 victory over the Roughriders Friday at a rain-soaked Skip Baughman Stadium.
The Wildcats, ranked No. 1 in the state in Division III, roll on with a 7-0 record, while the Riders fall to 2-5.
"We kind of shot ourselves in the foot tonight," Bath coach Jerry Cooper said. "I think the people that vote in those polls haven't seen us play, because we still haven't played our best game."
Bath scored 21 points before St. Marys could even register a first down, and it looked like the Wildcats were on their way to a laugher. However, the Riders were able to score in the closing seconds of the first half, and carried the momentum into the third quarter to make things interesting.
"I'm always proud of the effort these kids put out, we're just struggling with these close football games," St. Marys Coach Doug Frye said. "We believed we could be successful. We scratched and clawed but couldn't quite pull it off."
Senior quarterback Tim Sielschott threw for 187 yards in the first half, and was instrumental in Bath's 21-0 lead.
With 2:42 left in the first quarter, Sielschott found Matt Cole wide open in the flat. With nobody around him, Cole had an easy 65-yard jaunt to paydirt.
The Wildcats' second score was a back-breaker. St. Marys had the Cats in a fourth-and-15 situation on the 30 yard line, when Sielschott hit Bryant Miller in the endzone for a 14-0 lead with 8:28 left in the half.
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Senior fullback Nate Sites carried the ball eight times on the next Bath drive, including the last play from two yards out for a 21-0 lead.
Time of possession was critical for the Riders in the first half. In fact if you blinked at all, you missed the St. Marys offense.
The Riders had 80 yards of total offense in the first half, 53 of which came on the last three plays.
"Two things I thought hurt us was that last touchdown (by Bath) just before the half, and our inability to move the ball in the first half," Frye said. "Our defense was on the field way too much."
Tyler Slone returned Bath's third kickoff of the half 23 yards to the St. Marys 47. An 18-yard run by Nathan Homan, gave St. Marys its initial first down of the game with 31 seconds left in the half. On the next play, John Meinerding hit Homan on a crossing pattern that went for 26 yards and a touchdown. The PAT kick was blocked as Bath held on to a 21-6 lead at the break.
The Riders were able to move the ball with a little more consistency in the second half, but still stalled at crucial times.
A Bath fumble near midfield gave the Riders the spark they were looking for. St. Marys went 45 yards in just three plays to cut into Bath's lead. Homan went the final 16 yards, and then caught a pass from Meinerding for the two-point conversion. And with 24 seconds left in the third quarter, the Riders had pulled to within 21-14.
The Wildcats opened the fourth quarter with what Cooper said proved to be a very crucial drive. Converting a crucial fourth down play inside the St. Marys 20, Bath stalled again, this time inside the St. Marys five. Cooper called on freshman Ryan Klopp, who calmly booted a 23 yard field goal.
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"That was a huge drive," Cooper said. "Even though we didn't score a touchdown, we ran about six minutes off the clock and came away with the field goal to make it a two possession game."
The Riders would have three more cracks in the final minutes, but couldn't get past midfield.
"We've talked about being able to finish all year, and we couldn't come up with the big plays when we needed them," Frye said. "But you have to give credit to Bath's seniors at the skilled positions. They came up with the big plays, and I guess that's what seniors are supposed to do."
Sielschott finished 16 of 23 from the air for 268 yards. He threw two touchdowns and was not intercepted. Sites was the workhorse for the Bath ground attack, especially in the second half when the field got sloppy. Sites carried the ball 33 times for 111 yards.
Homan finished with 78 yards on 14 carries to lead the Riders. Ken Williams had 64 yards on 11 carries.
The Roughriders will be back in action next Friday on the west bank of Lake St. Marys against the Celina Bulldogs.
ridertown.com
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