By Chris Botkin
ridertown.com
VAN WERT, OHIO - The St. Marys defense gave its battle-weary offense enough time to find itself tonight, and was rewarded with a classic 14-play Roughrider drive in the fourth quarter to wrest the game from a determined Van Wert team. Both teams traded quick-hit touchdowns in the second quarter and the Riders bent to allow a 38-yard field goal before the half, but ball control and a bone-wearying defense win the day in the second half.
The game started where the Riders left off last week against Ottawa-Glandorf; with penalties and miscues threatening to derail the game early. St. Marys first drive stalled after a pressured QB Tyler Sampson missed an open Steven Kill on the game's first pass play on third and four at midfield.
The Cougars took over after Kill's punt at their own 26 yard line and proceeded to march 9 plays down the field to the St. Marys 12. But on first down, running back Steve Sauer fumbled a pitchout and the Riders recovered at the 15 for the first big break of the game.
After gaining only 5 yards on three running plays, the Riders caught another break when Cougar Nathan Laudick fumbled Kill's punt near midfield. Taking over at the St. Marys 46, the Riders gained a couple of first downs on the ground to move the ball to the Van Wert 30. But an illegal procedure penalty, a Sampson sack on a broken play and a stuffed run up the middle for no gain looked to end the drive as time ran out in the first quarter.
The second quarter began with a 3rd and 21 call. Sampson rolled out to pass but had to scramble to avoid Cougar pressure. In the delay, Nathan Homan came free in the secondary and Sampson hit him for a 41-yard touchdown, while the Van Wert coaches screamed at the officials to no avail. Dusty Dircksen hit the PAT and the Riders took the first lead of the game, 7-0.
Unfortunately, it was one of the shortest leads in history. Seconds later, Van Wert speedster Josh Greve took the first-down handoff, broke a couple of tackles at the line and was gone for a 66-yard touchdown. Luke Wilder nailed the PAT and the game was tied just like that, 7-7.
The Riders' next possession was snuffed out by an offsides penalty followed by a 9-yard sack, and Van Wert immediately went back to work. The Cougars put together another nine-play drive to advance the ball to the St. Marys 15. Then D rose to the challenge, stuffing Sauer for a yard loss and knocking down a pass at the goal line (nice work Andy Fischbach). But Wilder, one of the premier kickers in the state, had no trouble with the 38-yard field goal to give the Cougars their first lead of the game, 10-7.
Wilder put the ensuing kickoff into the end zone, giving St. Marys the ball at the 20. Two stuffed runs led up to Nathan Homan fumbling the ball away at the 20 yard line, and Van Wert was in business again. Again, the defense put the screws on in a stand that was capped off by Jon Doenges' interception at the goal line and run out to the 5 with 2:02 left in the half. The Riders managed to run out the clock and go to the locker room only down three after dodging two bullets.
The second half belonged to Roughrider D. Van Wert never saw the red zone and only advanced as far as the St. Marys 30 once after intercepting a pass at the St. Marys 38.
While the Cougars were wearing down, the Rider offense was collecting itself, and seemed to improve with every possession. The key was avoiding mistakes, particularly penalties. Three consecutive motion penalties killed the Riders first possession of the second half. The second possession was three and out. A holding call killed their third possession. But the fourth possession, beginning with 10:19 left in the game, was a thing of beauty.
Rider offense rose like a phoenix, finally, and mounted a 14-play, 69-yard drive that ate up over four minutes of the fourth quarter. QB Sampson was forced to scramble a couple of times but gained 12 and 3 yards, respectively. His lone pass of the possession was complete to Tyler Slone for a first down. Kill broke a nice 13-yard run up the middle and Nathan Homan punched it in the end zone from two yards out to finish it off. Dusty Dircksen connected on the PAT and the Riders took the lead back for good, 14-10.
The Cougars began moving the ball on the ground, and then after a first down decided to try to pass. The Riders took over on downs the next two Cougar possessions.
The second such was a desperation play on 4th-and-10 from their own 13 yard line. The Rider D snuffed out a quarterback keeper after a one-yard gain and took over on the 14 with 2:06 left in the game. Sampson ran quarterback sneaks to run out the clock, but surprise! the second sneak went 11 yards into the end zone for the Riders' final score. Final score: St. Marys 20, Van Wert 10.
Ty Dingledine did a workmanlike job filling in for the injured Eli Holsinger, gaining 38 yards on 14 tough carries. Kill gained 56 yards on 18 carries, and Homan ran for 70 yards on 18 carries, unofficially.
The Riders remain on the road next week, taking on the Indians at Shawnee.
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