DEFIANCE, OHIO -- Defiance quarterback Adam Wagner completed his last eight passes and engineered an improbable fourth quarter drive to rally the Bulldogs to a 28-27 victory over St. Marys Friday at Fred J. Brown Stadium.
Hampered by three crucial fumbles, the Roughriders were tagged with their first loss of the season, falling to 2-1 overall and 1-1 in the Western Buckeye League. Defiance picked up its first win of the season and ended a five-year losing streak to St. Marys.
After a third-quarter shoot-out that had Defiance trailing 27-21, in the fourth quarter the Bulldogs were able to put together a 15-play, 83-yard scoring drive that drained nearly seven minutes off the clock.
Wagner was five-for-five passing on the drive for 77 yards, including a 23-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-very long. Not having much success in the secondary, the Riders were able to blitz Wagner and pick up back-to-back sacks setting up a fourth-and-20 on the St. Marys 23.
But on the next play, the Riders only rushed three, giving Wagner time and a passing lane to find Michael Swary who somehow got open in the end zone for a touchdown. Josh Courtney nailed the all-important extra point kick for the one-point lead with exactly one minute left in the game.
Symbolically, the Riders fumbled the ensuing squib kick, recovering on their own 16. St. Marys turned the ball over on four plays, allowing the Dogs to seal the win by taking a knee.
Wagner completed 13 of 18 passes for 162 yard. Freshman Alex Nofziger was his leading receiver with six grabs for 83 yards. Senior speedster Jacquice King carried the ball the 28 times for 168 yards and three touchdowns.
The Riders were led by Koby Frye with 23 carries for 168 yards. Scott Laman added 74 yards on 12 carries, but did not play for most of the second half.
St. Marys fell behind for the first time this season when Defiance capitalized on a St. Marys fumble two plays into the game.
Kenny Bruce lost the handle on the Riders’ second play from scrimmage, and the Bulldogs recovered on the St. Marys 37 yard line. Aided by the short field and a key fourth-down reception, Defiance was able to score on a nine yard run by Jacquice King with 8:14 left in the first quarter. Josh Courtney added the PAT kick.
The Roughriders were not fazed by the early turnover as they bounced back on their next possession. After grinding out a pair of first downs, Scott Laman broke containment at the line of scrimmage, and rambled 36 yards for a score. Doug Burke tied the game with a successful PAT kick with 5:02 left in the first quarter.
A long kick-off return by Eric Rubio gave Defiance good field position near midfield to start its next drive. However, back-to-back sacks of Defiance quarterback Adam Wagner by Sam Rammel forced the game’s first punt.
A 48-yard run by Bruce set the Riders up in scoring position inside the Defiance 10 yard line. But on the very next play Frye was hit and fumbled into the end zone where the Bulldogs recovered.
After a change of possessions St. Marys was able to capitalize Defiance’s only turnover of the night. Mitch Dunlap picked off his third pass in two games and returned it to the Defiance 43. Twelve plays later, Frye bulled his way into the end zone from one yard out. Burke’s kick gave the Riders a 14-7 lead with 35 seconds left before intermission.
Defiance opened the second half with a quick scoring drive as King rambled 18 yards and then 28 yards for a touchdown. Courtney’s kick sailed wide left, allowing the Riders to maintain a 14-13 lead with 10:13 left in the third quarter.
After three first downs St. Marys lost a fumble inside the Defiance 20 for the second time. The Bulldogs were unable to make much hay, punting the ball back to St. Marys.
From there things got fast and furious. Zach Dammeyer’s 35-yard touchdown run for St. Marys began a spate of three touchdowns in a span of 38 seconds.
Burke’s kick gave the Riders a 21-13 lead at the 4:31 mark of the third quarter.
On the very next play from scrimmage, King found the corner and sprinted 57-yards for a Defiance touchdown. Down by eight, the Bulldogs went for two, and Wagner was able to convert as he passed to a wide open Corey Clay for two points.
Not to be out-done, Frye rambled 60 yards on the Riders’ next play from scrimmage. He was tripped up at the 2 yard line, leaving Derek Dunlap to clean up with a sneak on the next play. Burke was unable to convert the PAT as his kick went under the crossbar, leaving the door open for Defiance in the fourth quarter.
The Riders rolled up 340 yards of rushing offense. Dunlap had just two official pass attempts, completing both to Adam Johns for 20 yards. However, Dunlap was hit behind the line for minus six yards rushing.
The Roughriders will try to regroup next week with a home game against the undefeated Wapakoneta Redskins. Wapak improved to 3-0 on the season with a 7-0 win over Ottawa-Glandorf Friday.
