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SKIP BAUGHMAN STADIUM – A little bit of heavenly mercy brought an abrupt end to a dominating season-opening performance by the Roughriders Friday night.
St. Marys opened the 2004 campaign with a 42-0 pummeling of Sidney in a game that was called because of lightning with 3:46 left in the third quarter.
The Riders dominated every aspect of the shortened game, leading 35-0 at halftime with many of the starters already taking a breather late in the second quarter.
"[First-year Sidney Head Coach] Marc Gibson has done a wonderful job in a short time with his young team," Roughrider Coach Doug Frye said, opening his post-game comments. "They had a tough one tonight - I've been there and know what it's like - but Sidney is going to be OK as the season progresses."
St. Marys scored on its first four possessions, including an 11-play, 69-yard march to open the game. On the first play of the season, senior quarterback Corey Vossler rolled out and connected with Tom Burke on a pass of 15 yards, signalling to scouts and fans alike that the 2004 Riders will not hesitate to throw on first down.
The Riders marched the ball on the ground, grinding out three more first downs. On third-and-11 from the Sidney 15, senior Justin Nagel scored on the Riders' bread-and-butter inside reverse play. Ross Quellhorst booted the PAT, giving St. Marys a 7-0 with 7:38 to play in the first quarter.
Sidney's offense debuted with a three-and-out, and following a nice punt return by Vossler, the Riders were back in business near midfield. A procedure penalty backed the Riders up five yards, but senior Nick Yahl got it all back and then some as he hauled in a Vossler pass and scampered 58 yards in all for a 14-0 lead with 5:56 left in the first quarter.
The Yellow Jackets were again forced to punt after just three plays, and a good return by Yahl gave the Riders field position at the Sidney 42. After picking up a first down, a holding penalty well behind the line of scrimmage looked like a drive-breaker as the Riders were faced with a first-and-28.
However, on the next play the fans were treated to a very rare Skip Baughman Stadium sight -- St. Marys in the shotgun formation and a spread offense. Vossler took the snap and scrambled upfield on a quarterback draw. The ball came loose and bounded forward an additional ten yards or so and was landed on by Burke.
On the next play, junior Bo Frye busted up the middle on a fullback dive for 11 yards and a first down. Three plays later Frye scored from seven yards out, and with 10 seconds left in the opening quarter, Quellhorst nailed his third PAT for a 21-0 St. Marys lead.
Three straight incomplete passes by Sidney quarterback Phil Girod again sent the Sidney offense back to the bench after just three plays. This time Cliff Powell returned the punt back into Sidney territory at the 44.
From there the Rider offensive line dominated. Center Zach Ferrell, guards Jared Ackley, Dillion Wilges and Andrew Styer, tackles Travis Neal and Aaron Masonbrink and ends Zachary Taylor and Adam Johns blew open some big holes for the Rider backs. Frye capped a 44-yard drive with his second TD of the night giving the Riders a 28-0 lead with 8:55 left in the half.
"The thing I saw that pleased me most was the level of emotion and physical play to start the game," Frye said. "We also had a good start on special teams. Mike May and the defensive coaching staff had us ready."
Sidney picked up its initial first down of the game on its next possession, but then promptly turned the ball over when Girod failed to handle a snap and Quellhorst recovered.
Three plays later Vossler returned the favor as he was intercepted by the Jackets.
Sidney tried to get something going with a spread offense, but three plays netted two yards, setting up another fourth down. With the line of scrimmage at their own 28, Sidney lined up in a spread punt formation and Jacket coach Marc Gibson tried a fake.
Paul Rammel was not fooled. The Rider linebacker nearly intercepted a shovel pass, but it didn't matter as Sidney had turned the ball over on downs.
Sophomore Scott Laman got the next two calls at fullback and moved the ball 18 yards to the 10 yardline. After a holding penalty, Vossler tossed a 20-yard fade pass to Yahl in the end zone to give the Riders a 35-0 lead just before half.
While many of the Rider reserves were in the game by the second quarter, many more started the second half. Sidney's offense failed to muster a first down on its first possession, and senior Tom Burke then guided the Riders on its first offensive try of the second half.
"One of our coaching goals every week is to get as many players into the game as we can," Frye said. "We'd have been able to play a lot more if the game had continued, but you can't argue with lightning."
Eric Enriquez, Laman and Cook did most of the damage as the Riders marched 76 yards in 15 plays. Junior Brett Baker covered the final two yards and Quellhorst made it seven-of-seven to give the Riders a 42-0 lead with 3:59 left to play in the third quarter.
Following the St. Marys kickoff, the referees spotted lightning somewhere south of Fort Wayne. The game was then suspended and the players scurried to the safety of their respective locker rooms.
Some of the fans headed for the exits at this point, but many stayed since there was no sign of rain. What was expected to be a 30-minute delay was cut well short. After about 10 minutes the announcement was made that the game had been called.
"We had good effort on both sides of the ball," Frye said, in the understatement of the night.
Sidney had been ranked as high as fifth in their division in one preseason Miami-Valley newspaper poll. St. Marys was not mentioned in that poll. The poll was tacked to the Rider Hall of Champions bulletin board.
The shortened win will give the Riders some confidence as they hit the road next week, traveling to Defiance for an early-season showdown of WBL pre-season favorites. Defiance's season-opener against Napoleon will be continued Saturday, August 28, after being postponed by the same thunderstorm, which covered most of northwest Ohio.
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