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Joe Eitel
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BELLBROOK, OHIO -- St. Marys hadn't given up more than two touchdowns all season.
Bellbrook scored three in the first half alone. The bad news for Bellbrook is that the Golden Eagles only managed one first down in the second half, as the Roughriders rallied for a 28-20 victory Saturday in the first round of the Region 12, Division III playoffs at Bellbrook.
For the second time in three years St. Marys advances to the 12th week of the season. The Riders will face top-seeded Cincinnati Indian Hill, which demolished Circleville Logan Elm 45-7 Saturday.
The game will be held next Saturday at a site to be determined. Stay tuned to ridertown.com for details.
The Golden Eagles ran just 15 offensive plays in the second half, as the Roughrider shut down an offense that rolled up over 200 yards in the first half.
With St. Marys trailing 20-14 to start the third quarter, the two teams traded punts early in the second half.
The Riders broke loose on their second possession of the half, as Corey Vossler completed a "throw back" pass to Nick Yahl, who rambled 62 yards before being stopped at the Eagles 20.
Three plays later Bo Frye bulled into the endzone from five yards out to tie the game. Ross Quellhorst split the uprights on the kick to give the Riders' their first lead of the game with 5:36 left in the third quarter.
Bellbrook quarterback Chris Bennett was 11 of 14 passing for 165 yards in the first half. The Eagles did not attempt a pass until their second possession of the second half, and the third-and-11 toss was incomplete.
The Riders took over and gained two first downs, eating valuable clock time before punting.
Bellbrook again stuck to the ground, running two plays and throwing an incompletion, forcing another punt, this time early in the fourth quarter.
St. Marys then launched a back-breaking 19-play drive that resulted in another Frye touchdown.
The key to the eight-minute drive was a roughing the punter call against the Eagles, that kept the St. Marys offense on the field.
From there the Riders converted two fourth-and-one plays, moving the ball inside the Bellbrook 20. Vossler scrambled for a gain of 13. Frye then ran up the middle twice for a key first down, forcing Bellbrook to call timeouts to keep their chances alive.
Frye scored on third-and-goal from the three with 1:52 left to play. Quellhorst added the PAT for an eight-point margin.
The Eagles started on their own 20 and managed just one yard on three plays. A fourth down pass fell incomplete, but Bellbrook was given new life thanks to an offsides penalty on the Riders.
But the second fourth down pass was completed two yards short of the first down marker, and Vossler and company were able to take a couple of knees to seal the win.
Bellbrook took the lead on its first possession and held onto the lead for the entire first half.
The Eagles were three-for-three on third-down conversions on their first possession. Bellbrook went 65 yards in 11 plays, taking over five minutes off the clock.
Bennett capped the drive with a 22-yard pass to Wilson out of the backfield with 5:55 left in the quarter.
The Roughriders answered on their first possession. A 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty called on Bellbrook got St. Marys rolling. Bo Frye and Justin Nagel took turns grinding out two more first downs.
Corey Vossler then hit tight end Adam Johns on a first down pass that went for 32 yards and a touchdown. Ross Quellhorst tied the game with 2:19 left in the quarter.
Bellbrook came right back on the combination of Bennett-to-Wilson. The duo connected three times for 63 yards on the drive, including a 30-yard touchdown with 10:51 left in the half.
On the ensuing kickoff, Vossler slipped and fell down at his own two yard line. The Riders were unable to overcome the poor field position and punted.
The Eagles' third possession was hampered by penalties. Back-to-back 10-yard penalties put Bellbrook in a hole too deep to climb out of.
St. Marys started in much better field position when the Eagles punt rolled dead at the Rider 38.
On the second play of the drive, Vossler scrambled for 49 yards to the Bellbrook 11. Two plays later, Vossler finished what he started with an eight yard run for a touchdown.
Quellhorst added his second kick to tie the score again with 4:35 left in the half.
The Eagles were not done yet as they once again put together another impressive drive. Despite a procedure penalty and a fumbled pitch, the Eagles were able to pick up a first down on third-and-11 as Bennett connected on a 14-yard pass.
Bennett completed three more passes to Wilson, including a four-yard toss for a touchdown with 19 seconds left in the half.
The PAT kick was blocked, giving the Eagles a 20-14 margin at the intermission.
The Roughriders finished with 309 yards total offense, as Frye led the way with 100 yards rushing on 26 carries and two touchdowns. St. Marys' 28 points was the most given up by Bellbrook all season, including the Eagles' two overtime losses to start the season.
The Riders will be looking to get past the second round of the playoffs for the first time since the state championship season of 1993.
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