ST. MARYS – From the opening kickoff the Roughriders sensed it could be a big night as they rolled past visiting Wauseon 42-14 to kick off the 2023 OHSAA playoffs.
Senior Carter Steinberg fielded a Tyson Rodriguez kickoff at his own seven yard line and proceeded to race 93 yards to the opposite end of the field to put the Riders in front with the teams first special teams score of the season to open the ballgame.
Things would get worse for the Indians in a hurry as the first play from scrimmage moments later, a pass from senior QB Trey Parsons found a home in the waiting arms of defensive back Jacob Kessler at the St. Marys 27.
Utilizing their powerful run game the Riders rushed 15 times to cover 73 yards and close to eight minutes of play before taking a 14-0 lead on the first of two Dominik Osborne scores.
Leading rusher Colton Mabry pushed the blue and gold lead to 21-0 after his defense forced a punt by Wauseon on a 22 yard jaunt for his team leading 16th score of the season.
Wauseon moved the football early on in the second quarter following the Mabry score but again found themselves forced to surrender the football to their hosts as a second Jacob Kessler interception, this time near the goal line on a jump ball intended for Tyson Rodriguez was snagged by the junior.
Quarterback Cody Wallace notched his seventh rushing marker of the season to cap off a 10 play drive with 2:58 to go before halftime to send his squad into the locker room ahead 28-0.
After forcing an Indians punt to open the third the Roughriders started the 30+ point running clock leading 35-0 as Osborne cashed in for his second score of the evening, an eight yard haul that saw his squad pick up four first downs on eight plays while covering 62 yards.
The visiting Indians put a stop to the running clock with a quick three play drive covering 61 yards thanks to the duo of Parsons and Rodriguez who hooked up on a 31 yard effort at 3:46 in the third to trim their deficit to 35-7 and end the Riders streak of 11 straight quarters without allowing a score.
Parsons ended the game 15/27 for 171 yards with both an interception and a touchdown while Rodriguez finished with just a trio of catches for 71 yards and the lone score.
Colton Mabry, the fourth leading rusher in the Western Buckeye League during the regular season punched in his second score of the night with 6:47 left in the fourth to finish off a 31 yard drive that saw him pick up every yard and give the Riders a 42-7 advantage.
Nearly similar to how the evening began for St. Marys, the Indians Tyson Rodriguez found an open lane on the ensuing kickoff and utilized his speed to race 90 yards at 5:08 for the final tally of a 42-14 Roughrider victory.
St. Marys (7-4) outgained the Indians (6-5) 400-183 in total yards and held an advantage on the ground of 391-12. Mabry finished with 177 yards on 23 carries and two scores while his backfield mate Dominik Osborne ended with 127 and two touchdowns on 22 rushes.
Next up for the Roughriders is a trip to Sandusky next Friday night to battle top seeded and unbeaten Perkins.
“I thought our kids were very physical tonight. We had our best week of practice of the year this week and continue to get better in all three phases of the game. It’s always great to start fast, we’re going to need to continue to go forward but I’m proud of our kids growth and effort tonight” said St. Marys head coach Bo Frye.