by ridertown.com
SIDNEY, OHIO - With a crucial 80-yard drive to open the fourth quarter, St. Marys was able to erase a 13-12 halftime deficit and hand the Sidney Yellowjackets a 26-13 season-opening setback Friday at Julia Lamb Stadium.
Senior Nathan Homan led the Rider attack with 142 unofficial yards rushing and senior quarterback Tyler Sampson connected with junior tight end Matt Schlater for 39 yards and two scores.
On a warm, early-season night for football, the Roughriders looked to take control of the game right away. St. Marys' Dustin Alexander returned the opening kickoff to the St. Marys 31 yard line and the Riders finished the job, running eleven plays to the end zone for the first score of the game with 7:35 remaining in the quarter. Stephen Kill's extra point attempt sailed wide left but the Riders had a 6-0 lead.
The Yellowjackets responded on their first possession with a drive of their own. Tom Goffena returned the kickoff out to midfield, and the 'Jackets took nine plays to cross the goal line. Brandon Koester kicked the PAT to give the Yellowjackets the lead at 7-6 with 2:56 left in the quarter.
The teams traded possessions until Nathan Homan returned a punt to the 46 yard line to give the Riders excellent field possession. Homan and fullback Ty Dingledine took turns running the ball down to the Sidney 26. Then on a first down play quarterback Tyler Sampson found a wide-open Matt Schlater in the flat. Schlater proceeded to rumble into the end zone past two Sidney defensive backs, who thought better of challenging the big tight end.
The point after touchdown run failed to leave St. Marys with a 12-7 lead with 5:40 remaining in the half.
After trading the ball the next two possessions, it was Sidney's turn to take advantage of field position. Steven Kill, forced to punt out of his own end zone, wobbled it out only to the St. Marys' 36. Rushes by Tom Goffena and Brandon Jones took it the rest of the way in 6 plays, with Jones scoring on an eight-yard run with 41 seconds left in the half.
The 'Jackets went for the three-point lead, but the two-point conversion failed and the teams went into halftime with Sidney holding a slim 13-12 edge.
Both teams came onto the field out of sync in the second half. Penalties plagued both teams as they tried to establish dominance of the running game, and neither scored in the third quarter.
But the Riders got back on track a minute into the fourth, taking the ball from their own 20 all the way on a classic Roughrider drive that chewed up over five minutes of the clock. The big play again was a 13-yard pass from Sampson to Schlater on a key third-and-seven play to put St. Marys in scoring position. Nate Homan slashed in from two yards out to give the Riders the lead for good.
The two point PAT failed, but St. Marys led by an 18-13 count.
Sidney tried to mount a responding drive, but suffered execution problems in the form of two fumbles, the second of which was recovered by St. Marys' Adam Yahl at the St. Marys 40 yard line with only 4:45 left in the game.
The back trio of Homan, Dingledine and Kill marched the Riders down the field to the last and decisive score, a 16-yard Homan touchdown scamper. Sampson found Schlater in the end zone for the two points after TD to close the scoring at 26-13.
Sidney's last chance to score was thwarted by Adam Chiles' midfield interception with just over a minute to play, and the visitors ran out the clock to seal the deal.
St. Marys out-rushed Sidney 234 yards to 168, and out-passed them 62 yards to 16. Tom Goffena led the 'Jackets with 61 yards on 17 carries. The Riders' Dingledine added 73 yards rushing on 18 carries to Homan's team-leading 142, and Kill ran for 27 yards and caught a pass for another 13.
The Riders travel to Wapakoneta to ruin the Redskins second home game next week. The 0-1 'Skins lost a close one to Bellefontaine Friday, 17-14.
|