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Joe Eitel
Div III, Region 12
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KENTON -- St. Marys' undefeated season came to a crashing halt Friday at Robinson Field in Kenton.
The Wildcats held the Riders to just 50 yards rushing and 82 total yards in posting a 28-0 victory.
St. Marys falls to 6-1 on the season and 5-1 in the Western Buckeye League. The Riders are now tied with Bath, which improved to 5-1 with a 13-6 win at Defiance. Kenton improved its record to 4-3 overall and 4-2 in the WBL.
Kenton notched its sixth straight win over the Riders. The Wildcats played eight and nine players up on the line of scrimmage to snuff out the St. Marys running game.
The Riders' inability to pass continues to be a problem. St. Marys attempted just four passes, one of which was a halfback pass that resulted in an interception.
Kenton set the tone early with a dominating first half. The Wildcats picked up first downs on four of their first five plays from scrimmage.
On their only second down of the drive, quarterback D.J. Underwood completed a 13-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Spivey. The PAT kick was tipped and no good with 9:59 left in the first quarter.
St. Marys had the ball for just 2:51 in the first quarter, running only six plays. Following a Matt Helmstetter punt, Kenton began its next possession on the St. Marys 11.
The Wildcats marched 89 yards in 15 plays to eat up the rest of the first quarter clock. Kenton made some big plays along the way, gaining 20 yards on a fake punt, and converting on four third down situations.
The final third down conversion resulted in a 27-yard touchdown pass from Underwood to Spivey. Underwood ran the ball for the two-point conversion and a 14-0 lead with 11:53 left in the half.
The Riders' second possession was something of a fiasco. St. Marys twice had to call timeouts and two other times were called for delay of game penalties.
A Kenton personal foul penalty did give the Riders a first down. One positive play on the drive was a 22-yard pass from Corey Vossler to Nick Yahl to get the ball on Kenton's side of the field for the first time in the game.
However, the drive quickly stalled, and from the Wildcat 34, trailing 14-0, the Riders elected to punt. Helmstetter's punt rolled dead at the four yard line.
The Rider 'D' came up with its first stop, forcing Kenton to punt after three plays.
The Riders took the punt one yard in Kenton territory, but on the second play of the drive they fumbled the handoff and Kenton recovered. Kenton was unable to move the ball in the closing minutes of the half.
The ugliness continued in the second half, as the Riders fumbled the ball away on the second play from scrimmage in the half.
Kenton was quick to capitalize, as Zach Jackson scored with a 20-yard run on a fourth-and-one call.
The extra point kick was good, giving the Cats a 21-0 lead with 8:44 left in the third quarter.
The Riders were three-and-out on their second possession of the half, but the defense again responded with a stop.
However, the Riders fumbled the Kenton punt, and the Wildcat offense was back in business near midfield.
Kenton drove down inside the St., Marys five yard line, setting up a first and goal from the three. From there the St. Marys defense stiffened again, with two straight tackles behind the line of scrimmage and a quarterback sack.
Kenton ended up attempting a field goal, which was off the mark.
But while the defense had a few bright spots, the St. Marys offense never really got on track all night.
The Riders next possession ended in their fourth fumble of the night with Kenton taking over at the St. Marys 27.
From there the two teams traded interceptions. Scott Vossler picked off a D.J. Underwood pass at the 14 yard line. Three plays later, Nick Yahl's halfback pass was intercepted by Tommy Pettit, who returned it to the St. Marys 18.
Two plays later, Underwood ran a quarterback draw right up the middle and was untouched on his way into the end zone. The PAT kick was good for a 28-0 lead with 4:55 left to play.
Neither team threatened in the closing minutes.
The Riders will lick their wounds, and return home next week against the Elida Bulldogs, who lost to Wapakoneta 53-0 Friday.
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