ST. MARYS – Third year head coach Bo Frye will lead his alma mater into a first on Friday night as they open their 2023 campaign.
The Roughriders will start their 10 week regular season with a first ever trip to St. Henry as they will battle the tradition rich Redskins.
In their own history the Riders have never battled a current member of the Midwest Athletic Conference but have taken on current members Coldwater and Delphos St. Johns as part of their Western Buckeye League schedules. Versailles and Rockford have dotted schedules past but nothing since the blue and gold last tangled with the Jays in 1981.
This season will see an early season challenge for the Riders as they will look to replace all five linemen from a season ago that each garnered conference honors.
“They’re getting better but definitely are not a finished product. We have to know who we are as a unit and that every day we have to be the best at doing things right and playing harder than everybody else” St Marys coach Bo Frye stated about his offensive line this season.
Back from a collarbone injury that sidelined him for parts of last season is senior QB Cody Wallace, a 6’3/225 passer who accounted for a near school record nine touchdown passes and 441 yards through the air as a junior.
Leading the returning rushing attack is junior Colton Mabry who finished 2022 with 735 yards and five touchdowns on 98 carries. Mabry along with do-all senior Kevin Perry will team with Dominik Osborne (41 rushes, 222 yards, 2 scores) to replace the production of 3,000+ yard rusher Aiden Hinkle.
Defensively the Riders will rely on a morphing defensive scheme and the high football IQ to confuse and attempt to brutalize opposing offenses.
Kevin Perry was selected Honorable Mention in 2022 while nearly leading the league with 118 tackles and will be looked upon to lead a secondary that includes a trio of talented juniors behind him.
Up front the returning Logan Compton (6’0/235/Sr) anchors a foursome that includes talented freshman Owen Ott (6’3/195) and classmate Hunter Mabry (27 tackles, 2 sacks). Juniors Hayden Davis (42 tackles, 7 sacks) and Jacob Kessler (51 tackles, 1 interception) round out the returners who made their mark in 2022.
“We’re in for a dog fight with our schedule every week. We are going to get beat up if we’re not doing things right” remarked Frye on his outlook for this season.
Week two will see the Riders travel to Celina for the annual Battle of Grand Lake before returning home in week three for their only home game in the first five weeks of the season, a battle with league foe Defiance.
Every game this season can be heard live for the 45th consecutive season on WKKI 94.3 FM with kickoffs slated for 7pm each Friday night.