Photographs by Andrews Photography |
 |
DATELINE OCTOBER 10 - CELINA STADIUM - CELINA, OHIO
On another beautiful midwestern evening tonight, the home-team Celina Bulldogs schooled the St. Marys Roughriders in execution and play selection to the tune of 28-7.
 |
Not even the usual and expected heapin' helpin' of home cooking that all visiting teams receive at Celina could excuse the way the Riders were outplayed and outcoached in the second half of tonight's lesson there. A pumped-up Bulldog squad swarmed to the ball all night, thwarting St. Marys' running game for all intents and purposes, while the Riders were totally ineffective defending the pass. Our defensive strategy consisted of tackling the receiver after he caught the ball, which we accomplished, but only after an average gain of 15 yards or so.
Even so, the first half belonged to St. Marys. The Riders played the entire first quarter in the Celina end of the field as the 'Dogs could only muster one first down. But although St. Marys was inside the five yard line twice in the half, we could not get into the end zone, and the break came on a 0-0 tie.
 |
The only bright spot on the blighted eve besides the dead-perfect weather was the appearance of the SMABB at halftime. They put on a snappy 50's show complete with the majorettes and cheerleaders conga-ing in costume, and the echoes of their upbeat rocking could still be heard over the funereal mummery of the Bulldog bunch, who came out and did what they could to destroy the mood.
 |
The Riders received the second half kickoff and marched right down the field. Celina came up tough in the red zone again, though, and finally, on a fourth and eight play from the seventeen, QB Rick Haines faked a sweep to the right and threw a pass to a wide, wide open Jason Clark in the left flat for an easy TD. The play was there all night since the Dogs were over-pursuing the run every snap, but we ran it exactly once.
 |
 |
Celina gave up the run at that point and the game went straight into the crapper for the Riders and their fans. Celina's QB Trent Dysert stood up one step back and threw the pill with impunity. With the D spread all over the field chasing three or four receivers, the Bulldog running game, bottled up in the first half, saw a little more success. Funny how that works. Celina scored the next four touchdowns and made it look easy. Let me puke in peace.
In apparent desperation, the Riders attempted to go aerial in the fourth quarter, with the effect that the field opened up to the run! But just in case a Rider comeback was in the offing, the twelfth man was at the ready in the striped shirts to ensure that no big St. Marys play went unpunished.
 |
If I may descend into the common vernacular for a moment, allow me to make the observation that our gentlemen and their adult chaperones now have exactly one choice in their preparations for the undefeated and state-ranked Defiance Bulldogs, coming to town next week for Parents' Night, and that is this: suck it up, or suck. Defiance made us look nearly as bad last year as we looked in Celina tonight, and by all accounts they are better this year than last.
I apologize if I shit on anyone's rainbow here, but I know this Roughrider team is capable of much more, and I hate to awaken with the taste of Celina water in my mouth (figuratively speaking). Let the numbers tell the story:
| GAME STATS (Stolen from The Evening Leader - Thanks, Dave Stilwell) | ||||
| St. Marys | Celina | St. Marys Season | Opponents Season | |
| Points Scored | 7 | 28 | 202 | 72 |
| First Downs | 15 | 18 | 102 | 79 |
| Rushes-Yards | 55-194 | 28-177 | 380-2095 | 246-682 |
| Completions / Attempts - Yards | 5/14-93 | 14/28-198 | 17/41-276 | 57/134-808 |
| Had Intercepted | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 |
| Offensive Plays | 69 | 56 | 421 | 274 |
| Total Offense | 287 | 369 | 2371 | 1484 |
| Punts-Yards | 4-184 | 4-133 | 22-867 | 28-1072 |
| Blocked | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 3-1 | 1-0 | 11-5 | 11-7 |
| Penalties - Yards | 5-52 | 2-7 | 24-228 | 21-165 |
| RIDER STATS | ||||
| Rushes | Yards | Season Rushes | Season Yards | |
| 7 Rick Haines | 7 | -14 | 45 | 119 |
| 11 Aaron Seewer | 2 | 15 | ||
| 13 John Meinerding | 2 | 8 | ||
| 21 Bobby Huttis | 2 | 7 | 19 | 95 |
| 23 Andy Slone | 16 | 82 | 65 | 381 |
| 27 Brandon Meyer | 2 | 35 | ||
| 28 John Thistlethwaite | 16 | 72 | 111 | 803 |
| 30 Ken Williams | 2 | 7 | 7 | 39 |
| 32 Jason Clark | 13 | 42 | 98 | 531 |
| 34 Josh Lamb | 1 | 1 | 16 | 82 |
| Completions / Passes - Interceptions | Yards | Season Completions / Passes - Interceptions | Season Yards | |
| 7 Rick Haines | 5/14-0 | 93 | 14/28-2 | 192 |
| Receptions | Yards | Season Receptions | Season Yards | |
| 21 Bobby Huttis | 1 | 27 | 2 | 94 |
| 23 Andy Slone | 1 | 21 | ||
| 28 John Thistlethwaite | 5 | 47 | ||
| 32 Jason Clark | 1 | 17 | 5 | 62 |
| 34 Josh Lamb | 1 | 18 | 1 | 18 |
| 86 Spencer Williams | 1 | 7 | 2 | 10 |
| 88 Chris Duncan | 1 | 24 | 1 | 24 |
| Viewing Tip: If stats table is off-center, Increase Font (under "View" in Netscape). | ||||
AROUND the WESTERN BUCKEYE LEAGUE October 10...
Team ~ Game ~ Record ~ WBL ~ Yet to Play (no order)
1st Defiance ~ Beat Wapak 41-0 ~ 7-0 ~ 6-0 ~ SM S VW
2nd Celina ~ Beat St. Marys 28-7 ~ 5-2 ~ 4-2 ~ K S VW
2nd Ottawa-Glandorf ~ Beat Kenton 40-12 ~ 5-2 ~ 4-2 ~ E SM W
2nd St. Marys ~ Lost to Celina 7-28 ~ 5-2 ~ 4-2 ~ D O-G W
2nd Van Wert ~ Beat Bath 11-8 ~ 5-2 ~ 4-2 ~ C D W
6th Kenton ~ Lost to O-G 12-40 ~ 4-3 ~ 3-3 ~ B C E
6th Wapakoneta ~ Lost to Defiance 0-41 ~ 3-4 ~ 3-3 ~ O-G SM VW
8th Bath ~ Lost to Van Wert 8-11 ~ 2-5 ~ 1-5 ~ E K S
8th Elida ~ Beat Shawnee 20-7 ~ 1-6 ~ 1-5 ~ B K O-G
10th Shawnee ~ Lost to Elida 7-20 ~ 1-6 ~ 0-6 ~ B C D
Other Scores
Sidney 32 - West Carrollton 20
Bellefontaine 42 - Urbana 6
Allen East 17 - Spencerville 14 ( OT)
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 Oct. 10 games)
Defiance ~ #2 in Division II Region 6 (computer), up from #3 last week
~ #5 in State Division II (AP poll), up from #7 last week.
Celina ~ #6 in Division II Region 8 (computer), down from #4 last week.
St. Marys ~ #7 in Division III Region 10 (computer), up from #9 last week.
Kenton ~ #2 in Division IV Region 16 (computer), up from #4 last week.
Ottawa-Glandorf ~ #4 in Division IV Region 16 (computer), down from #2 last week.
(The top 4 teams in each Region qualify for the OHSAA post-season tournament.)
 |
 |
 |