| by ridertown.com
WAPAKONETA, OHIO - The visiting Roughriders fought a stingy Redskin defense for most of the game, before breaking it open with some big plays in the third quarter, to claim their second win and first WBL victory of the season, 13-0.
The defenses came to play on a great Friday night for football in front of a big crowd at Harmon Field. Following heavy rains in the afternoon the skies cleared by gametime, although the field remained a little soft and slippery in spots.
Despite enjoying good field position more than once, each team failed to score as the front line defenses stymied the offenses throughout the first two quarters.
Both the Riders and the Skins had to punt four times, and neither team gained 100 yards total offense in the first half.
St. Marys took the opening kickoff with Dustin Alexander returning the ball out to the 39 yard line. But after mustering a first down, the Riders had to punt after moving the ball only out to midfield.
Kill's punt rolled all the way down to the Wapak 8 yard line, and the Skins were pinned deep. A couple of passes by quarterback Justin Wireman netted two first downs, but their drive fizzled out at their own 38 after Adam Yahl stuffed a run at the line of scrimmage and Jon Doenges' tight pass coverage forced an incomplete pass on third and nine.
But the teams traded unexciting possessions the rest of the half. Neither team got past atheir opponent's 30 yard line in the first stanza.
The Riders kicked off to begin the second half, and Wapak's Schroeder ran it out to midfield only to be tackled by the last Rider defender, the kicker Steven Kill, and it looked like Wapak came out of the locker room with the momentum.
Mike Nagel ran a big sweep to the St. Marys 34 for a key first down and the 'Skins were on their way - or so it appeared. But three plays later Nagel had the ball punched loose and the Riders' Kyle Brewer came up with the game-busting play, scooping up the rock and running it back to the Wapak 42 for the first turnover of the game.
A couple of short gainers set up the patented wingback counter play -- wait-a minute, make that a FAKE counter! which Nate Homan ran a big 15 yards on a third and 8 for a first down on the 25. Two dives to Kill netted 12 and three yards, respectively, and Homan finished off the drive with a ten yard run for the crucial score.
Kill's PAT kick was good to give the Riders a 7-0 lead.
Wapak advanced the ball on the ensuing possession out to their own 42 but were forced to punt from there. Nate Homan had a spectacular return back to the Wapak 5 called back on a clipping call, which left the Riders with the ball on their own 19 - a 76-yard penalty.
But the Riders stuck with it, slugging the ball out to the 35 until lightning struck. Stephen Kill took the handoff on a counter play and sprinted for 65 yards and a second TD. A winded Kill saw his PAT kick blocked, but the Riders stood atop a 13-0 score with a minute and a half left in the third quarter.
Wapak's next possession lasted but one play. On first down, Wapakoneta QB Justin Wireman launched a deep pass to Brent Brunfield that was intercepted and run back to the St. Marys 32 by Dustin Alexander, and the handwriting was on the wall.
Wapak brought in senior quarterback Travis Sensabaugh in the fourth quarter, and he sparked their offense to their only real scoring threat of the game. On a midfield second down pass play he connected with Brumfield, who broke a tackle and ran the ball all the way down to the St. Marys 3 yard line. But the Rider D rose to the challenge and kept the 'Skins out of the end zone, with the help of Wapak's only penalty of the game, a five-yard illegal procedure penalty moving the ball out to the 7 yard line. A complete pass on fourth down to Erb was stopped inside the one to preserve the shutout.
The Riders held on to the ball the remaining 7 minutes of the game to improve their road and season records to 2-0. Wapakoneta falls to 0-2.
Tyler Sampson completed 3 of 4 passes, all in the first half for 23 yards. Stephen Kill was the game-leading rusher tonight, carrying the pill 14 times for 113 yards. Nate Homan went 12 for 43, Ty Dingledine got the call 13 times for 25 tough yards and QB Tyler Sampson rushed 10 times for 44 yards, mostly in the final series.
Wapak threw l6 passes for 117 yards and ran 31 plays for 63 yards for a total offense of 180 yards.
St. Marys ran the ball 47 times for 224 yards and passed 4 times for another 23, for a total of 247 yards offense on the game.
The Riders continue their road trip next week, traveling to Ottawa to take on the O-G Titans.
|
