Photographs by Andrews Photography  |
DATELINE OCTOBER 17 - SKIP BAUGHMAN STADIUM - HOME of the ROUGHRIDERS
The Riders ran into the Defiance Bulldogs tonight - literally. What can I say? Play selection, play selection, play selection. Restless and disappointed Roughrider fans were in open and vocal revolt tonight on two fronts: the inscrutable monotonous failure of the trap endlessly repeated on the field which had red-faced frustratees mocking coach Roger Duncan's steadfastedness, and the deafening and nearly continuous announcements over the stadium PA system which drove normally law-abiding folks to attempt to rip down the speaker-wires. Having two such antagonists probably saved both from physical injury, by distracting the irate season-ticket holders from concentrating their ire on either one.
 |
The Bulldogs are the real deal, deserving of their state rankings and displaying no apparent weaknesses on the field. Our boys started the game out gaining one yard on our opening possession and minus six yards on our next possession, while Defiance scored touchdowns on their first two possessions.
 |
The defense turned Defiance away inside the redzone twice in the second quarter, once on a fourth and goal from the one. But Defiance mounted one more successful drive before halftime, scoring another TD to make it 7-21 at the break.
Defiance has one of the better bands in the area, and several attendees noted for the record that they came to the game solely to see the halftime show, and they were not disappointed. Defiance's finale, though, was "Jesus Christ Superstar," one of my all-time least favorite songs (who says religion isn't commercially exploitable outside Christmas and Easter?) and one which probably could not be less suited thematically to marching bands or football, but Oh Well. The SMABB got me going again with their annual Parent's Night performance of "Script Riders," which brought the home fans to their feet in readiness for the traditional playing of the Alma Mater by the seniors.
 |
 |
But the string of offensive three-and-outs was taking its toll on the defense, who began to tire noticeably in the fourth. As a measure of just how ineffective the mindless reiteration of traps and dives was, the Riders did not gain a first down until there was 4:56 left in the GAME. The defense could not stop the final two Defiance scores, a 32-yard field goal and a 60 yard QB bootleg, and the game ended 13-38, Defiance.
St. Marys must now try to rebound from two consecutive decisive losses next week against the Wapakonetans, who will be fighting for pride after tonight's tough 7-9 loss to O-G drops their record to 3-5.
| GAME STATS (Stolen from The Evening Leader - Thanks, Angie Dieringer) | ||||
| St. Marys | Defiance | St. Marys Season | Opponents Season | |
| Points Scored | 13 | 38 | 215 | 110 |
| First Downs | 4 | 22 | 106 | 101 |
| Rushes-Yards | 38-141 | 47-202 | 418-2236 | 293-884 |
| Completions / Attempts - Yards | 0/3-0 | 15/21-300 | 17/44-276 | 72/155-1108 |
| Had Intercepted | 1 | 1 | 3 | 8 |
| Offensive Plays | 41 | 68 | 462 | 342 |
| Total Offense | 141 | 502 | 2512 | 1986 |
| Punts-Yards | 7-287 | 2-80 | 29-1154 | 30-1152 |
| Blocked | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 2-1 | 2-2 | 13-6 | 13-9 |
| Penalties - Yards | 6-45 | 5-33 | 30-273 | 26-198 |
| RIDER STATS | ||||
| Rushes | Yards | Season Rushes | Season Yards | |
| 7 Rick Haines | 5 | 40 | 50 | 159 |
| 11 Aaron Seewer | 0 | 0 | 2 | 15 |
| 13 John Meinerding | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 |
| 21 Bobby Huttis | 5 | 20 | 24 | 115 |
| 23 Andy Slone | 0 | 0 | 65 | 381 |
| 27 Brandon Meyer | 0 | 0 | 2 | 35 |
| 28 John Thistlethwaite | 14 | 20 | 125 | 823 |
| 30 Ken Williams | 0 | 0 | 7 | 39 |
| 32 Jason Clark | 8 | 44 | 106 | 575 |
| 34 Josh Lamb | 6 | 17 | 22 | 99 |
| Completions / Passes - Interceptions | Yards | Season Completions / Passes - Interceptions | Season Yards | |
| 7 Rick Haines | 0/2-1 | 0 | 14/30-3 | 192 |
| 28 John Thistlethwaite | 0/1-0 | 0 | 0/1-0 | 0 |
| Receptions | Yards | Season Receptions | Season Yards | |
| 21 Bobby Huttis | 0 | 0 | 2 | 94 |
| 23 Andy Slone | 0 | 0 | 1 | 21 |
| 28 John Thistlethwaite | 0 | 0 | 5 | 47 |
| 32 Jason Clark | 0 | 0 | 5 | 62 |
| 34 Josh Lamb | 0 | 0 | 1 | 18 |
| 86 Spencer Williams | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
| 88 Chris Duncan | 0 | 0 | 1 | 24 |
| Viewing Tip: If stats table is off-center, Increase Font (under "View" in Netscape). | ||||
AROUND the WESTERN BUCKEYE LEAGUE October 17...
Team ~ Game ~ Record ~ WBL ~ Yet to Play (no order)
1st Defiance ~ Beat St. Marys 38-13 ~ 8-0 ~ 7-0 ~ S VW
2nd Celina ~ Beat Van Wert 28-20 ~ 6-2 ~ 5-2 ~ K S
2nd Ottawa-Glandorf ~ Beat Wapak 9-7 ~ 6-2 ~ 5-2 ~ E SM
4th Kenton ~ Beat Elida 22-14 ~ 5-3 ~ 4-3 ~ B C
4th St. Marys ~ Lost to Defiance 13-38 ~ 5-3 ~ 4-3 ~ O-G W
4th Van Wert ~ Lost to Celina 20-28 ~ 5-3 ~ 4-3 ~ D W
7th Wapakoneta ~ Lost to O-G 7-9 ~ 3-5 ~ 3-4 ~ SM VW
8th Bath ~ Beat Shawnee 22-21 ~ 3-5 ~ 2-5 ~ E K
9th Elida ~ Lost to Kenton 14-22 ~ 1-7 ~ 1-6 ~ B O-G
10th Shawnee ~ Lost to Bath 21-22 ~ 1-7 ~ 0-7 ~ C D
Other Scores
Greenville 14 - Sidney 6
Springfield Shawnee 60 - Urbana 0
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. 17 games)
Defiance ~ #2 in Division II Region 6 (computer), #2 last week
~ #4 in State Division II (AP poll), up from #5 last week.
Celina ~ #3 in Division II Region 8 (computer), up from #6 last week.
St. Marys ~ #11 in Division III Region 10 (computer), down from #7 last week.
Ottawa-Glandorf ~ #1 in Division IV Region 16 (computer), up from #4 last week.
Kenton ~ #3 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.)