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Joe Eitel
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BATH -- St. Marys remained in the hunt for a second consecutive Western Buckeye League Championship with a convincing 35-7 victory on the road at Bath Friday.
The Roughriders roll into the final week of the season at 7-1 in the league and 8-1 overall, tied with Shawnee, which easily dispatched the Kenton Wildcats Friday. St. Marys closes out the regular season at home against Celina.
The games was never in doubt as the Riders started and finished strong. Bath's offense was held in check, as the Cats only scoring drive came in the second half, which was set up by a long kick-off return.
Bath senior Josh Kistler came into the game as the WBL's leading rusher, but he was held to just 43 yards on 15 carriers.
The Riders dominated the first half, especially on defense, as the Wildcats failed to pick up a first down and were held to 17 total yards.
Time of possession was a big reason Bath couldn't move the ball -- the Wildcat offense was only on the field for 1:27 in the first quarter.
St. Marys took the opening kickoff and went 70 yards in 16 plays. The Riders converted two fourth-down conversions on the drive, and overcame two five-yard penalties.
The big plays on the drive were a 21-yard run by Bo Frye and an 18-yard touchdown pass from Corey Vossler to a wide open Zach Taylor. The PAT kick was blocked, giving the Riders a 6-0 lead with 3:52 left in the first quarter.
A short punt gave the Riders good field position on their second drive. Three plays failed to gain a first down, but at the Bath 38, St. Marys faked the punt and Scott Laman picked up the first down.
However, two plays laters, the Riders ran into each other in the backfield resulting in a lost fumble.
Three Wildcat plays and a punt later, the Riders were back to where they were when they fumbled, as Nick Yahl returned the punt 39 yards.
After a no-gain by Justin Nagel, Vossler ran a bootleg 21 yards into the endzone with 9:39 left in the half. The Riders tried for the two point conversion, but the pass was incomplete.
Bath again failed to move the ball, as a quarterback sack forced another punt.
Again the punt was anything but uneventful. It was a short kick that the Riders scambled to get out of the way of, however, a heads-up play by Corey Vossler as he snatched the ball on a hop and headed to the enzone.
But a whistle called the play back, as the officials apparently imagined the Riders had called for a fair catch. A five-yard penalty turned into a 20-yard penalty as the Riders' coaches were flagged for a spirited discussion of the play.
The Riders failed to move as the two teams traded punts with St. Marys starting its next possession on its own 41.
An 18-yard scramble by Vossler moved the ball into Bath territory. Six plays later, Nagel broke free on the counter play and rambled 27 yards for a touchdown.
This time the two-point conversion pass was complete from Vossler to Brian Cook giving the Riders a 20-0 lead with 1:13 left in the half.
The Wildcats made a play to get back in the game with a strong start to the second half.
Adam Good returned the second half kick all the way to the St. Marys 47. Three straight runs by Kistler picked up the Cats' initial first down of the game.
On the next play Bath quarterback Robert Jenkins heaved a 32-yard completion to the St. Marys two yard line. Kistler scored on the next play to cut the home team's deficit to 20-7 with 9:34 left in the third quarter.
The Wildcat "D" came up with a stop, but St. Marys' defense one-upped them when Vossler intercepted a Jenkins pass and returned it to the Bath 30.
A 14-yard run by Frye set up a one-yard sneak by Vossler to give the Riders a 26-7 lead. Vossler then ran for the two-point conversion to put the Riders up by 21 points with 11:57 to play.
A fourth down interception by Tom Burke killed the Wildcats' next drive, and the Riders were able to put the icing on the cake.
Laman broke free on a run for a gain of 53 yards. Two plays later Nagel scored from 13 yards out. Quellhorst added the extra point to round out the scoring at 35-7 with 9:23 left in the game.
Bath came into the game as the league's toughest rushing defense, but the Riders managed 311 yards on the ground and 77 yards passing.
Laman, a sophomore, led the Riders on the ground with 83 yards. Frye ran for 69 yards on 17 carries, Nagel 57 yards, and Vossler with 46 yards.
The Riders can clinch no worse than a tie for the league title with a win over Celina next week. Shawnee travels to Elida for its final regular season game.
St. Marys came into Friday's game ranked second in Region 12 of Division III. A top-four finish means the Riders will be able to host a first-round playoff game.
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