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Joe Eitel
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VAN WERT -- Talk about dodging a bullet.
After some early-season blowouts, the Roughrider reverted to their 2003 script with a heart-stopping 13-12 win at Van Wert.
The Riders improved to 5-0 with the win, and set up a mid-season showdown with the undefeated Shawnee Indians next Friday at Shawnee. The Tribe improved to 5-0 with a 6-0 victory over Wapakoneta.
A last-second Cougar drive was resuscitated with a 42-yard pass completion on fourth-and-14 with less than a minute to play.
The completion put the Cougars on the St. Marys 10 yard line with 34 seconds to play.
A five-yard run by Darren Woods forced Van Wert to call its final timeout with 28 seconds left.
On second and goal from the five, Corey Vossler stepped in front of a Jared Myers pass in the end zone to ice the win with 21 seconds left on the clock.
It was a come-from-behind effort for the Riders, who found themselves trailing 12-0 at halftime.
Van Wert dominated the first half, snuffing the Riders' running game while lighting up the defensive secondary.
The Cougars were catching the ball on both sides of the line of scrimmage in the first quarter.
St. Marys' only spark in the first half was a 22-yard gain by Bo Frye, but an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty pretty much nullified the gain.
Two plays later a Corey Vossler pass was intercepted by Tyler Bergman.
Bergman caught a pass on the very next play, however, this time it was thrown by Van Wert sophomore quarterback Jared Myers.
Myers completed his first seven passes, including a 22-yard touchdown strike to Thomas Albright with 3:44 left in the first quarter. The Cougars' attempt for the PAT kick was blocked.
The Rider offense tried to answer, but after a one-yard gain by Nagel, Vossler was intercepted by Bergman again, at the Van Wert 35.
Myers went right back to work in Van Wert's spread offense. Without little or no pressure, Myers was able to complete several short passes.
Back-to-back 11-yard completions moved the ball to the St. Marys one, where Dan Goodlin was able to bust into the end zone with 9:55 left in the first half.
Van Wert tried to go for the two-point conversion, but the pass by Myers was broken up by Tom Burke.
Things went from worse to terrible for the St. Marys offense, as the Cougars were sniffing out the run. The Riders' next possession netted minus five yards and a punt.
Van Wert would mount one more scoring threat late in the half. The Cougars moved inside the St. Marys 25, but turned the ball over on downs with 37 seconds left in the half..
Myers completed 10 of his first 11 passes and finished the first half 13 of 19 for 128 yards.
The Riders looked like a new team in the second half. After stopping the Cougars on a three-and-out, the St. Marys offense came to life.
Back-to-back first downs on runs by Frye and Brian Cook moved the ball inside the Van Wert 20. Five plays later Vossler went in from one yard out on a sneak to get the Riders on the scoreboard.
Ross Quellhorst's PAT cut the Van Wert lead to 12-7 with 6:57 left in the third quarter.
Van Wert was three-and-out on its second possession of the half, and Vossler returned the punt to midfield.
A holding penalty appeared to put the Riders in a hole, but Vossler scrambled 41 yards on the next play, giving St. Marys a first-and-goal from the Van Wert nine yard line.
Two runs by Fry moved the ball to the four yard line. From there Vossler tried to roll out, but was caught for a one-yard loss.
On fourth down, Vossler threw into the corner of the end zone but no one was there, and the Cougars took over on downs.
Myers discovered some of his first half touch, as he completed five straight passes, including a 25-yard screen pass to Woods.
A 14-yard run by Kyle Smelser gave the Cougars a first-and-goal from the five. Two plays later a pitch sweep by Woods for a touchdown was called back because of a holding penalty.
An incompletion and a broken play brought up a fourth and goal from the 16 where Myers passed into the end zone, but he was intercepted by Mark Riesen.
The Riders had new life, but their next drive stalled near midfield when Frye was stuffed on a fourth-and-one run with 6:23 left in the game.
Van Wert was able to pick up a first down on its next possession, but the Rider "D" stiffened and got the ball back on their own 27 with 3:50 left to play.
Vossler completed a 13-yard pass to Nick Yahl, who on the next play threw a halfback pass to Brett Baker for a gain of 21 yards.
After a four-yard run by Frye, Nagle broke loose for what appeared to be a 35-yard touchdown run and the lead. The TD was on the scoreboard before one of the officials ruled that Nagel stepped out of bounds at the nine yard line.
Two plays and 36 seconds later, Nagel scored from the five yard line.
The Riders elected to go for the two-point conversion and a three-point lead. However, the run by Scott Laman was stopped short with 1:45 left in the game.
Van Wert returned the ensuing kickoff to the St. Marys 49 as Smelser broke a few tackles to put the Cougars in striking distance.
Myers was sacked for an eight-yard loss to bring up the fourth-and 14, where he was able to complete a 42-yard Hail Mary to Bergman.
Myers finished the game completing 23 of 40 passes for 230 yards. Frye paced the Riders' offense as he carried the ball 23 times for 113 yards.
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