ST. MARYS – St. Marys rushed past visiting Shawnee Friday night to kick off Homecoming weekend for their third straight win, a 49-12 romp at Grand Lake Health Field.
Shawnee jumped out to a 6-0 lead on their second drive of the game late in the first quarter thanks to a JJ Spyker touchdown run but were unable to add to their opening salvo as they were stopped on a two-point conversion attempt by the Roughriders.
Three straight drives for St. Marys ended in touchdowns through the next 14 minutes beginning with Colton Mabry’s first score of the night from a yard out with 10:05 remaining in the half that gave the blue and gold a lead they would never relinquish.
Working with a short field for the second of their three straight chances after blocking a Shawnee field goal attempt the Riders used just four plays to travel 29 yards on Mabry’s second scoring jaunt, a six yard effort to run the advantage to 14-6.
Senior Carter Steinberg who had already set up a short field with a return of the blocked field goal again gave his team opponent territory to begin on the ensuing kickoff as he raced down the sideline and fielded a bounce just in front of his own bench at the Shawnee 26 with 3:36 showing before the half.
Four plays is all the Riders needed to take a 21-6 lead into the half thanks to Dominik Osborne’s one yard plunge with 2:02 remaining.
Shawnee threatened to cut the lead before the break thanks to a third down conversion an a pair of first downs but were unsuccessful as four straight passes fell to the turf harmlessly for a turnover on downs.
Three drives and three scores opened the second half of play for St. Marys with all three coming on the ground. Senior Kevin Perry found his first touchdown of the season on the first drive of the second half as he capped off an 11-play drive that covered 68 yards with an eight yard rush into the endzone.
Sandwiched between the first two scores for the host was the lone second half marker for the visitors that saw a 40-yard pass reception set up a 23-yard score just two plays later from QB JJ Spyker to Derek Lyons. Unfortunately for the Indians they were unable to hook up on a pass for the two-point conversion and remained behind 28-12.
Cody Wallace finished off the Riders ensuing drive from a yard out for his second rushing score of the season to end a six plus minute drive over 11 plays to give his squad a 35-12 advantage.
After a Shawnee turnover on downs the Roughriders utilized just four plays to traverse 55 yards as Osborne raced straight through the heart of the Indian defense and in for a score from 35 yards away to initiate a 30-point lead and a running clock with 5:48 to go.
St. Marys final score of the evening came on the defensive end thanks to a Shawnee shotgun snap over the head of quarterback JJ Spyker and into the endzone where Hunter Mabry pounced on the ball to provide the final margin of 49-12 and the ninth straight St. Marys victory in the series.
Shawnee (0-7, 0-6) was led by Spyker’s 71 yards and a touchdown on the ground and 13/29 for 185 yards and a scoring pass through the air. Next Friday night the Indians will host 4-3 Van Wert in a week eight conference clash.
The Roughriders (3-4, 3-3) who kicked off the season by dropping their first four games of the season have now won three in a row by a combined 66 points and will travel to Robinson Field to battle the 2-5 Wildcats on Friday evening.
Dominik Osborne paced the St. Marys rushing attack with his second straight 150+ yard game of the season as he ended with 24 carries for 157 yards and a pair of scores. Colton Mabry nearly broke the 100+ mark for the fourth time but ended with a pair of touchdowns and 93 yards on 17 totes.
“We started slow and we weren’t happy about that but we were able to kick it in to gear and play football our way. We’re getting better and when we play hard physical football we’re a pretty good team. I’m proud of the way our kids responded to earn this win” said St. Marys head coach Bo Frye on his teams performance.
Before the contest St. Marys named senior Liz Schloemer as their 2023 Homecoming Queen.