SKIP BAUGHMAN STADIUM - Celina coach Mike Fell probably summed it up best.
"Basically, we just got our butts kicked."
In front of the 2002 Homecoming Court, members of the 1992 State Championship team and a capacity final-home-game crowd, the St. Marys Roughriders rolled over arch-rival Celina 36-0 Friday night.
The Riders broke open a close game with 30 second-half points to improve to 6-3 on the season and maintained an outside chance at a playoff berth. Celina saw its record dip to 4-5 with the loss.
"St. Marys came off the ball well both on offense and defense," Fell said. "They controlled the line. I thought Coach Frye did a great job of getting his team ready because they came ready to play."
Both teams had some key scoring opportunities in the first half. St. Marys drove deep into Celina territory on its first possession, but a crucial penalty stalled the drive and a Corey Vossler pass was intercepted on fourth down.
Celina had its chances a few minutes later, when a St. Marys handoff went astray at its own 20 with the Dogs recovering. Celina quarterback Joe Kanney threw two passes to Tim Homan, giving the Dogs a first-and-goal at the Rider seven -yard line. However, two plays later the Riders recovered a Brian Gagle fumble at the two-yard line.
St. Marys failed to pick up a first down, and Matt Helmstetter's punt was returned to the Rider 35. But Celina self-destructed again as Kanney's fourth down pass was picked off by senior Jeremy Cable.
"We had our chances in the first half with great field possession," Fell said. "We couldn't take advantage, and that really hurt. If we could have gotten a couple scores, it might have been a different game."
"It was very important for our defense to stop them in the red zone," Rider Head Coach Doug Frye said of the first-half stand. "We knew we had to put some pressure on the quarterback tonight. He's a good quarterback, and his receivers are too good for us to rely on defending the pass in coverage."
The Rider pass defense was noticeably more aggessive in this game, blitzing Kanney often and bodying up to receivers at the line of scrimmage.
"Defensive Coach Mike May has done a great job," Frye said. "I give him the credit for this shutout."
After an exchange of possessions, the Riders got out of the hole when Celina Punter Tim Homan shanked a four-yard punt, giving the Riders the ball at their own 44.
A 24-yard gain by Justin Nagel was the big play on a 56-yard drive that saw Nagel score on a six-yard sweep with 6:25 left in the half. Nick Pfeffenberger's extra point try sailed wide.
Despite a short 10-yard kickoff, and great field position for Celina again, the Bulldogs were still unable to move the ball. St. Marys strung together four first downs on its next drive, but a critical holding penalty inside the Celina 20 stalled the drive.
"It was still a ballgame at 6-0, but we had that big turnover to start the second half," Fell said. "St. Marys got the momentum and rolled."
Celina appeared to lose a fumble on its opening possession of the second half, but the refs (at least one of them) saw differently. However, on the very next play, Kanney threw a strike to Nick Yahl, who returned the interception all the way to the Celina 25.
Six plays later, Shawn Craft found the end zone from two yards out. Nagel ran for the two-point conversion, giving the Riders a 14-0 lead with 4:40 left in the third quarter.
Another Celina fumble, this time on the ensuing kickoff, opened the flood gates. St. Marys recovered at its own 25, and went right back to work. On a third-and-one from the six, Vossler ran a sneak up the gut, hoping to pick up the first down. Vossler appeared to hit a brick wall as Celina penetrated well, however, the sophomore signal caller, bounced off the line and strolled unmolested into the end zone.
After a missed PAT and a penalty, the Riders decided to go for the two-point conversion, and Craft scored to make the score 22-0 with 2:40 left in the third quarter.
Celina had one more decent chance to get on the scoreboard after Homan picked up a first down on a fake punt, but two plays later senior Adam Chiles intercepted a pass near midfield.
"I thought going in that this game would go right down to the wire," Frye commented, "but tonight things worked for us and not for them."
For the St. Marys offense most of the second half was "Sweep Left." Celina couldn't stop it, and the Riders kept running it. Nagel had gains of 18 and 30 yards on sweeps. Craft went the final two yards on the drive to give the Riders a 28-0 lead with 6:51 left.
The final score of the night was set up by a 44-yard gain by Matt Helmstetter. Senior Zach Menker capped the drive with a two-yard sneak for a 36-0 final.
"This one feels pretty good," a smiling Doug Frye said. "I'm really happy to get our seniors the win in their final home game, and for it to be Homecoming and Celina just makes it better."
Nagel finished with 201 yards on 25 carries, while Craft rumbled for 82 yards on 18 carries to lead a St. Marys offense that rolled up 368 yards of offense, all on the ground.The Roughriders travel to Defiance next week to finish out the regular season against the Bulldogs of a different color. St. Marys needs a win at Defiance to have any chance at the eighth spot in Region 12 of Division III. If the Riders qualify in the eighth spot in the playoffs, they would most likely get a Chicken Bowl rematch against Urbana, which has been leading Region 12 all season.
