Roughriders run over VW in WBL opener

DAVE MOSIER/independent sports

Van Wert Head Coach Keith Recker’s concern over St. Marys’ running game proved well founded as the Roughriders ran roughshod over the young Cougars to win 46-6 in both teams’ Western Buckeye League opener at Eggerss Stadium.

The Riders, who lined up in the Wing T, rushed for a whopping 378 yards on the ground, while the St. Marys run defense held the Cougars to 55 yards on 22 carries and no first downs. All 11 of Van Wert’s first downs came through the air.

While first-year Cougar quarterback Lawson Blackmore had a decent night, completing 18 of 31 passes for 156 yards, a touchdown, and no interceptions, it wasn’t enough to offset St. Marys’ rushing prowess.

Julius Fisher led the Riders on the ground with 101 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries, while Eric Spicer had 90 yards and a TD on 14 carries. Blackmore was the Cougars’ top rusher with 43 yards on 14 carries.

St. Marys scored the first four touchdowns of the night, starting with a 1-yard run by Chandler Gray with 8:07 remaining in the first quarter. Seth Vorhees kicked the point-after and the Riders led 7-0.

The Roughriders scored again with 1:04 remaining in the opening stanza on a 5-yard run by Bailey Spark, while Vorhees again kicked the PAT for a 14-0 advantage.

St. Marys also scored two more rushing TDs in the second quarter before the Cougars were able to get on the scoreboard in the waning seconds of the first half.

The Riders got their third score on a 5-yard run by quarterback Dustin Howell with 9:34 left in the second quarter, while Fisher scored from the Van Wert 13-yard line with 4:01 remaining in the half. Neither PAT kick was good, but St. Marys led 26-0.

Van Wert got its only score with just 18 seconds remaining in the first half when Blackmore hit Nate Place for a 7-yard touchdown. The extra point kick failed and the Cougars trailed 26-6, with more heartbreak to come.

The Riders scored twice in the third quarter, on a 39-yard pass from Howell to Spicer with 9:24 left in the period, and a 28-yard run by Gray at the 7:20 mark. Vorhees kicked 1 of 2 PATs and it was 39-6.

The final St. Marys score came with 2:28 remaining in the game when Keegan Sawmiller ran the ball into the end zone from 3 yards out to make it 46-6.

With the win, the Roughriders are now 2-0, 1-0 in the WBL, while Van Wert falls to 0-2, 0-1 in league play.