SKIP BAUGHMAN STADIUM -- Controlling the ball for most of the second half, the Shawnee Indians held on for their first win in St. Marys since 1966 -- a 14-7 victory over the Roughriders at Skip Baughman Stadium.
The loss all but eliminates St. Marys from the Western Buckeye League title chase and the Division III playoffs. The Riders fall to 5-3 overall and 5-2 in the WBL. The Indians maintain their share of the league lead at 6-1 and improve to 6-2 overall.
"Our kids played hard, and their effort was tremendous," Roughrider Head Coach Doug Frye said, "but turnovers killed us."
All of the scoring came in the second half, as Shawnee took the second half kick-off and went 72 yards in 13 plays, chewing nearly seven minutes off the clock. Brandon Stephenson went the final five yards to put the Tribe on the board with 5:11 left in the third quarter. The PAT went awry when the snap to the holder was muffed and the attempt failed.
The Riders answered quickly as Koby Frye took the ensuing kickoff 85 yards to the Shawnee 10. Two plays later it was Frye going over the goal line from five yards out. Kenny Bruce split the uprights on the PAT kick to give St. Marys its first lead, 7-6, with 53 seconds left in the quarter.
The St. Marys defense got a stop on the next Shawnee possession, but the Riders muffed the punt and the Indians recoved 35 yards away from paydirt. Shawnee ground out the 35 yards in eight plays. Again it was Stephenson scoring, this time from three yards out. It was pretty much deja-vu for the two-point conversion, as Stephenson squirted into the endzone for a 14-7 Shawnee lead with 11:14 left in the game.
"In crucial situations, Shawnee executed better than we did," Frye said. "We didn't make the plays when we had to."
The Riders ran just two plays from scrimmage in the third quarter.
St. Marys drove into Shawnee territory twice in the fourth quarter, but turned the ball over on downs both times.
The best chance to tie the game came in the waning moments of the contest. The Riders took over on their own 30 yard line with just over three minutes left in the game. Gains by Frye and Kenny Bruce quickly got the Riders into scoring position.
The Riders pushed the pigskin inside the Shawnee 10 with just over 40 seconds left in the game. But after two incomplete passes, a run by Sam Rammel did not make it to the five yard line, forcing the Riders to call their final timeout, setting up a four-and-goal.
Derek Dunlap back-peddled fourth down pass, but Shawnee linebacker Tyler Rhoades was in the backfield just as fast as Dunlap, sacking the St. Marys quarterback before he could even look upfield.
Burton Andrew's photo of the second-down play in that final series, a fade pass to the left corner of the end zone, shows just how close this game was. (See the thumbnail image on the left, sixth from the bottom.) Brad Frazier caught Dunlap's pass, but had his toe on the line and was ruled out of bounds by the official. A game of inches.
The next play was also a pass to Frazier, who was open on the one yard line. Dunlap's pass was accurate but too hot to handle, and fell incomplete.
The Riders had a couple of scoring opportunities in the first half, but a fumble at the Shawnee 30 yard line ended a drive with good potential. The Riders were also driving at the end of the first half, but clock management problems resulted in a 36-yard field goal attempt by Kenny Bruce, that just sailed wide right.
"When you have two evenly matched teams, what you might call subtle things make the difference," Frye said. "I applaud our kids' effort tonight, I thought we were prepared and I thought we played well, but they didn't have turnovers and we did. We did enough to win this game, and we did enough to lose it."
The Riders won the statistical battle with 241 total yards. Frye led the way for the Riders with 129 yards on 28 carries. Bruce picked up 80 yards on 16 carries.
Stephenson paced the Indians with 106 yards on 25 carries.
The Roughriders have a tough road game next week as they travel to Kenton. The Wildcats have won five in a row, averaging 47 points per game in the process. Kenton is coming off a 44-21 win at Wapakoneta Friday and is tied with Shawnee and O-G at 6-1 in the WBL.
Friday's game marked the first annual Hall of Fame Game. In a pregame ceremony, the St. Marys Memorial High School Alumni Foundation, a private charitable organization, announced the induction of its first three members. Edward Noble was named in the category of Academic and/or Professional Achievement; Galen Cisco was named in the category of Athletic Achievement; and Eugene "Skip" Baughman was announced in the category of Service to the St. Marys City Schools. (Service to the Schools inductees need not be graduates of Memorial High School).
The inductees will be formally honored at a Banquet and Induction Ceremony to be held Saturday, October 13, in the Fellowship Hall of Holy Rosary Catholic Church. A limited number of $25 tickets will be available at the door for this historic event. Please consider attending to honor these three accomplished members of our community. A 6:00 pm social hour precedes the 7:00 pm dinner, the Induction Ceremony follows; business attire, please.
Read more about the Hall of Fame inductees and the Banquet and Induction Ceremony HERE.
