TROY, OHIO -- Regional Champs.
St. Marys battled back with 21 unanswered points, and then held on to beat a highly-touted Dayton Chaminade-Julienne team, 21-13, and claim the Division III, Region 12 Championship Saturday at Troy Memorial Stadium.
The Roughriders advance to the State Final Four and will face the Eagles of Columbus Bishop Watterson in the semi-finals next Saturday at a site to be determined. Watterson advanced by winning its region with a convincing 27-6 thumping of Columbus DeSales.
All the pregame talk was of the C-J Eagles' high-powered offense, but it was the Roughrider defense that was the most impressive, limiting the Eagles to the fewest points they scored this season, and an unofficial total of minus four yards rushing.
Unable to move the ball on the ground, and falling behind by two scores in the second half, the Eagles were forced out of their game plan and into a must pass situation. Junior quarterback Matt Bruggeman completed 19 of 41 passes for 260 yards, but he was also sacked seven times, losing 28 yards.
Keys to the game for St. Marys were ball possession, and getting an early lead, but that wasn't the case in the first half.
The Rouriders were "three-and-out" on their first four possessions, as the Eagles dominated the time of possession in the first two quarters.
C-J was unable to establish much of a ground game but were able to move the ball through the air, winning the field position battle in the first quarter.
After driving into St. Marys territory and being stopped twice on their first two possessions, the Eagles started their first scoring drive on the St. Marys 24 yardline.
Quarterback Matt Bruggemen completed five consecutive passes on the drive as CJ moved the ball down the field. His favorite target on the drive was 6-4 senior John Bonner, who caught passes for 12, 28 and an eight-yard touchdown pass with with 4:58 left in the half for a 7-0 lead.
The Roughriders were still unable to move the ball as a broken play, incomplete pass and a one-yard run forced Nick Yahl's fourth punt of the game.
The Eagles had great field position and momentum with time running out in the half. However, running back Brandon Harrison fumbled on a third down run and the Riders recovered at the C-J 40.
Three plays later Corey Vossler scrambled for 35 yards and St. Marys' initial first down of the game. The play seemed to be the spark the Rider offense needed as Justin Nagel gained 13 yards on the next play, follwed by a 12-yard touchdwon pass from Vossler to Frye.
Ross Quellhorst added the PAT to tie the score with 43 seconds left in the half.
The Eagles threatened to score again before intermission, as Bruggeman found open receivers for gains of 21 and 24 yards, but a 48-yard field goal attempt in the closing seconds fell short.
The St. Marys defense came up with its second take-away to start the second half as Adam Williams scooped up a Bruggeman fumble at the St. Marys 43.
The Rider offense picked up three first downs on the ground, followed by an 18-yard gain on a pass from Vossler to Adam Johns to the one yard line.
Frye scored on the very next play, and Quellhorst's kick was wide left, giving the Riders a 13-7 lead with 5:22 left in the third.
C-J went three-and-out on its next possession, and the Rider offense took over on their own 44.
Frye, who struggled in the first half, continued to grind out yards in the third quarter. St. Marys rolled up four first downs to get the ball inside the C-J five yard line as the third quarter came to an end.
Vossler scored on a QB sneak on the second play of the fourth quarter. The Riders cashed in on the two-point conversion as Vossler rolled out and found Frye in the end zone for a 21-7 lead with 11:21 left to play.
The Eagles next drive was disasterous as Bruggeman was sacked twice and threw incomplete, forcing another punt.
St. Marys appeared to be able to take control of the game with another long drive, but Vossler was unable to hook up with a wide open Johns on third down, and St. Marys had to punt.
C-J then began one of the more interesting drives of the game. After a first down completion, the Riders got to Bruggeman two more times forcing a fourth-and-17 and a punt that went through the endzone. However, a late and generous flag was interpreted as a 15-yard facemask penalty on the Riders.
With a fourth-and-two, the Eagles were able to pick up a first down to keep the drive alive.
After three more incompletions C-J was again faced with a fourth down situation on the St. Marys 36. The Eagles went for the first down and Bruggeman's pass was incomplete, but another fourth down flag was thrown, this time for interference, as the Eagles wearing black-and-white stripes kept the drive alive again.
By this time Bruggeman was throwing on every down. A third down completion of 10 yards gave C-J a first and goal at the nine, but the Rider "D" stiffened and held its ground. Four straight incomplettions and no penalties turned the ball over on downs at the nine.
Three St. Marys plays netted just nine yards and very little clock as the Riders ran out of bounds twice. So with 4:02 left to play, Yahl and the Riders punted it back to the Eagles.
This time Bruggeman was more successful, connecting with his favorite target, Bonner, three times including a 16-yard gain inside the St. Marys 10. Another completion and two running plays brought up a fourth-and-inches at the St. Marys one.
From there Bruggeman scored on a quarterback sneak with just 1:48 left to play.
Strangely, the Eagles elected to go for a two point conversion, and the pass was broken up. Even more strangely, the Eagles did not try an on-side kick despite the 1:48 left on the clock and just two timeouts left.
After C-J's kick-off went into the end zone, the Riders took over on the 20. Vossler scrambled for 18 yards and a first down on the very first play.
The Riders were then called for a delay penalty as Vossler tried to milk the clock. He was looking for a five-second hand signal from the official, who decided not to give one.
Two plays and two C-J timeouts brought up a third-and-ten with 55 seconds left. From there Vossler took charge again on a quarterback rollout as he got the corner and picked up a first down in C-J territory.
One knee later, the Riders were Region 12 champs.
Vossler finished with 91 yards rushing, while Frye rolled up 87 yards on the ground. Justin Nagel spent the second half on the bench with a leg injury.
The location for the State Semi-final game next week against the Columbus Bishop Watterson Eagles will be announced on Ridertown tomorrow, Sunday Nov. 21.
