SKIP BAUGHMAN STADIUM -- The football Roughriders avenged last year's season-opening loss at Sidney by pulling out a 13-7 nail-biter over the Yellowjackets to begin the 2010 football campaign.
On a perfect night for the sport of giants, the home team started out less than perfectly, turning over their first two possessions of the game by fumble. After losing three fumbles in the Chicken Bowl scrimmage a week earlier, it was cause for offensive alarm.
The Rider defense answered the alarm by shutting down the first two 'Jacket drives, bringing the end of the first quarter to a scoreless tie.
2009 standout Rider running back Kyle Puschel played the first series, but did not return until late in the game after a 12-yard punt return in the first quarter.
Seth Springer, Trey Sherman, Mitch Newbauer and sophomore Dustin Fisher all saw first-quarter action in Puschel's absense, and were successful in moving the ball until the drive-ending turnovers.
The Riders took their first second-quarter possession down to the Sidney 21 yard line, but the drive stalled there when T.J. Powell's 4th-and-7 pass fell incomplete.
Sidney took over at their own 21 and mounted what turned out to be their only scoring drive of the game. Rushes by Adam Neff, Aaron Burns and R.J. Hines took the 'Jackets to the Rider 27, where two key passes kept the drive alive. The second was a 13-yard pass to Cole Palmer for a touchdown, with 3:25 left on the first-half clock. Palmer then kicked the point after and the Yellowjackets had a 7-0 lead.
After the kickoff, St. Marys started at their own 23 yard line and nearly succeeded in driving the length of the field to reply. Runs by Fisher, Sherman and Springer moved into Sidney territory with 18 seconds remaining in the half. Following an incomplete halfback pass by Dustin Fisher, he answered the call on the next play for a 30 sprint to the nine yard line. A Rider time-out stopped the clock at 5 seconds, but on first and goal, T.J. Powell's pass to the end zone was incomplete as time expired. Sidney took its 7-0 lead into the locker room at the half.
On the Riders' first kickoff of the season, Tyler Albert surprised the 'Jackets with a squib kick to the Sidney 30. The Rider shockers did their job almost too well, and the fans on both sides of the field were concerned for a few minutes for the condition of the Sidney player who took a wicked hit from the downfield coverage. The Riders recovered the fumbled kickoff and the second half started out with promise on the Sidney 37 yard line.
Two runs out of the I-formation led to a tackle for a loss and a fourth down sweep for no gain to break the promise, as Riders turned the ball over on downs.
Both defenses stepped up in the third quarter. Sidney and St. Marys exchanged punts, and early in the fourth quarter Sidney was forced to punt again from deep in their own territory.
The Riders started the ensuing drive with a nice 13-yard run by Springer, but quickly seemed to stall out with a motion penalty and a stop for no gain. On 4th-and-8, a pass interference penalty called on the Yellowjackets gave the Riders new life with a first down on the Sidney 17 yard line. Two plays later, Dustin Fisher broke through the middle for 14 yards and the first Roughrider touchdown of 2010. It was run out of the wing-T, possibly the first time the formation was used in the game.
Tyler Albert's extra point kick tied the score at 7-7 with 7:20 remaining in the game.
Sidney moved the ball to midfield on the ensuing possession, but on fourth down and one the Rider defense stuffed the run for a one yard loss, St. Marys took the ball back on downs at their own 49.
Dustin Fisher, perhaps sensing that he was close to 100 yards rushing, would not be denied. Fisher runs of nine, nine and six yards, and a Mitch Newbauer 11-yard sweep and 2-yard dive, set up second down and eight for the Riders, on the Sidney 15 yard line, with 36 seconds left in the game. It may not have been a decoy play, but head coach Mark Hollars sent Kyle Puschel into the game for the first time since the first quarter. Decoy or not, Fisher took the handoff and ran like a beast up the middle for a 15-yard touchdown and the lead. Albert's PAT kick narrowly missed, and the score stood St. Marys 13, Sidney 7, with 27 seconds left to play.
The Yellowjackets managed a last-minute first down, but the game ended with an incomplete Sidney pass thrown from the St. Marys 44 yard line.
Sophomore Dustin Fisher's debut racked up an impressive 130 yards rushing on 18 carries. St. Marys rolled up 325 total yards, all rushing, on 56 offensive plays, compared to Sidney's 171 yards on 40 plays.
Sidney returns home to face Bellefontaine next Friday. Bellefontaine is also 0-1 after losing 42-10 to the visiting Wapakoneta Redskins tonight.
The Roughriders take the road to Elida next week. Elida is also 1-0 after winning 15-7 at Liberty Benton.
The WBL turned around its poor opening record in 2009. Only three WBL teams won their first game last year, and only three lost tonight. See all the league scores by clicking the "Standings" link above.
