Cougars lose heartbreaker at St. Marys

DAVE MOSIER/independent sports

ST. MARYS — It’s sometimes the little things that mean the difference between a win and a loss. For the Van Wert Cougars, it was a missed extra point and a failed defensive stop late in the fourth quarter that led to a 21-20 loss to St. Marys in both teams’ Western Buckeye League opener at Skip Baughman Field in St. Marys.

Van Wert got on the scoreboard first when quarterback Colin Smith ran the ball in from the Roughrider 7-yard-line for a 6-0 lead. Gavin Gardner kicked the point-after and the Cougars were up 7-0 with 5:29 remaining in the first period.

Van Wert scored again with 9:40 left in the second stanza when Smith connected with Josh Braun for a 29-yard scoring strike that gave the Cougars a 14-0 lead after Gardner’s PAT kick.

Six minutes later, Justice Tussing gave Van Wert a 20-0 lead with a 4-yard TD run with 3:35 left in the first half.

But now the Roughriders were ready to ramble. Quarterback Dustin Howell found Seth Vorhees at the Cougar 2-yard-line for St. Marys’ first score of the game with no time remaining on the second-quarter clock. Gabe Vandeveer kicked the extra point and the Roughriders went into the locker room trailing 20-7.

St. Marys scored again in the third quarter when Eric Speicer ran 46 yards for a TD with 6:30 remaining in the quarter. Vandeveer again kicked the extra point and the Riders were now within a touchdown of leading, 20-14.

Following unsuccessful drives in the final stanza, St. Marys put one more drive together, as Logan Maze scored on a two-yard run with just 32 seconds left on the clock as the Roughriders had their only lead of the night, 21-20. Van Wert then fumbled on the ensuing kick-off to lose any chance of scoring one last time.

The Roughriders compiled 422 yards of total offense, including 268 yards on the ground. Van Wert had 257 yards of offense, including 138 yards through the air.

Smith was the Cougars’ top rusher with 74 yards and a touchdown, while Speicer rushed for 156 yards and a TD for St. Marys.

Braun had three catches for 56 yards and a touchdown, while Smith was 10 of 17 passing for 138 yards and a TD. Howell threw 12 completions in 23 attempts for 158 yards, a touchdown and one interception.

With the loss, the Cougars fall to 1-1 overall and 0-1 in the WBL. St. Marys is now 2-0 overall and 1-0 in league play.

Van Wert will try to get its first WBL victory of the season when it hosts Ottawa-Glandorf this coming Friday at Eggerss Stadium for the team’s home opener.