By David Stilwell
ridertown.com
ST. MARYS, OHIO - It was ball-control offense at its best, as St. Marys ran off a school record 75 rushing plays and record 81 total offensive plays in its 56-33 victory over Sidney Friday.
The records started falling early Friday at Skip Baughman Stadium, as St. Marys junior Dustin Alexander returned the season-opening kickoff 99 yards to pay dirt.
Out of the Run-and-Shoot offense, the young Yellow Jackets put up a valiant effort in the first half, trailing by just one point (21-20) at intermission. But the two-platoon Roughriders wore down the visitors in the second half, clearly commanding the line of scrimmage.
With just 44 players on their roster, the Jackets started seven players on both sides of the ball, while the Riders pretty much stuck to a two-platoon system.
"I definitely thought that was a factor, especially in the second half," St. Marys Coach Doug Frye said. "If you're a young man in St. Marys on the football team, you're going to have an opportunity to play."
"That's a luxury they have, being able to play fresh people on both sides of the ball," Sidney Coach Matt Kemper said. "But that's something we have to work at and be prepared for all year. I don't think it was a matter of conditioning. When it came right down to it, their tanks were bigger and faster than ours."
The 2000 season got off to a fast and furious start as each team scored twice in the first quarter. Following Alexander's kick return, Sidney anserwed quickly as junior quarterback Chris Reed scored on a nifty 52-yard keeper.
St. Marys answered on its next possession with a 72-yard, 12-paly scoring drive (all on the ground), capped off by a Tyler Sampson 1-yard sneak with 5:38 left in the opening quarter. Dusty Dirksen, who was eight-for-eight in PATs Friday, booted the extgra point for a 14-7 lead.
Again the Jackets weren't intimidated. Mixing the pass and run effectively, Sidney tied the game with 35 seconds left to play in the second quarter on afive-yard pass from Reed to Josh Ross.
Following the first punt of the game, St. Marys took advantage of a Sidney fumble and marched 54 yard in 13 plays to take a 21-14 lead. This time it was Nate Homan going over from two yards out.
The Jackets would answer once again before half. On a fourth-and-11 play from the St. Marys 34, Sidney spread three receivers out to the right and then Reed threw back to the left to a wide open Bryan King in the end zone. But the Jackets bid to tie the game failed when Alexander blocked the PAT.
"We're young, and I thought we played our hearts out, especially in the first half," Kemper said. "In the second half there was no real adjusting. They (St. Marys) did exactly what we thought they would do. I just think their age and size took over."
The second half may have reminded the Roughrider faithful of the early 90's, as St. Marys dominated with a punishing ground attack. Holsinger began to take control of the game, ripping off 7-10 yard gains each time he touched the ball.
For Frye the key to the domination was a crucial four-and-out defensive stand on Sidney's first possession of the third quarter.
"The key to the football game was the stop our defense had to start the second halt," he said. "I thought that was the turning point of the game."
The defense gave the Riders great possession on their first series of the second half, and St. Marys wasted little time as Eli Holsinger appeared to score on a 50-yard run. Holsinger was aided by a great block from Sampson, who inexplicably was flagged for a block-below -the-waist, calling the run back.
No matter, five plays later Homan made a nice cut-back on a sweep and scored from four yards out to put the Riders up 28-20.
Following another Sidney punt, St. Marys made the score 35-20 on another short run by Homan. The big play of the drive was a 22-yard counter by Stephen Kill, who cut back against the grain for a nice pick-up.
Sidney kept its hopes alive on its next possession, as Reed dumped a short pass across the middle to Bryan King, who broke two sure tackles and rambled 45 yards for a touchdown, The two-point conversion attempt failed, as the Riders hung on to a 35-26 lead.
The Riders responed on their next series. With a third-and-one from the Sidney 29, The Riders went for a first down on a sneak to Sampson. However, running behind the excellent blocking of All-WBL center Jim Bills, Sampson busted through the line and went 29 yards to pay dirt.
Following a Sidney punt, St. Mary put the game on ice with another long drive. This time it was Kill going over from four yards out for a 49-26 lead.
Holsinger added a little icing. Following an interception by John Doenges, Holsinger ripped off a 65-yard scoring jaunt with 1:39 left to play.
Sidney added a TD on the Riders' second-string defense with 27 seconds left to play to make the final 56-33.
The Riders finished with 493 yards rushing, led by Holsinger's 239. Kill added 98 yards on 19 carries, while Homan tallied 94 yards on 15 carries.
"I'm really proud of the way the offensive line played tonight," Frye said. "All too often people look at the stats and see the running backs. I look at the stats and see the offensive line and credit the kids in the trenches and the coaches who prepared them -- Coach Scott Schulte and Coach Dennis Vossler."
There is still room for improvement, as the Riders gave up 396 yards on defense, including 174 yards passing.
"The game of football has changed, and we're going to see the ball in the air a lot more like we did tonight," Frye said. "I think a football team has the best opportunity to improve from the first week to the second, so we're going to see how much better we can get next week , and then work on getting better each week after that."
The Western Buckeye League season gets undercway next Friday, as the Riders are home against Ottawa-Glandorf. The Titans had their own offensive explosion Friday, thumping Paulding 70-0. |
