VAN WERT -- The St. Marys Roughriders overmatched a struggling Van Wert Cougar team at Eggers Field tonight, defeating the home team 42-0.
The Roughriders used eleven running backs and three quarterbacks while substituting freely in the second half on both sides of the ball. The Riders accumulated 456 yards of total offense while holding the Cougars to 86 total yards offense for the game. St. Marys did not punt in the game.
For the second week in a row, quarterback Derek Dunlap had more passing yards and touchdown passes than the opposing team's QBs. The Rider passer was a perfect 4-for-4, with two completions to tight end Adam Johns, one to Koby Frye and a touchdown pass to Marcus Sheipline. Van Wert's starting QB Corey Keber was 1-4 for 10 yards.
The Riders roughed up the Cougars in the first half, leading 28-0 at the break.
In a stunning (to obsessed fans) departure from the lockstep Rider dive-trap-sweep playbook, St. Marys passed twice in the first five plays called, both passes to Adam Johns good for first downs. Inexplicably, the running game opened up, and Koby Frye broke a dive up the middle for 37 yards and a touchdown three minutes into the game. Doug Burke kicked the first of his six extra points on the night and the Riders were up for good at 7-0.
Van Wert appeared to be up for the challenge on its first possession, though. Quarterback Corey Keber ran the option out of the shotgun, mixing pitches to RBs Steve Sealscott and Tyson Leasor with a couple of keepers to gain a couple of first downs and move the ball down to the St. Marys 33 yard line.
The St. Marys defense stood up like an ugly bully at that point. Cody Smith tackled Sealscott for a 7-yard loss and Victor Long sacked Keber on consecutive plays to force a 4th-and-22 punt.
But the punt turned out to be Van Wert's secret weapon on this night. The ball hit the ground, bounced off a St. Marys player and Van Wert recovered at the 17 for a second shot. Unfortunately for the Cougars, it was a second shot for the Rider D too, resulting in two sacks, an incomplete pass and a deflected pass for a loss of eleven yards and a turnover on downs, in that order.
The Riders marched the ball 43 yards to the Van Wert 25, but the drive stalled when a fourth-down-and-short run fell a little too short.
Van Wert moved the ball out for a first down, but the option worst-case scenario happened when an errant Keber pitch missed its target and the Riders' Josh Zimmerman covered the fumble on the St. Marys 20 yard line. Koby Frye made 'em pay the very next play, running it in for a touchdown and St. Marys' second score. Burke's PAT kick sailed wide, but a roughing the kicker penalty on Van Wert gave him a second chance and he made good for a 14-0 score.
Following a Cougar punt, the Riders moved 69 yards in three plays, with Koby Frye's 26-yard touchdown run set up by Scott Laman's breakout run up the middle for 45 yards.
A Keber fumble in the backfield, recovered by Victor Long, gave St. Marys another scoring opportunity at the Van Wert 39 yard line with 1:10 left in the half. In a horrible display of ball control, the Riders took only 30 seconds off the clock. A Dunlap to Frye pass was good for 15 yards, followed by a Dunlap to Marcus Sheipline touchdown toss with 0:40 left on the clock. Burke's fourth PAT kick was good for a 28-0 St. Marys lead, and Van Wert took a knee to finish the half.
If anything, Van Wert fared worse in the second half. After receiving the second-half kickoff from Kenny Bruce, the Cougars had the first of four consecutive three-and-out possessions. Koby Frye returned Rylan Yackee's punt to midfield, and seven plays later Derek Dunlap sneaked into the end zone. Burke's kick made the score 35-0, Riders.
The depth of St. Marys' bench showed on the Riders' next possession. With Doug Burke at quarterback, running backs Zach Dammeyer, Kenny Bruce, Eric Amato and Kevin Martin took turns moving the ball to the Van Wert 13 yard line in four plays. It was Dammeyer's turn next, and he made the most of a sweep, taking it in for the Riders' final touchdown of the game. Burke's PAT ended the scoring at 42-0.
Back-up running backs Senior Kevin Martin and Sophomore Dylan Dietz combined for 85 yards rushing in third- and fourth-quarter mop-up action.
With 2:02 remaining in the game, a Van Wert punt was called deflecting off a St. Marys player for the second time in the game, and again the Cougars recovered, giving them the ball in St. Marys territory. Sophomore QB Tim Hoverman got the Cougars down to the 15 yard line when time expired in the game. It was the closest Van Wert came to the end zone all night.
Van Wert travels to Ottawa next week looking for its first league win. The Titans rebounded from their drubbing a week earlier by defeating Bath tonight, 28-14.
The Riders are on the road again next Friday, invading Shawnee. The Indians took over first place in the WBL tonight with a 28-20 victory over Wapakoneta at Wapak.
The WBL race tightened up considerably tonight. Besides Wapak's loss to Shawnee, Kenton was beaten by Defiance 10-7.
