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September 21, 2005 Roughrider Retrospective
Roughriders v. Ottawa-Glandorf Titans, Series
ROUGHRIDER RETROSPECTIVE - by Buz Howard
This is the tenth installment of a series of articles on St. Marys football history.
On Wednesday each week there will be a follow-up article to overview the series.
The football team for Ottawa’s public school was known for many years as the Knights. But the Knights were replaced by the Titans in 1964, when Ottawa Public consolidated with Glandorf and Ottawa St. Peter and Paul.
The Ottawa-Glandorf Titans joined the Western Buckeye League in 1967, taking the place of Shawnee, who temporarily felt that they had become too big and sophisticated for the WBL.
Currently, St. Marys leads the all-time series with Ottawa-Glandorf, 30-7-l.
The tie came in the second game of the series, in 1968, when Kenny Hole slammed across the goal-line from four yards out with only five seconds left to knot the game at 14-14. The play was part of an 89-yard drive, with big runs coming from Lynn Shelby, Mike Dzalamanow and Donnie Raymond. The Roughriders had a chance to win, but a running play for the extra points came up short.
The 1971 contest was equally exciting, with the Riders overcoming a 20-7 halftime deficit to win in the waning moments, 28-20. The lone St. Marys first-half score had been a 66-yard sweep by Craig Huwer.
In the second half, the Roughriders came alive on both sides of the ball. The defense, with linebackers Kevin Axe and Al Imwalle, led the way. Denny Parent blocked one Ottawa punt and recovered another that had been blocked by Bruce Laman.
Senior fullback Bob Kantner, who would run wild in the second half, scored the second St. Marys TD with a 16-yard run.
Dave Wright then executed a successful onside kick that was recovered by Gene Wiehe. Three plays later Wright, who would go on to play for the University of Toledo, tallied the third Rider touchdown from nine yards out. Wright himself tacked on the two-point conversion to tie the game.
The game-winner was a 20-yard run late in the fourth quarter by Bob Kantner, who ran for 100 yards in the second half (104 in all). Wright again added the points-after-touchdown, the defense continued to hold, and the Riders took another step towards a 9-1 season and a WBL crown.
From 1975 through 1995, St. Marys won 20 of 21 games in the series, usually running the ball at will.
In 1978 Jeff Cisco ran for 228 yards in 14 carries. The following year Cisco added 290 yards in 33 carries, giving him a two-year total of 518 yards against the Titans. Cisco, who had played defensive back as a sophomore, racked up 3296 yards in just two seasons as running back, making him fourth on the Roughriders’ career rushing list. He would later play defensive back for Ohio State.
Mike Elston, in a 65-13 St. Marys victory against O.G. in 1992, carried the ball only seven times, but totaled 123 yards. Elston would later play linebacker for Michigan.
Fullback Mike Hirschfeld gained 292 yards in 22 carries in the 1995 game. Hirschfeld was on his way to the St. Marys career rushing record of 3799 yards.
There was a tense double-overtime game in 1999, with O.G.’s 253-pound fullback T. J. Pendergast, bulling over for the winning touchdown. The Roughrider fullback Kenny Williams had kept the Riders alive in regulation by gaining 122 yards in 28 carries.
In 2001, Roughrider halfbacks Nate Homan and Stephen Kill pulled of a “double-double” of sorts by running for over two hundred yards each in a 37-14 win over the Titans (Homan: 19 carries for 237 yards; Kill: 22 carries for 227).
The 2003 game saw fullback Vince Craft gain 136 yards in 25 carries in a Roughrider 21-0 victory.
Last season St. Marys won, 20-7, at Skip Baughman Field.
The Roughriders will go into Friday’s game with a modest two-game series win streak, but Ottawa-Glandorf has won five of the last ten.
Next week: Van Wert.
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