ST. HENRY – History was made in more than one way on Friday night in the first all-time meeting between St. Henry and St. Marys, won 17-0 by the host Redskins.
Held to just 131 total yards on offense, the Roughriders found themselves on the wrong end of a shutout for the first time since a 47-0 setback on October 25th of a 2013 season that saw the team finish 0-10.
Five punts opened up the contest before the Redskins found themselves with their third possession starting at midfield. Sophomore quarterback Charlie Werling, making his first career start led St. Henry down the field for a score utilizing his arm and his legs.
Starting with 3:18 left in the first period the Redskins worked their way to the goal line for a nine yard jaunt by Werling to take the lead with 9:32 remaining before the half.
St. Marys utilized 13 plays of their own on their next drive into Redskin territory but were forced to punt as the strong host defense forced a pair of Cody Wallace incompletions.
Werling struck again with 1:10 to go in the second quarter from a yard out after hooking up on a front corner endzone throw with classmate Carter Laguire for a first down of 34 yards to push the advantage to 14-0.
Similarly to their first scoring drive the Redskins ran their tally to 17-0 on a five plus minute drive that opened the second half on a make from 28 yards away by junior Mike Gonzalez.
One highlight for the Roughriders in the second half came defensively on the next St. Henry possession as Kevin Perry raced around the end of the Redskins field goal attempt and connected on a diving block to keep the deficit from rising.
In the second half the Riders were forced into four straight three and out possessions that totaled just 3:04 in length before a final drive that ended with four consecutive incompletions despite a 44 yard connection from Wallace to Noah Dixon for a first down.
St. Henry outgained the Roughriders 299-131 offensively and held the blue and gold to just 71 rushing yards on 31 carries while forcing punter Jacob Kessler to send away eight offerings.
Charlie Werling connected on 8/17 for 124 yards through the air while gaining 129 yards on 26 carries and two touchdowns on the ground for the victorious Redskins.
Next up for St. Marys (0-1) is a Friday night trip across Grand Lake to Celina where they will take on the 0-1 Bulldogs in the Battle of Grand Lake.
St. Henry will attempt to kick off their season 2-0 for the first time since 2018 when Friday as well when they travel north to Archbold to battle the Blue Streaks.
“We didn’t execute tonight and that’s 100% on me” remarked St. Marys coach Bo Frye after the game.
Scoring:
SH 9:32 2nd – Ryan Werling 9 yard td run (7-0)
SH 1:10 2nd – Ryan Werling 1 yard td run (14-0)
SH 6:17 3rd – Mike Gonzalez 28 yard FG (17-0)