Roughriders gallop by Van Wert 49-14

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports

Friday night’s game was a tale of two halves at Cougar Alumni Field at Eggerss Stadium.

In the first half, Van Wert traded blows with visiting St. Marys Memorial and the game was tied 14-14 at the break. The Roughriders seemingly had no answer for Briston Wise, who rushed 22 times for 201 yards and two touchdowns in the first half. However, the Roughriders dominated the second half, including holding Wise to nine yards on eight carries in the final two quarters, on the way to a 49-14 WBL victory on rainy and windy night. It was Van Wert’s fifth consecutive loss (1-5, 1-4 WBL), while St. Marys improved to 4-2, 3-2 WBL).

“I like how we have played and competed in the first half of the last two games, but we need to focus on putting a full game together,” Van Wert head coach Keith Recker said.

On their first possession of the game, the Cougars drove 77 yards in 11 plays but fumbled at Roughrider 2-yard line. After forcing a short St. Marys punt, Van Wert needed just three plays to score from the 29- yard line, with Wise reaching the end zone from 14 yards out with 15 seconds left in the opening period. The drive was aided by back-to-back offsides penalties on the Roughriders.

St. Marys answered with a 14-play, 93-yard drive that was capped off by Colton Mabry’s 3-yard touchdown run but on the next possession, Van Wert answered with a six play, 73-yard drive, including a 13-yard touchdown sprint by Wise, giving the Cougars a 14-6 lead with 4:34 left until halftime.

“Wise is a very good high school football player,” St. Marys Memorial head coach Bo Frye said. “He’s hard to bring down. Coach Recker has his kids playing hard.”

Dominik Osborne tied the game by racing for a 34-yard score and Mabry’s two-point conversion run with 2:47 remaining in the half. The Cougars drove into Roughrider territory but a pass by Wise was intercepted at about the five yard line by Ryan Ruvoldt to end the scoring threat.

“The first half we were on our heels waiting for someone to make a play in all three phases of the game,” Frye said. “In the second half we were tough. Our seniors finally took it into their own hands and did what they’ve always been capable of doing.”

On Van Wert’s first possession of the second half, the Cougars were stopped on downs at the 50, giving St. Marys a short field. After a 38-yard run by Osborne, Mabry scored from three yard out three plays later to give the Roughriders a 21-14 advantage, their first lead of the night.

The second half featured a steady diet of Mabry, Osborne and Schmidt, and the floodgates opened in the fourth quarter, as the Roughriders scored four times, including twice in 17 seconds and twice more in 14 seconds.

Aiden Meinerding scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak with 11:20 left in the final period, then the Cougars fumbled on the first play of the next possession, setting up a 2-yard touchdown run by Osborne that made it 28-14 with 11:03 left. Two more touchdowns came about midway through the fourth quarter – the first on a 45-yard run by Schmidt with 6:51 left, then on the ensuing kickoff, which was fumbled by the Cougars and returned 30 yards for a touchdown by Taylor Compton with 6:37 left. The final touchdown set the continuous clock rule in motion for the remainder of the game.

The Roughriders finished with 362 yards of total offense, all on the ground, as the offensive line wore down Van Wert in the second half. Osborne finished with 14 carries for 136 yards and two touchdowns, Mabry added 120 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries and Schmidt tallied 79 yards and a score on 10 carries. Meinderding tossed just two passes, completing one for zero yards.

“Our offensive line is pretty good,” Frye said. “They have been all year. They’re all seniors and one junior and they got tired of taking it and started attacking. They’re a great group of kids that are fun to coach.”

“Turnovers and physical play seemed to allow St. Marys to separate in the second half,” Recker said. “They were able to play a four man box and we couldn’t get our running game going consistently and the rain and wind in the third quarter made it almost impossible to throw.”

The Cougars finished with 249 yards rushing including Wise’s 30 carries for 210 yards. Case Stegaman added five carries for 17 yards and Brendon Mendoza had five carries for 10 yards. Wise was 4-of-11 passing for 43 yards, including three to Micah Cowan for 27 yards and one to Keaten Welch for 16 yards.

Van Wert will travel to Ottawa-Glandorf Friday night. The Titans stunned Bath 26-0 on Friday.

Scoring summary

First quarter

VW (:15) – Briston Wise 14-yard run (Griff McCracken kick)

Second quarter

SM (6:47) – Colton Mabry 3-yard run (conversion failed)

VW (4:34) – Briston Wise 13-yard run (Griff McCracken kick)

SM (2:47) – Dominik Osborne 34-yard run (Bradey Triplett kick)

Third quarter

SM (4:03) – Colton Mabry 1-yard run (Bradey Triplett kick)

Fourth quarter

SM (11:20) – Aiden Meinerding 1-yard run (Bradey Triplett kick)

SM (11:03) – Dominik Osborne 2-yard run (Bradey Triplett kick)

SM (6:51) – Caleb Schmidt 45-yard run (Bradey Triplett kick)

SM (6:37) – Taylor Compton 30-yard fumble return (Brady Triplett kick)