CLAYTON, OHIO -- St. Marys jumped out to a 21-0 halftime lead and then held off an Indian Hill comeback to post a 28-13 victory over the Braves and advance to the Division III Region 12 finals next Saturday against Dayton Chaminade-Julienne.
C-J advanced to the Regional title game with a 48-24 victory over Kettering Archbishop-Alter Saturday. The Roughriders advance to the third round of the playoffs for the first time since the 1993 State Championship season.
The site for the regional final game will be announced Sunday afternoon on ridertown.com, but it is expected to be at Piqua or Troy.
The Braves battled back with two quick touchdowns in the third quarter, but a 53-yard run by Bryan Cook in the fourth quarter set up what proved to be the game-clinching touchdown.
Indian Hill, known for its passing prowess, opened the second half with fullback Brandon Davis gaining big chuncks of yardage up the middle.
Davis rumbled 15 yards and then 34 yards to get the Braves rolling in the third quarter. Quarterback Mike Scherpenberg gained 20 yards on a draw, followed by a five-yard TD burst by Davis, as Indian Hill needed just about three minutes to get on the board in the second half.
Following a three-and-out by the Riders, Scherpenberg torched the St. Marys secondary on the first play of the Braves' second drive with a 58-yard touchdown bomb to Chris Guidi. Zac Minturn missed the PAT, as the Riders held on to an eight-point advantage with 7:25 left in the third quarter.
St. Marys again failed to pick up a first down as back-to-back procedure penalties forced another Nick Yahl punt.
But the Rider defense came up with a big stop to help slow the Braves momentum. Indian Hill turned the ball over on downs with 3:39 left in the quarter.
St. Marys was able to pick up a couple of first downs on its next possession, but a broken play and a delay-of-game penalty helped the Braves get the ball back on downs at their own 22 to start the fourth quarter.
Indian Hill again was able to move the ball. A 32-yard quarterback draw by Scherpenberg and a pass interference penalty gave the braves a first-and-goal at the St. Marys six. But the Rider defense stiffened from there, forcing a 24-yard field goal attempt by Mintrum which was no good.
The Roughriders put together two quick first downs , followed by the 53-yard run by Cook that moved the ball down to the two yard line. Bo Frye scored on the very next play and Ross Quellhorst added the PAT kick for a 28-13 lead with 4:48 left in the game.
The Braves tried to get back in the game, but wasted valuable time moving the ball back into St. Marys territory. Indian Hill got as close as the St. Marys 35, but following a sack and two incompleteions, turned the ball over on downs with less than two minutes to play.
From there the Riders were able to run out the clock, and post their 11th win of the season. Indian Hill came into the playoffs as the top seeded team in Region 12, and bows out with an 10-2 record.
The Riders dominated the first half with a 21-0 lead that could have been much worse for the Braves.
St. Marys took the opening kick-off and needed less than four minutes to get on the board. A 34-yard pass from Vossler to Zach Taylor got the Riders in Indian Hill territory. On the very next play, Justin Nagel scored on a 33-yard sweep play.
Ross Quellhorst boomed the Pat for a 7-0 lead with 9:42 left in the first quarter.
The Braves struggled on their first possession, as quarterback Mike Scherpenberg was sacked twice to force a feeble punt that rolled dead at the Indian Hill 31 yard line.
However, the Riders failed to take advantage of the excellent field position, turning the ball over on downs as four plays netted just nine yards.
The Braves were a little better on their next drive, picking up a first down before punting again.
Bo Frye and Nagel took turns grinding out the yards. Nagle had a gain of 12 to the Braves two-yard line. Two plays later, Vossler carried the ball over the goal line on a sneak, and Quellhorst's kick made it 14-0 with 10:24 left in the half.
Scherpenberg got the passing game going on the Braves' next drive, as he moved his team into St. Marys territory for the first time. But the drive stalled with three straight incompletions at the Riders' 29 yard line.
The Riders put together another impressive drive, overcoming two penalties when Vossler completed a 24-yard pass to Nick Yahl on third-and-16.
Four plays later, on fourth down, Vossler again found Yahl streaking down the sidelines for a 30-yard TD pass with 1:42 left in the half.
St. Marys had a chance build on the lead with the ensuing kickoff was fumbled by Indian Hill's Jake Kendall. However, the officials claimed the player was down. The Braves tried to get some points on the board with a desperation drive, but their hopes ended when Mark Riesen intercepted a Scherpenberg pass in the end zone to end the half.
The Riders finished with 366 yards of total offense, including 259 yards on the ground. Vossler completed five of eight passes for 107 yards. Nagel led the Riders on the ground with 91 yards on 15 carries, while Frye rolled up 90 yards on 20 carries.
The Braves amassed 307 yards of offense as Scherpenberg completed 18 of 30 passes for 180 yards. Davis led the Braves on the ground with 10 carries for 82 yards.
