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DEFIANCE, OHIO - A huge second half drive, a trick play and a lot of timely defense lifted St. Marys to a 16-7 win over Defiance and a trip to the playoffs Friday at Fred J. Brown Stadium.
The second half started with an impressive drive by Defiance that erased a 6-0 St. Marys halftime lead.
After struggling with poor field position in the first half, the Bulldog offense came to life in the second half. The Western Buckeye League's leading ball carrier, Will Clay, gained 37 yards on his first four carries of the second half.
On third-and-one from the St. Marys 31, Defiance quarterback Will Swary went into motion, and the ball was snapped to Clay. He fumbled the ball momentarily, pick it up and ran up the middle 31 yards to paydirt.
Sergio Lopez added the extra point giving Defiance its first lead with 9:20 left in the third quarter.
The ensuing kickoff rolled through Justin Nagel's legs and was finally tracked down by Adam Chiles, who was swarmed under at the 15. At this point it appeared all of the momentum had moved to the Defiance side of the field.
The Roughrider offense, which has struggled at times this season, responded with an 18-play, 85-yard scoring drive to regain the lead.
Quarterback Corey Vossler had two big runs on the drive as the Riders slowly moved into position. A nine-yard run by Nagel moved the ball inside the Defiance 10 yard line, giving the Riders a second-and-one at the eight.
However a costly procedure penalty appeared to throw the "O" off-stride. Shawn Craft gain three yards, but limped off the field and did not return. Nagel followed with a loss of one, bringing up a fourth-and-four.
The Riders called a time out to discuss strategy. A field goal would give the Riders the lead, but after missing an extra point in the first half, St. Marys coach Doug Frye elected to go for the first down or six points.
Vossler handed off to Nick Yahl, who faked the sweep and instead threw a halfback pass to Brandt Huttis in the end zone for a 12-7 lead with 3:12 left in the third quarter.
It was Yahl's second TD toss of the season, as he connected with Huttis earlier this season on a halfback touchdown pass at Van Wert.
The Riders needed to go for two, and Vossler threw to Yahl -- his only pass of the night (not an official pass for game stats) -- for the conversion and a 14-7 lead.
With the lead, the St. Marys defense took over.
Defiance moved the ball on its next drive, but stalled in St. Marys territory. A third-down-and-11 pass by Swary at the St. Marys 44 was intercepted by Corey Vossler, who returned it to the 38.
The Rider offense went three and out, when a third down pitch was fumbled, but covered up for a loss.
An impressive punt return by Joe Butcher got the Bulldogs right back into St. Marys territory at the 47. Two first downs got the ball to the St. Marys 21, but the Bulldogs backed up from there.
On fourth-and-10, Swary tried to set up a screen pass, but instead had Roughrider linebacker Kyle Brewer in his face. Brewer sacked Swary for a 20-yard loss, giving the Rider offense the ball at the Defiance 43.
With 7:16 left to play, the Riders needed a couple of first downs to eat some clock. But again a third-down fumble proved to be critical, as the Riders recovered their own miscue for a 4-yard loss.
Matt Helmstetter's punt pinned the Bulldogs inside their own 25. A procedure penalty and a critical dead-ball personal foul penalty doomed any chance for the Bulldogs to get a first down.
With 4:30 left to play, Lopez was punting out of his own endzone. He bobbled the snap and was eventually swarmed under for a safety, as Senior Andy Huber made the big stop.
After the free kick , the Riders were once again three-and-out, giving the ball back to Defiance with 2:15 left to play. However, the Bulldogs' slim hopes quickly evaporated as Adam Chiles intercepted a Defiance pass to seal the St. Marys win.
Field position was key in the first half. The Riders drove 67 yards midway through the second quarter for the only score of the first half. A fourth-down counter play sprung Nagel from 26 yards out for the score.
Nick Pfeffenberger's PAT kick was no good, and the Riders held a 6-0 lead at intermission.
Nagel finished with 90 yards rushing on 23 carries, as the sophomore went over 1,000 yards rushing for the seasion. Vossler, another sophomore, paced the Riders with 92 yards on 12 carries. Craft finished with 57 yards on 15 carries before he left the game with an injury.
Clay became the first runner all season to rush for over 100 yards against the St. Marys defense, as he rolled up 161 yards on 25 carries.
With the win, the Riders finish the regular season at 7-3. St. Marys will play in the first round of the Division III, Region 12 playoffs Saturday at a site to be determined.
Official pairings will be announced by the Ohio High School Athletic Association this coming Sunday, Oct. 27. The top four teams in each Region host a first round game. The Riders were in eighth place coming into the Defiance game.
The Bulldogs bow out at 5-5.
Check out ridertown.com all weekend for the latest playoff news.
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