THE SKIP -- The MHS student section wore white shirts tonight for a "white out" effect in the stands, and it worked on the Wapakoneta side of the scoreboard, too, as the Riders doubled up on the Redskins at Skip Baughman Stadium.
After falling behind 14-7, St. Marys outscored Wapakoneta 39-9 over the final three quarters to post an impressive 46-23 Western Buckeye League Friday on the Roughrider gridiron.
The Riders came into the game ranked second in the state in Division III, and improved to 5-0 for the first time since 2004. Wapak falls to 1-4 overall and 1-3 in the WBL.
St. Marys racked up 28 first downs in the game (unofficially besting a team record of 27 first downs set in 1990 against Elida) to go along with 466 yards of total offense. Jeremy Frey was the workhorse on the ground with 21 carries for 122 yards. Jake Taylor completed nine of 12 passes to seven different receivers for 144 yards and one touchdown.
The Riders scored on their first possession grinding out 71 yards 11 plays, including a 30-yard touchdown run by Aaron Homan. After a motion penalty, Chaz Adkins booted the extra point to give St. Marys a 7-0 lead with 6:40 left in the first quarter.
It didn’t take long for the Redskins to answer. Wapak senior quarterback Jake Lambert came out throwing, and then caught the Rider defense all spread out on a 42-yard draw by sophomore Logan Erb, scoring on the fourth play of the drive. Dan Dripps tied the game with the PAT kick at the 4:56 mark of the frst quarter.
Wapakoneta took advantage of a shanked punt to start its next possession in St. Marys territory. Working out of the shotgun Lambert drove his team 48 yards in eight plays, going the final yard himself on the third play of the second quarter. Dripps’ kick gave the Skins a 14-7 lead.
The Riders roared back with 20 unanswered points in the second quarter. St. Marys quarterback Jake Taylor tied the school record for most touchdowns passes in a season (eight) with a 22-yard throwback pass to Cody Martin. Adkins tied the games with the PAT at the 8:06 mark of the first half.
The St. Marys defense forced its first three-and-out on the next Wapak possession, giving the ball back to the red hot offense. Taylor made the most of the opportunity as he hooked up with Aaron Homan for a 38-yard gain to the Wapak 16. Three plays later Taylor bulled his way into the endzone from one yard out. Adkins made it three-for-three for a 21-14 lead with 4:05 left in the half.
The game’s first turnover set up another second quarter touchdown for the Roughriders, who recovered a Redskin fumble at their own 46 yard line. From there it took just two plays, including a 15-yard pass to Matt Watkins and a 31-yard touchdown run by Martin. This time Adkins’ kick sailed wide right giving the Riders a 27-14 lead with 2:53 left in the half.
But Wapak was not ready for intermission. A 20-yard run by Logan Erb and three completions by Lambert got the Skins into field goal position and Dripps booted a 27-yarder as time ran out in the first half with the the Riders leading 27-17.
St. Marys scored on its first possession of the second half to take control of the game. Four consecutive first downs helped the Riders find paydirt as Taylor completed a 16-yard pass to Derek Freewalt, handed off to Frey for 11 yards, passed to Tyler Menker for 13 yards and handed off to Frey for a 14-yard touchdown run. Adkins again missed the kick, giving the Riders a 33-17 margin with 7:33 left in the third quarter.
After trading punts, the Riders got more breathing room with a touchdown early in the fourth quarter. This time it was Frey going in untouched from 20 yards out. Adkins was good with the kick and the Riders led 40-17 with 8:14 left in the game.
After the third Wapak punt of the second half, the Riders appeared to launch a game-ending drive in the remaining minutes of the game. With several new faces in the offensive backfield, the Riders drove 65 yards in 13 plays, scoring on a Cody Martin seven-yard run with just nine seconds left. Adkins finished the night four of seven in PATS as he missed the kick.
Wapak wanted to pad its score as well as Lambert hit Jason Bartlett on a 65-yard fly pattern for a touchdown as time ran out to make the final score 46-23.
That play helped the Redskins finish the game with 318 yards of total offense, as Lambert completed 11 of 25 passes for 151 yards. Logan Erb paced Wapak on the ground as he toted the pigskin nine times for 97 yards.
The Riders put their undefeated record on the line next week at home against Ottawa-Glandorf. The Titans improved to 3-2 overall and 3-1 the the WBL with a 42-0 victory over Elida Friday.
The St. Marys Memorial High School Alumni Foundation introduced the 2008 MHS Alumni Hall of Fame inductees to the crowd in a pregame ceremony.
Floyd Keith (Academic/Professional Achievement), Chuck Huwer (Athletic Achievement) and Ronda Shelby (Service to St. Marys City Schools) were presented plaques and had their accomplishments recognized by MHS Alumni Foundation President William Kellermeyer.
Keith's plaque was presented by 2007 MHS Hall of Fame inductee Edward Noble; Huwer's plaque was presented by 2007 MHS Hall of Fame inductee Galen Cisco, and Ronda Shelby's plaque was presented by the MHS Alumni Foundation Advisory Board Vice-President Dennis Seewer (the 2007 inductee for Service to the St. Marys City Schools was the late Eugene "Skip" Baughman).
The Alumni Foundation Hall of Fame induction ceremony and banquet is open to the public and will take place Saturday, September 20, 2008 at the St. Marys American Legion Post 323. Cocktail hour begins at 6:00 pm, with dinner and the ceremony to follow. Tickets are $25 each and are available at the door, business attire, please.
