Photographs by Andrews Photography |
DATELINE OCTOBER 3 - SKIP BAUGHMAN STADIUM - HOME of the ROUGHRIDERS
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The visitors won the toss but deferred, and the Riders took the opening kickoff and went approximately nowhere before punting the pill away. On Bath's second offensive play of the game, and first pass, Rider DE Jason Homan found himself conveniently situated between a 'Cat intended receiver and the ball and responded by picking it off at the Bath 38 for the first Big Play of the night. Andy Slone took the second hand-off in the prettiest counter the Riders have run this season and jigged his way 19 yards. Shortly thereafter QB Rick Haines called his own number on a 2-yard sneak and the good guys were in business, 6-0. Kurt Kill continued his slump, pulling the PAT kick wide to the left, alas.
The invaders responded on their next series, achieving a couple of first downs in methodically moving the ball out to midfield. Then Bath broke a Big Play of their own on a shifty 54-yard TD run up the middle, kicking the extra through for a 7-6 lead which saw the end of the first quarter.
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The Wildcat D pulled off the next Big Play. On the first (and last) Roughrider pass of the night, Rick Haines fired a quick slant which careened off the wide-out's pads and floated, "Immaculate Reception"-style, ten yards downfield into the waiting arms of loitering Bath DB Cameron Staley. Without so much as a thank you he turned upfield, and would have scored if he had been faster than Haines, who downed him at the 10.
With the game seemingly slipping away, it was the Rider D's turn for a BP. They held their ground in the Red Zone and then some, forcing & recovering a fumble on the 5 to end the threat. Time for some O.
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Despite Bath playing peewee soccer with eleven men on the ball, St. Marys ground their way out to the 45. Then an impatient Jason Clark found a block and was suddenly behind all the defenders two yards across the line of scrimmage. It was a simple matter of turning on the jets, which he did for 55 yards and 6. John Thistlethwaite ran in the +2 for to regain St. Marys the advantage for good at 14-7. A too-successful-looking Wildcat drive was thwarted by a Clark interception, and, with 38 seconds left in the half, the Riders moved the ball from the Bath 23 into the end zone. The BP here was a 55-yard TD sprint by John Thistlethwaite, Doug Burke kick, 21-7 at the half.
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Big Play Football resumed immediately in the third when Bath's Dustin Hunt returned the second-half kickoff all the way to the Rider 16. The 'Cats managed to punch it in from there, but Joe Young batted down the PAT, 21-13.
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In the fourth, Thistlethwaite broke free on a nice 17-yard TD, Slone 2-point extra run, 35-13. Not to be outdone, Clark doubled that with a 34-yard TD run, Burke PAT, for the final tally of 42-13, Roughriders.
Jason Clark and John Thistlethwaite both broke the 100-yard mark, racking up 151 and 110, respectively. While talent will go a long way, numbers mean something, too, and Bath showed up to play with less than half of St. Marys' roster size. Scoring less than half as many points was, I'm sure, just a coincidence.
The Riders next face the hated and probably depressed Celina Bulldogs, who, obviously overlooking the 2-3 Redskins to prepare for the Riders, were overrun at Wapak 35-21 tonight. Awhhh, what a shame. That puts St. Marys all alone behind Defiance in second place in the WBL, for now.
| GAME STATS (Stolen from The Evening Leader - Thanks, Angie Dieringer) | ||||
| St. Marys | Bath | St. Marys Season | Opponents Season | |
| Points Scored | 42 | 13 | 195 | 44 |
| First Downs | 11 | 12 | 87 | 61 |
| Rushes-Yards | 53-319 | 47-186 | 325-1901 | 218-505 |
| Completions / Attempts - Yards | 0/1-0 | 7/15-51 | 12/27-183 | 43/106-610 |
| Had Intercepted | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| Offensive Plays | 54 | 62 | 352 | 218 |
| Total Offense | 319 | 237 | 2084 | 1115 |
| Punts-Yards | 4-155 | 3-103 | 18-683 | 24-939 |
| Blocked | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 0-0 | 2-1 | 8-4 | 10-7 |
| Penalties - Yards | 2-20 | 3-35 | 19-176 | 19-158 |
| RIDER STATS | ||||
| Rushes | Yards | Season Rushes | Season Yards | |
| 7 Rick Haines | 6 | 17 | 38 | 133 |
| 11 Aaron Seewer | 2 | 15 | ||
| 13 John Meinerding | 2 | 8 | ||
| 21 Bobby Huttis | 1 | 2 | 17 | 88 |
| 23 Andy Slone | 9 | 51 | 49 | 299 |
| 27 Brandon Meyer | 2 | 35 | ||
| 28 John Thistlethwaite | 12 | 110 | 95 | 731 |
| 30 Ken Williams | 2 | 7 | 7 | 39 |
| 32 Jason Clark | 13 | 151 | 85 | 489 |
| 34 Josh Lamb | 1 | 4 | 15 | 81 |
| Completions / Passes - Interceptions | Yards | Season Completions / Passes - Interceptions | Season Yards | |
| 7 Rick Haines | 0/1-1 | 0 | 12/27-2 | 133 |
| Receptions | Yards | Season Receptions | Season Yards | |
| 21 Bobby Huttis | 1 | 67 | ||
| 23 Andy Slone | 1 | 21 | ||
| 28 John Thistlethwaite | 5 | 47 | ||
| 32 Jason Clark | 4 | 45 | ||
| 86 Spencer Williams | 1 | 3 | ||
| Viewing Tip: If stats table is off-center, Increase Font (under "View" in Netscape). | ||||
AROUND the WESTERN BUCKEYE LEAGUE October 3...
Team ~ Game ~ Record ~ WBL ~ Yet to Play (no order)
Defiance ~ Beat O-G 38-13 ~ 6-0 ~ 5-0 ~ SM S VW W
St. Marys ~ Beat Bath 42-13 ~ 5-1 ~ 4-1 ~ C D O-G W
Celina ~ Lost to Wapak 21-35 ~ 4-2 ~ 3-2 ~ K SM S VW
Kenton ~ Beat Shawnee 28-12 ~ 4-2 ~ 3-2 ~ B C E O-G
Ottawa-Glandorf ~ Lost to Defiance 13-38 ~ 4-2 ~ 3-2 ~ E K SM W
Van Wert ~ Beat Elida 10-0 ~ 4-2 ~ 3-2 ~ B C D W
Wapakoneta ~ Beat Celina 35-21 ~ 3-3 ~ 3-2 ~ D O-G SM VW
Bath ~ Lost to St. Marys 13-42 ~ 2-4 ~ 1-4 ~ E K S VW
Shawnee ~ Lost to Kenton 12-28 ~ 1-5 ~ 0-5 ~ B C D E
Elida ~ Lost to Van Wert 0-10 ~ 0-6 ~ 0-5 ~ B K O-G S
Other Scores
Sidney 26 - Northmont 24
Springfield Northwestern 21 - Urbana 19
For more area scores see WKKI's website: K94 Sports
Last Week's Games <= | => Next Week's Games
Ohio High School Athletic Association
Playoff Watch (before tonight's game)
Defiance ~ #3 in Division II Region 6 (computer), (also #7 in State Division II, AP poll).
Celina ~ #4 in Division II Region 8 (computer).
Van Wert ~ #6 in Division III Region 10 (computer).
St. Marys ~ #9 in Division III Region 10 (computer).
Ottawa-Glandorf ~ #2 in Division IV Region 16 (computer).
Kenton ~ tied for #4 in Division IV Region 16 (computer).
(The top 4 teams in each Region qualify for the OHSAA post-season tournament.)
A glance at the games remaining will inform anyone interested that the Riders have their work cut out for them the remainder of the season, with Defiance, Wapak and O-G to face after Celina, all of which will be carrying bags full of computer points into the games. Stay on your blocks, boys, stay on your blocks. We all know you can do it. If we can get out of the WBL the rest of Ohio is cake. But the first step is to smash carp next week.
| Recipe for Roasting Smashed Carp: |
| 1. Catch and bludgeon 50 or 60 overweight carp (allow 10 min.) |
| 2. Find 1 worth keeping (5 min., if there is one) |
| 3. Scale & remove waste (approx. 75%) - (no need to filet: boneless species) |
| 4. Arrange on 8"x24"x1" board, soaked in water 1 week |
| 5. Place board w/ carp directly on open fire, add mesquite charcoal for flavor if nec. |
| 6. Roast 20 min. or until done, turning carp once. |
| 7. Remove from fire, place carp in hazmat recepticle. |
| 8. Eat board. |
| Bon appétit |
An oldie, but a goodie.
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