LIMA – Sometimes in life things you want the most don’t come easy. Friday night St. Marys held off a late charge on the scoreboard from Bath to win their sixth straight game, 37-29.
“These spread offenses are hard to stop” said St. Marys head coach Bo Frye. “I thought the defense played well in crunch time.”
With St. Marys leading 37-22 and just 3:49 remaining, the Wildcats marched 77 yards down the field for a score and successful extra point attempt from quarterback Zach Welsch and wideout Logan Markley in a minutes worth of game time.
Unfortunately for Bath, the ensuing onside kick attempt was caught by St. Marys and downed inside the home side of the field. The Roughriders (8-2, 7-2) moved to the goal line on five runs from senior Dominik Osborne before taking a knee and securing their ninth straight victory against the Wildcats.
Markley, a 6’4 junior opened the scoring in the game for Bath after an interception of St. Marys signal caller Aiden Meinerding by grabbing a pass and waltzing into the endzone. Classmate Carson Myers extra point attempt was missed and Bath led 6-0 after their opening possession.
Starting the first of their six drives inside Wildcat territory, the Roughriders had no problems picking up 49 yards over eight plays and taking the lead thanks to Colton Mabry with 1:05 remaining in the first. Mabry rushed 18 times for 81 yards with a pair of scores on the night.
Aiden Meinerding pushed the lead to 14-6 St. Marys early in the second quarter on another short field drive, this time from 15 yards away on a quarterback sneak with 8:12 on the stadium scoreboard.
Mabry not only became the fourth all-time leading rusher in school history, he also pushed the visitors ahead 21-6 on a 35-yard drive and a 14-yard touchdown scamper moments later.
While the Riders threatened to run their advantage even higher after a Bath punt, the Wildcats forced and recovered a fumbled kickoff return and drove 49-yard just before the halftime clock expired. Welsch, the WBL’s second leading passer hooked up with Josiah Clark near the corner of the endzone and orchestrated a successful two-point conversion run with :07 left.
Caleb Schmidt (nine rushes, 87 yards) added to the Riders haul on the scoreboard in the second half as he raced nearly untouched past Bath defenders to run the lead up to 27-14. St. Marys added a 20-yard field goal early in the fourth from Bradey Triplett for a 30-14 score.
Bath running back Mikey Hale finished the night with just 25 yards on 10 rushes on the night, but rushed in from nine yards away for his lone score of the game. QB Zach Welsch’s two-point conversion run trimmed the host deficit to 30-22 with 8:56 left.
Dominik Osborne led St. Marys ground attack with 166 yards on 25 carries. Osborne surpassed 1,000 yards rushing for the second straight year in the first quarter and crossed the goal line with just 3:55 remaining in the fourth from 23 yards to give his squad a 37-22 lead.
“Dom had a great night” said Frye. “The run he made on 3rd and long in the fourth quarter was impressive, he’s a great kid.”
St. Marys outgained Bath (5-5, 5-4) 365-332 on the evening with all of their yards coming on the ground. Bath’s Welsch ended 24/41 for 267 yards and three touchdowns with one interception.
“I’m proud of our group for finishing 8-2 in a tough WBL” finished Frye. “I thought our seniors got it done tonight, I’m proud of our group and plan to make a long run in the postseason.”
Playoff play for both teams will kick off next Friday night with St. Marys playing host to a yet too be determined squad at Grand Lake Health Systems Field, while Bath will likely be on the road in the first round.