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Joe Eitel
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SKIP BAUGHMAN STADIUM -- St. Marys picked up a share of its 21st Western Buckeye League Football championship and probably clinched home-field advantage for the first round of the Division III Playoffs with a 35-14 victory over Celina Friday.
The win, coupled with Shawnee’s 28-6 win over Elida, means the Roughriders and Indians share the WBL title with 8-1 records.
St. Marys had already clinched a playoff berth in Region 12 of Division III, as the top eight teams in the computer rankings qualify. The top four teams host a first-round game, and the Riders went into Friday’s game ranked second in the region. The Ohio High School Athletic Association will announce final standings and pairings on Sunday.
Bo Frye scored four touchdowns and Corey Vossler returned a kick-off 90 yards for a touchdown, but it wasn’t easy for the Riders, especially early in the game as Celina jumped out to a 7-0 lead and kept the Rider offense at bay.
“No doubt about it, our defense played its best game of the season,” Celina coach Mike Fell said. “The Celina-St. Marys rivalry brings out the best in people and I asked our guys to play with that kind of intensity.”
"I thought Coach Fell had the Celina boys ready to play," St. Marys Head Coach Doug Frye said. "Celina came out and played with emotion."
The Riders’ first drive ended in a fumble, as Vossler couldn’t connect on a handoff near midfield and Bill Nickell recovered for the Bulldogs. Celina converted a fourth down to keep its first drive alive, but the threat ended when Cliff Powell stepped in front of an Erik Chapin pass at the St. Marys nine yard line.
The two teams traded punts with Celina maintaining the edge in field position. St. Marys tried a fake punt on its third possession and Celina sniffed it out, stopping Scott Laman one-yard short.
The Bulldogs took advantage of the short field and marched 47 yards in just four plays. The big gainers in the drive were quick hitters up the middle as Andy Harner gained 18 yards and Kelly Mallory 22. Harner went the final six yards and Brandon Ley added the extra point for a 7-0 Celina lead with 7.8 seconds left in the quarter.
Big underdogs, coming in at 2-7, Celina was bubbling with confidence. But the bubble quickly burst when Corey Vossler followed with an incredible 90-yard kick-off return. Vossler appeared to be stopped two or three times, but he kept his balance and ended up in the end zone with no time left on the clock. Ross Quellhorst nailed the PAT kick to tie the score after one quarter.
"The kickoff return by Vossler ignited us," Frye said."Vossler, Yahl and Nagel have been big playmakers for us for three years. I'm really proud of our seniors."
A second-quarter interception by Mark Riesen gave the Riders good field possession midway through the second quarter. On the next play, Zach Taylor lined up wider right, and no one saw him – except for Vossler. The two connected for a gain of 28 yard.
"Mark Riesen is probably our most improved player this year," Frye said. "And that was just a heads-up play by two seniors, Zach Taylor and Corey Vossler, to connect on that missed coverage pass."
Two plays later Frye found hit paydirt from six yards out and Quellhorst booted the PAT for a 14-7 lead with 6:39 left in the half.
After a Celina punt and a big return, the Riders were back in business at the Bulldog 39. Frye ripped off a gain 20 yards, and five plays later, scored from three yards out. Quellhorst’s kick was wide right, giving the Riders a 20-7 lead at halftime.
Celina had the ball to start the second half, and when their opening drive failed to go anywhere, Fell decided to roll the dice and try a fake punt deep at their own 27. The punter lateraled to another player, who tried a long pass, which was broken up nicely by Tom Burke.
“They’ve been running the punts back 20 yards anyway, and we were hoping to catch them, but it didn’t work,” Fell said.
"We weren't really surprised by the fake punt attempt," Frye said. "We thought they would pull out the stops in this game."
The Riders need just five plays to cover the 27 yards with Frye scoring his third touchdown of the night, this time from two yards out. Vossler scrambled in for the two-point conversion, giving St. Marys a 28-7 lead.
Celina wasn’t ready to roll over quite yet. The Dogs responded with their best drive of the game as Chapin got the passing game going when the Riders had problems covering the slant pattern.
Mallory ripped off a gain of 17 and Chapin capped the 73-yard drive with a seven yard run. Ley nailed the kick to pull the visitiors to within 14 with 3:17 left in the third quarter.
St. Marys put the game away on its next possession, marching 65 yards in 12 plays. The drive was assisted greatly by a third down penalty by Celina which was whistled for intentionally disrupting the offenses’ snap count.
Frye scored from four yards out, and Quellhorst added the kick to round out the scoring with 10:04 left in the game.
St. Marys was able to substitute on its last two possessions, while keeping the Bulldogs off the scoreboard.
Frye finished with 133 yards on 23 carries, while Nagel gained 78 yards on 12 carries. St. Marys rolled up 308 yard of total offense, and limited Celina to 181.
"This was a nice win for us, obviously," Frye said. "Winning back-to-back league titles in the WBL is a major accomplishment, and the icing on the cake is our fifth consecutive trip to the playoffs."
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Ridertown will post the playoff schedule and locations as soon as they are available.
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