Week 6 preview: Roughriders at Cougars

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports

If you’re looking for an aerial shootout you most likely won’t find it at Eggerss Stadium Friday night. Instead, two of the Western Buckeye League’s top rushing teams will meet to begin the second half of the regular season, when Van Wert hosts St. Marys Memorial.

Out of the spread offense, Van Wert (1-4, 0-4 WBL) is averaging 204 yards rushing per game and the Cougars feature the WBL’s leading rusher in Briston Wise, who has 711 yards and nine touchdowns on 119 carries, not bad for a 5-9, 165 pound quarterback.

“Briston’s toughness on offense really stands out,” Van Wert head coach Keith Recker said. “He is asked to carry our offense and he has done that very well. He takes some hard shots and continues to get back up and is ready to play the next play.”

The Roughriders (3-2, 2-2 WBL), are the WBL’s top rushing team, averaging 290 yards per game on the ground via the team’s old school Wing-T attack. Coach Bo Frye’s troops have gone with a three-pronged attack that features running backs Colton Mabry (104-544, seven touchdowns), Caleb Schmidt (51-340, one touchdown) and Dominick Osborne (72-330, five touchdowns).

“Colton Mabry is a four year starter and Dom Osborne is a three year starter,” Frye said. “Whenever you have that experience in the backfield, you always feel better as a coach. They run hard and block very well.”

“They’re both extremely smart kids which allows us to move them all over the place,” he added. “They’re great kids that play extremely hard.”

“St. Marys has a good number of returning starters from last year’s playoff team, so they are experienced on both sides of the ball,” Recker said. “Their style of play offensively is about impossible to replicate in a practice, which makes adjusting to game speed so important on Friday. They have good size, their running backs are tough runners and they are sound defensively. 

“Our guys are excited about this opportunity to go compete,” he added.

The difference between the two teams on offense is the passing game. So far, Wise has completed 89-of-133 passes for 871 yards, six touchdowns and nine interceptions. St. Marys Memorial has attempted just 19 passes to this point, completing nine for a total of 46 yards. Aiden Meinerding has completed 5-of-8 attempts for 36 yards and an interception, while Jacob Kessler is 4-of-11 for five yards and an interception. Kessler also happens to be the team’s leading receiver with two receptions for 18 yards.

The Roughriders won their first two games, including a 35-6 victory over Celina, then dropped back-to-back games against Defiance and state-ranked rival Wapakoneta, before posting a 21-16 win over much improved Ottawa-Glandorf last Friday.

“The WBL is crazy competitive this year,” Frye stated. “Van Wert has also played similar opponents so they have went through the grind as well. There is not a bad team in the WBL this year. We play four of the last five on the road so it is not going to get any easier.”

“We’re just trying to be 1-0 each week,” Frye continued. “Not looking too far ahead, but everyone in the league will be prepared for the postseason when it comes. There are some very good coaches in the WBL right now.”

Meanwhile, after a season opening win over Bryan, the Cougars have lost four straight but Frye still has concerns about Van Wert.

“Van Wert is talented and well coached,” he said. “It all starts with their quarterback who is extremely athletic. They have the ability to make the big play at any time. They are also very big in the trenches and play hard. They are much better than their record indicates. We’re very aware of that.”

While things haven’t gone as hoped for the Cougars to this point, Recker has found some bright spots, including on the defensive side of the ball.

“Our defensive line has been playing very well,” Recker said. “Nick Edwards does a good job of taking on two or even three blockers at times, while Javon Smith and Chance Youngpeter are doing a good job against the inside run. Case Stegaman brings athleticism and toughness, a great combination that is needed at safety and running back. He is very inquisitive, likes to know the why behind everything and he is making the most of his opportunities and I’m proud of him for that.

St. Marys Memorial won last year’s game 21-19. The previous season, the Cougars won a wild 70-41 shootout at Eggerss Stadium.

Friday’s St. Marys Memorial at Van Wert game will air live on WERT 1220AM/104.3FM.