| by ridertown.com
DEFIANCE, OHIO - The undefeated and top ranked Defiance Bulldogs nailed down the Western Buckeye League title in style Friday night at Fred J. Brown Stadium with a 38-21 victory over St. Marys
The Roughriders' slim hope of a share of the title went up in flames in the first half when the Bulldog quarterback Drew Price torched the Rider secondary for 190 yards and three touchdowns.
St. Marys slipped to 6-3 on the season and will return home next week to finish the season against Wapakoneta, where a win still might qualify the Riders for the Division III playoffs.
With 270 yards of total offense in the first half, the Bulldogs were able to post a 27-7 halftime lead. In the all-important opening minutes of the third quarter, things went from ugly to grotesque for the Riders.
The opening drive of the second half netted minus 11 yards for St. Marys. And to add insult to injury, Stephen Kill's punt was blocked and recovered at the St. Marys 12 yard line.
Two plays later Eric Styer busted in from the five yard line, followed by a two-point conversion for a 35-7 lead with nine minutes left in the third quarter.
The Riders' next drive was thwarted with a procedure penalty on a fourth down quarterback sneak play. St. Marys was whistled for seven illegal procedure penalties in the game.
The Roughriders finally came to life, both offensively and defensively late in the third quarter, but it was too late to make a game of it.
A 41-yard run by Kill set up a one-yard touchdown by Tyler Sampson with 2:53 left in the third quarter.
Defiance answered with another scoring drive that ended in a 27-yard field goal by John Mendez with 9:20 left to play.
The Riders moved the ball well again, as Kill scored on a counter play from 47 yards out, and Dusty Dircksen booted his third extra point, cutting the deficit to 38-21 .
But that was the end of the scoring as the Bulldogs held of for their second WBL title in three years.
As the statistics indicated, Defiance did most of its early damage through the air. Price threw an eight-yard pass to Brock Dodrill as the first quarter came to an end to get the scoring started.
A good kickoff return by Nathan Homan gave the Riders their only good field position of the first half, as they started at the Defiance 43 and drove 57 yards. Eli Holsinger carried the last eight yards to tie the score -- briefly.
On the very next play from scrimmage, Price tossed a 68-yard TD pass to a wide open Derek Lynn.
The Riders went three-and out on their next possession, , setting up a 54-yard Defiance scoring drive to give the Bulldogs a 21-7 lead with two minutes left in the half.
The Rider's next possession went nowhere fast, as Kill punted with 51 seconds left. Two plays later Price tossed a 49-yard touchdown pass to Brian Brown to put the Dogs up 27-7 at the intermission.
The Riders finished with 306 yards total offense, compared to 400 for Defiance. Price threw for 241 yards, completing 13 of 17 passes. At one point spanning the second and third quarters, Price completed 10 consecutive passes.
The St. Marys passing attack was not nearly as efficient. Tyler Sampson completed just four of 15 passes for 58 yards. Kill finished with 130 yards rushing on 14 carries to pace the Rider offense. Homan added 90 yards on 11 carries , while Holsinger was held to 52 yards on 14 carries. |
