ST. MARYS – Friday night at Grand Lake Health Systems Field the host Roughriders opened the game with a bang and closed it with just enough oomph to fend off visiting Ottawa Glandorf 21-16.
Celebrating the fifth anniversary of the first varsity game at the stadium and Hall of Fame Night, the Roughriders emerged from the locker room with a rocket strapped to their back.
Senior return man Jacob Kessler caught the games opening kickoff and raced 91 yards through the heart of the Ottawa Glandorf special teams unit with just :14 coming off of the clock to put the Riders ahead 6-0.
Following a Titan penalty, a decision by St. Marys head coach Bo Frye to go for two points paid off thanks to senior running back Colton Mabry who burst in to run the lead to 8-0 Roughriders.
“The opening kickoff return was well executed” said Frye. “Kessler hit the return well, it’s something we put a lot of work into in practice this week on.”
Late in the first period the visiting blue and gold charged to within 8-6 on an eight play 60-yard drive thanks to quarterback Peyton Kuhlman’s three yard jaunt but were unable to even the score as a pass on the ensuing conversion attempt was thwarted by St. Marys.
Just before the half and following an interception by the Titans, the Roughriders recovered a fumble near the goal line to give themselves one chance with no timeouts to score.
Senior runner and leading rusher Dominik Osborne’s sixth score of the season, this time from a yard away sent the hosts into the locker room ahead 15-6 after an extra point from teammate Bradey Triplett.
Jesse Ruhe, Ottawa Glandorf’s 5’6 sophomore kicker pulled the Titans closer at 15-9 in the middle of the third quarter. Ruhe’s first field goal of the season finished a drive that saw O-G pick up four first downs and move from their own 20 to the 19 of St. Marys before stalling with 6:20 to go in the quarter.
O-G’s Kuhlman ended the night 15 of 32 passing for 248 yards and a touchdown, but was unable to connect on his teams second possession of the third as he was picked off on an overthrow by St. Marys defensive back Jacob Kessler at his own 30.
St. Marys upped their advantage to 21-9 early in the fourth quarter on a Colton Mabry run to finish off a short field over nine running plays.
Starting from their own 26 with 11:18 to go, O-G utilized a balance of run and pass to pick up chunks of yardage before a streaking Ethan Metzger trimmed the Titan deficit to 21-16 when he hauled in an 18-yard strike from Kuhlman.
Metzger ended the game with four receptions for 54 yards and a score while teammate Deegan Miller hauled in half a dozen Kuhlman offerings for 102 yards.
Faced with nearly eight minutes of play remaining, the Roughriders picked up themselves chunks of yardage across midfield into O-G territory before being faced with a short fourth down that was converted by Noah Dixon to keep the clock running.
Colton Mabry, who missed last week’s loss to Wapak proved himself to be just what Bo Frye’s offense needed in the waning moments as he leaped over a pile to give his team the game clinching first down it sought to run out the clock.
St Marys picks up a fourth down conversion as Colton Mabry dives over a pile of Titan defenders. pic.twitter.com/r3Lsbp8CHn
— Michael Hirn (@MichaelHirnPBP) September 21, 2024
“Colton is a great kid who has been playing for us for four years. You always want a guy like him in crunch time” said Frye.
Ottawa Glandorf (2-3, 2-2) outgained St. Marys (3-2, 2-2) 309-168 on the night but were unable to get the games biggest stops when they needed them the most.
St. Marys was led on the ground by Mabry (15 rushes, 58 yards, one touchdown), and Dominik Osborne (13 carries, 40 yards) but held to nearly 200 yards below their season rushing average by the WBL’s second best unit against the run.
“I thought our kids played hard, O-G is a well coached matchup nightmare for us” opined Frye. “It was a normal O-G vs St. Marys football game, I’m proud of our kids for executing in crunch time. I thought our defense and special teams were much improved and I’m proud of our program tonight.”
Next up for the Roughriders is a trip to 1-4 Van Wert, Ottawa Glandorf heads to Lima next Friday to take on the 4-1 and WBL unbeaten Wildcats.