SKIP BAUGHMAN STADIUM -- The front of their shirts said,”Beat St. Marys.” The back of the shirts said, “Destroy Their House.”
Mission accomplished.
Much to the delight of their t-shirt wearing fans, the Wapakoneta Redskins put a 49-23 hurting on St. Marys Friday at Skip Baughman Stadium.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for coach Frye and the St. Marys program,” Wapakoneta coach Kevin Fell said. “They handled us pretty good the last couple years, so I’m glad we were able to come in here tonight and play with them.”
Actually, the Redskins dominated, especially in the first half, taking control of the game which was never in doubt.
"Wapak played a heck of a game tonight," a terse Doug Frye said after the game. "They outplayed and outcoached us, and they have a very athletic football team."
Wapakoneta capitalized on St. Marys’ weaknesses early on -- a one-dimensional offense and a leaky pass defense. Redskin junior quarterback Drew Parker completed 7 of 10 passes for 199 yards in the first half, including a pair of 52-yard touchdowns to Randy Schmerge.
"We didn't tackle and we didn't block," Frye said. "They were tougher" on both sides of the ball.
On defense, Wapak played its entire team within five yards of the line of scrimmage on first and second downs, and forced five St. Marys punts in the first half. The Roughriders attempted just one pass in the first half, and that was a halfback pass that fell incomplete.
It all added up to a 28-0 halftime hole. And even though the Riders battled hard in the final 24 minutes, there was never any doubt which team was in control of the game.
“I was very pleased with our offensive balance tonight,” Fell said. “I thought we were able to run the ball so well, because we were able to pass so well, especially early in the game. We had some success passing early and I think that shook up their defense a little.”
The Redskins rolled up 549 yards of offense, including 319 yards rushing and 230 yards passing.
Wapakoneta scored on four of its five first half possessions. The only time the Redskins failed to score they lost a fumble inside the St. Marys 20. The Roughriders failed to get past midfield in the first half.
“It’s always a good thing to get the lead on a St. Marys football team,” Fell said. “Just getting that first touchdown really meant a lot and we were able to build on that.”
Schmerge caught four passes in the first half, three of which went for touchdowns, including a 12-yard toss from Parker with 8:18 left in the first quarter. Wapakoneta kicker Dan Dripps was a perfect 7-for-7 on the night.
After fumbling deep in St. Marys' territory on its second possession, the Redskins finished the first half with a flurry, scoring three touchdowns in the last 5-and-a-half minutes, including two more passes to Schmerge.
The Riders showed some signs of life to open the second half, forcing a Redskin three-and-out and Wapak’s first punt of the game, which was blocked. Doug Burke picked up the blocked punt and rambled 25 yards for the Riders’ first score of the night. He caught his breath, and then booted the PAT with 10:28 left in the third quarter.
Any shift in momentum was short-lived, as the Redskins responded by going 79 yards on five plays -- all on the ground -- to go back up by four touchdowns. Garrett Lange went the final 28 yards, running up the middle and breaking several tackles along the way.
"We did one thing - the blocked punt," Frye said. "But we didn't follow up on it" with a stop. "We've been inconsistant that way all season."
The Riders bounced back with an 18-yard run by Koby Frye and a two-point conversion run by Zach Dammeyer 54 seconds left in the third quarter.
Wapak kept pace when Schmerge caught his fourth TD pass with 8:45 left in the game. On fourth-and four, Schmerge had about a 10-yard cushion on the line of scrimmage. He easily picked up the first down on the pass from Parker, then broke a tackle and ended up going 25 yards to paydirt for a 42-15 lead.
After an exchange of turnovers, the Riders were able to convert on a 40-yard touchdown pass from Derek Dunlap to Marcus Sheipline with 3:36 left in the game. The two-point conversion was good with a pass to Adam Johns.
Wapak picked up three first downs on its next possession and appeared ready to run the clock out deep in St. Marys territory. But, down by three touchdowns, the Riders decided to call timeout after Parker had taken a knee, hoping to run out the clock. The Redskins responded with an in-your-face 30-yard touchdown pass from Parker to Zac Lauck with one minute left in the game to round out the scoring.
With the win Wapakoneta remains unbeaten on the season at 4-0 and 3-0 in the Western Buckeye League. The Riders fall to 2-2 overall and 1-2 in the WBL with their second straight loss.
Koby Frye paced the Roughrider ground attack with 118 yards, but they were hard-earned on 31 carries.
The Riders are back at home next week, playing host to Ottawa-Glandorf. The Titans improved to 2-2 on the season with a 46-0 win over Elida Friday. St. Marys finishes the season with four of its last five games on the road.
