| by ridertown.com
ST. MARYS, OHIO - Members of the 1990 St. Marys Roughrider football team brought back State Championship memories as they were introduced prior to the game.
On the field, the 2000 version of the Roughriders also reminded fans of past State Championships as they dominated the Celina Bulldogs 34-24 Friday at Skip Baughman Stadium.
The Riders rolled up over 500 yards of offense, including 256 yards of rushing from senior fullback Eli Holsinger and 146 yards rushing by Stephen Kill.
"We didn't play very good defense all night," Celina coach Micah Fell said. "But I give all the credit to St. Marys. They blocked hard. They ran hard and at times they ran over us."
"We played with great heart, but we still need to eliminate some mistakes." St. Marys coach Doug Frye said. "We had some trouble putting them away."
The score doesn't really reflect the Riders domination, as a few big plays by the Dogs, and some timely St. Marys mistakes evened things out.
In the first half, Jon Derryberry's officiating crew tried to keep Celina in the game. The Riders were whistled for holding penalties on several long runs, including one touchdown that was called back. The eagle-eyed refs whistled the Riders for 80 yards of penalties in the first half alone.
Celina's best defensive stand came on St. Marys' first possession, as the Riders turned the ball over on downs on their first possession of the game.
The Dogs scored first as running back Derrick Kuhn did most of the damage on a drive that ended in a 36-yard field goal off the toe of Matt Zimmerman.
The field goal was like a wake-up call for the Rider offense, which put together a very impressive five minutes, scoring three touchdowns, and appearing to take control of the game.
St. Marys went 80 yards on its first scoring drive, overcoming a clipping penalty along the way. Kill's 52-yard gain set up a three-yard burst by Nathan Home to give the Riders the lead.
The Riders came out firing, throwing two passes early and running quick-count snaps all night long.
"We have a good junior quarterback who is beginning to step up his game," Frye nodded when asked if the early passes were part of the game plan. "And the quick counts were part of the plan, too. We were trying to take it to them tonight."
Kyle Brewer scooped up a Celina fumble on the Dogs' very next play from scrimmage, and 21 seconds after Homan had scored, Holsinger ripped off a 41-yard touchdown romp. Dusty Dircksen added the extra point to give the Riders a 14-3 lead with 1:20 left in the first quarter.
After a good kickoff return, the Bulldogs went four-plays-and-out, and the Riders were back in business.
Despite another one of those strange holding calls, the Riders were able to drive 49 yards in seven plays, as Holsinger scored from 24 yards out and Dircksen booted the extra-point for a 21-3 lead.
Celina's next drive ended in a punt after just three plays, and it appeared the Riders were going for the jugular.
But Kill's 21-yard touchdown run was called back because of a -- you guessed it -- a holding penalty. The Rider drive stalled inside the five when Tyler Sampson's completion to Homan came up a few yards short.
Celina got back in the game quickly on a 96-yard run by Curtis Mosier, a play that was not aided by a blatant hold that did not happen right in front of an official near the Rider's bench and was not seen by hundreds of outraged Rider fans.
Dustin Alexander's 48-yard kickoff return gave the Riders a short field for their next score. This time Holsinger crossed the goal line from four yards out. A high snap foiled the PAT.
But Celina just would not go away. Returning the kick inside the St. Marys 35, Bulldog quarterback Nick Dysert tossed a 30-yard strike to Kuhn to pull the Dogs to within 10 points at half-time.
"We never quit," Fell said. "We played as hard as we could for as long as we could."
Frye agreed. "Micah Fell is an excellent coach, and Celina [fans] can expect a lot of success to come from his program."
To start the second half, St. Marys again appeared to be poised to blow the Dogs back across Lake St. Marys, but a fumble by Holsinger on a long gain, turned the ball back over to the Celina offense.
The Dogs converted a crucial fourth down when St. Marys jumped offside and went on to score on a one-yard run by Kuhn with 4:02 left in the third quarter.
The Riders had to punt for their first and only time of the game on their next possession, but the defense held firm, as Tyler Slone intercepted a wayward Dysert toss and returned it to the Celina 24.
From there, it was Holsinger and a cloud of vaporized Bulldogs. Sampson went the final two yards on a sneak to put the Riders back up by 10 points and end the scoring for the night.
The Bulldogs had one more opportunity, but a 27-yard field goal attempt was wide right, and the Riders were able to run the clock out to preserve the 34-24 win.
"I consider it an honor to coach in this game tonight," Frye said of the ten-year championship reunion. "Some of the 1990 players were in the locker room before the game and that definitely added to our players' motivation. But honestly, I don't know if you need extra motivation for the Celina game."
The Riders improved to 6-2 with the win, while the Bulldogs suffered their fourth straight loss and are now 4-4.
Defiance clinched at least a share of the WBL title with a 45-21 win over Wapak Friday. The Riders travel to No. 1 Defiance next Friday, and finish the season at home the following week against Wapak. |
