ST. MARYS – Last week the St. Marys offense found a new gear and raced past rival Celina, this week the Roughriders continued to outrun teams in green on their homefield as they dispatched visiting Greenville 56-21 to advance in the OHSAA playoffs.
The Riders suddenly surging offensive attack took eight plays to get ahead on the scoreboard on Friday evening thanks to a Gavin Reineke touchdown run from a yard out for a 7-0 lead with 8:32. Reineke would be the biggest story of the night later in the quarter as he directed the offense to the promised land through the air.
Starting deep in Green Wave territory thanks to a fumble recovery by lineman Trace Mabry, the Riders again wasted no time adding to their lead as Dylan Trogdlon raced 36 yards into the endzone for his fourth score of the season and a 14-0 lead just under a minute and a half since the Reineke score.
Hunter Fultz became the second of the Roughriders defensive line to scoop up a loose ball on the Grand Lake Health Field turf on the next Greenville possession before the WBL’s regular season rushing leader Aiden Hinkle rumbled for a 33 yard score and a 21-0 advantage with 5:01 before the quarter break.
Ross Henschen missed a handful of games due to injury for St. Marys but returned on this night and immediately showcased his speed as he picked up a 12 yard gain on first down on his teams fourth possession of the quarter. Tanner Howell moved the football from one end of the field to the other in a flurry and nearly into the endzone for a score on the very next play as he picked up 70 yards to the Green Wave five.
With 1:45 remaining in the opening stanza the Riders put their first score through the air on the scoreboard and ran their lead up to 28-0 as Gavin Reineke rolled out and connected with Trogdlon for a five yard score.
Despite the Green Wave being able to move the football on their fourth possession of the first half they would be forced to punt and pin the Riders at their own 21 early in the second quarter. Unfortunately for the visitors the Roughriders again had an answer as they picked up a trio of first downs and a 15 yard scoring strike from Reineke to Tanner Howell for a 35-0 lead.
Reineke joined an exclusive club of passers in St. Marys lore on his teams next possession as he connected on a pass down the middle with Ryan Meier to up the lead to 42-0 with 6:02 before the halftime stoppage and became the 10th player and 12th time in school history to toss three scores in a single game.
The only time St. Marys did not score in the first half on their possessions was on their last time on the offensive end as Spencer Trogdlon couldn’t connect on a 35 yard field goal try.
Leading 42-0 at halftime the Roughriders put a quick stop to Greenville’s first possession of the third quarter and added to their own lead as Trogdlon notched his third score of the night, a 47 yard jaunt for a 49-0 lead at 8:06 that occurred with a running clock already in place thanks to the big lead.
Though the Riders had already begun to substitute out their starters and key reserves, the Green Wave refused to give up with their starting lineup and marched 80 yards for their first score on the ground as Logan Sibery scored his first rushing touchdown of the season. St. Marys blocked the ensuing extra point to keep the lead at 49-6 with 4:27 remaining in the third quarter.
Ten plays and 71 yards for the St. Marys backups finished the drive with a touchdown run from QB Jaden Lotz from three yards out on a sneak and into the endzone to make it a 56-6 game early in the fourth.
Greenville’s best drive of the game ended with 6:20 left in the contest with a score and a successful two-point conversion attempt on a rush by QB Hayden Bush and a back corner toss to Million Bryant for a 56-14 score.
A fumble by St. Marys freshman QB Cody Wallace and a 45 yard scoop and score by Green Wave linebacker Khale Donthnier provided the final marker of the game with 3:41 remaining for the final of a 56-21 St. Marys win.
Greenville (0-7) has one game remaining this season on their schedule as they will play Fairborn on October 30th.
St. Marys (5-2) will host Franklin next Friday night at Grand Lake Health Field in St. Marys in the second round of the OHSAA playoffs with a kickoff at 7:00 P.M. in a rematch of a second round contest from last year that saw the Roughriders emerge victorious 14-10 at Franklin in last seasons playoffs.
On the evening the Riders rolled up a season high 568 yards of total offense with 41 rushes for 400 yards. St. Marys was led on the ground by Dylan Trogdlon’s three carries for 89 yards and a score while Reineke finished 8/11 for 168 yards and the school record tying three touchdown passes.