CELINA -- A lack of scoring was well compensated by an abundance of drama at Bulldog Stadium Friday night. The Riders made it nine in a row over their rivals with a thrilling 13-7 win, on a touchdown pass with time expiring on the clock.
It was a tale of two halves, with St. Marys dominating possession in the first half and Celina dominating possession in the second. Until the Riders took the ball with 4:15 left in the game, the 'Dogs had run 38 second half plays to the Riders' 9.
With 4:37 remaining in the game, Celina had just completed a miraculous drive to tie the score at 7. Celina converted a third-and-long and two fourth down plays to keep the drive alive. On a fourth and eleven from the 19-yard-line, Celina QB Derek Gagel eluded tacklers and launched a ball toward the corner of the end zone, where Kelby Rosengarten dove back to make the catch.
The half began badly for the Bulldogs. After kicking off to start the half, the Riders forced Celina into a three-and-out punt, and then blocked it. Adam Lininger recovered the ball in the end zone for the first score of the game, and Kenny Bruce kicked the point after touchdown for a 7-0 St. Marys lead.
The Bulldogs mounted a threat to tie late in the third quarter. Taking the ball at their own 36, they marched to the St. Marys 10 yard line (with the help of two gutsy fourth down conversions) in nine plays that included seven passes.
But the Rider defense stepped up. A Gagel to Link completion netted no yards, a Rosengarten run was stopped for a four yard loss, and the fourth quarter began with Corey Menker hitting Gagel as he threw and popping the ball into the waiting Sam Rammel's hands for an interception. The Riders had to punt the ensuing possession away, setting up the Celina scoring drive.
Celina's squib kick after tying the score at seven put the ball at the St. Marys 33. Sixty-seven yards, three time-outs, four minutes and 15 seconds.
The Riders went into their two-minute drill, which means nine consecutive running plays which took the ball to the Celina 34. A surprise pass from Dunlap to Barhorst gained nineteen yards and stopped the clock when Barhorst stepped out of bounds with 30 seconds to play. But the yardage was reversed the next play on a debateable intentional grounding call on Dunlap's pass out of bounds over two receivers' heads. The ball was put back at the 34 with a loss of down.
On third down, a complete pass gained very little and St. Marys was forced to call a time out with nine seconds left, setting up fourth and 24 from the 34 yard line. Celina fans were on their feet cheering for a tie, and overtime.
But the Polecat had something to say about that.
Running out of the wide-open formation, Dunlap managed to heave a pass to Frye at the one yard line, who muscled it into the end zone to seal the win with no time remaining. The 34-yard play was St. Marys longest gain of the game.
The Riders and Bulldogs played soccer in the first half, spending lots of energy and scoring zero points.
After trading 3-and-outs, Celina mounted the first threat of the game when quarterback Derek Gagel broke loose for 52 yards, caught by Koby Frye at the St. Marys 18. A couple of runs for no net yards, an illegal forward pass penalty and an incomplete pass gave the Riders the ball on downs.
A promising St. Marys drive took the ball from their 18 all the way to the Celina 34. The series featured a successful Derek Dunlap QB sneak on fourth and 1 and a Bulldog befuddling lonesome polecat play with 0:01 seconds left in the first quarter that induced Celina to call its last timeout of the first half.
But a holding call led to a fourth and 20 Tyler Norton punt which landed in the end zone and gave the Bulldogs possession at the 20.
The teams each gained first downs on the next series, but failed to launch a serious threat to score. With 2:30 left in the half, St. Marys took over at their own 45. A holding penalty on the Riders was immediately refunded by a Celina late hit on the next play, and the Riders managed the clock well in a nice drive that took them down to the three yard line with 3 seconds left in the half.
With Koby Frye taking the snap in the Lonesome Polecat formation (three receivers wide on each side), a pass play was broken up at the goal line by the Bulldogs with time expiring.
While the Celina fans celebrated a halftime tie, they should thank an official reversal of a St. Marys touchdown back in the early first quarter.
In the end zone Brad Frazier jumped on a Tyler Norton punt that had been touched by the Bulldog's deep back, and a touchdown was signaled until the zebras had an opportunity to discuss the play. Celina got a touchback, and a halftime tie.
The Riders improve their record to 2-1 and will host the Defiance Bulldogs next week. The Bulldogs lose their third close game in a row, and travel north to Van Wert next week.
