Photographs by Andrews Photography |
DATELINE HALLOWEEN (OCTOBER 31) - OGHS STADIUM - OTTAWA, OHIO
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The Riders came into tonight's final game of 1997 with a chance to exorcise the demons of the past lunar cycle, but fell victim once more to both their own tortures of soul and a superior Titan line on both sides of the pig. O-G's Ryan Inkrott ran like a hellhound behind their offensive surge, chewing up 199 yards to match St. Marys rushing total all by himself. And the Riders were startled (boo!) by the turnover goblin at two key points in the game, opening the door for the homeys.
The game began under perfect conditions for the sport of giants. A steady autumn breeze strafing the field was not a factor in this matchup between two run-heavy offenses, and the quick first quarter ended a scoreless tie with defense predominating. The big play of the stanza was a Mark Scott pick at the St. Marys 24, ending a Titan threat which had begun all the way back at the O-G 7 yard line.
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The interception seemed to spark the offense, and we mounted our most impressive drive of the night, a five-minute 76-yard march to paydirt: John Thistlethwaite on a one-yard run and Doug Burke kicking the PAT.
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The defense got the ball back again on Ottawa's next series, stuffing Inkrott on a 4th-and-1 at the Roughrider 10 in an impressive red-zone stand. But Fortune was not in the deck the Riders played with this year, and that impressive stand apparently angered the football gods whose business it is to see that no good Rider play goes unpunished, for it suddenly began to pour down rain in a shower which lasted until the Titans had the game in hand. Then the cursed St. Marys offense fumbled the very first snap of the resulting possession away, giving the Titans a first-and-goal opportunity at the 9 which they converted for a TD just before the half. Their PAT attempt was shanked wide right, though, preserving a slim 7-6 Rider advantage over the break.
The SMABB entertained the big stands with their "Grease" show, once more with the entire band decked out in 50's garb.
St. Marys kicked off after halftime and the Titans' ground game pushed the pig down to first and goal inside the ten. But the Rider D, ignorant that this season was foreordained against them, stepped up with its second big stand of the night, shutting the locals out of the end zone at the one yard line. The offense, not burdened by the same ignorance that plagued the defense, went three-and-out, managing to punt the pill out to midfield. The doughty defense got the rock back yet again when Mark Scott covered an Inkrott fumble at the SM 37, only to watch the offense give it back as Rick Haines' first pass of the evening was intercepted. The futility of battling the gods, the elements, Fate, and their own offense as well as the opposition's, began to dawn to on the defense, and O-G scored in five plays (PAT pass incomplete) to take the lead at 12-7 right at the end of the third.
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Good luck to Ottawa-Glandorf, Defiance and (through gritted teeth) Celina in the playoffs. It's time for someone else in the league to show the city boys how the game is played.
The Riders finish the season a disappointing 5-5, with a team many considered to be the most talented since the State Championship years. Rumors abound in this kind of situation; with many of the St. Marys coaches sporting 20+ year tenures the appearance of "running out the string" is perhaps inevitable when the team loses its last four games. There have been some great times in those 20+ years, but maybe, just maybe...
| GAME STATS (Stolen from The Evening Leader - Thanks, Randy Wilker) | ||||
| St. Marys | Ottawa-Glandorf | St. Marys Season | Opponents Season | |
| Points Scored | 13 | 18 | 241 | 148 |
| First Downs | 10 | 15 | 126 | 129 |
| Rushes-Yards | 46-199 | 49-302 | 516-2662 | 380-1382 |
| Completions / Attempts - Yards | 1/4-20 | 1/3-28 | 18/48-296 | 78/175-1185 |
| Had Intercepted | 1 | 1 | 5 | 10 |
| Offensive Plays | 50 | 52 | 567 | 349 |
| Total Offense | 219 | 328 | 2958 | 2559 |
| Punts-Yards | 3-106 | 2-72 | 37-1412 | 32-1407 |
| Blocked | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 2-2 | 2-1 | 15-8 | 15-10 |
| Penalties - Yards | 4-29 | 3-15 | 40-362 | 35-253 |
| RIDER STATS | ||||
| Rushes | Yards | Season Rushes | Season Yards | |
| 7 Rick Haines | 8 | 13 | 72 | 254 |
| 11 Aaron Seewer | 0 | 0 | 2 | 15 |
| 13 John Meinerding | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 |
| 21 Bobby Huttis | 0 | 0 | 24 | 115 |
| 23 Andy Slone | 5 | 24 | 77 | 421 |
| 27 Brandon Meyer | 0 | 0 | 2 | 35 |
| 28 John Thistlethwaite | 19 | 94 | 155 | 960 |
| 30 Ken Williams | 0 | 0 | 7 | 39 |
| 32 Jason Clark | 14 | 68 | 140 | 731 |
| 34 Josh Lamb | 0 | 0 | 22 | 99 |
| Completions / Passes - Interceptions | Yards | Season Completions / Passes - Interceptions | Season Yards | |
| 7 Rick Haines | 1/4-1 | 20 | 15/37-5 | 212 |
| 28 John Thistlethwaite | 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 | 1 | 20 | 6 | 82 |
| 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 31...
Team ~ Game ~ Record ~ WBL Finish
1st Defiance ~ Beat Shawnee 35-0 ~ 10-0 ~ 9-0
2nd Celina ~ Beat Kenton 48-19 ~ 8-2 ~ 7-2
2nd Ottawa-Glandorf ~ Beat St. Marys 18-13 ~ 8-2 ~ 7-2
4th Kenton ~ Lost to Celina 19-48 ~ 6-4 ~ 5-4
4th Van Wert ~ Beat Wapak 23-0 ~ 6-4 ~ 5-4
6th St. Marys ~ Lost to O-G 13-18 ~ 5-5 ~ 4-5
7th Wapakoneta ~ Lost to Van Wert 0-23 ~ 4-6 ~ 4-5
8th Bath ~ Beat Elida 14-13 ~ 4-6 ~ 3-6
9th Elida ~ Lost to Bath 13-14 ~ 1-9 ~ 1-8
10th Shawnee ~ Lost to Defiance 0-35 ~ 1-9 ~ 0-9
Other Scores
Piqua 19 - Butler 8
Troy 72 - Sidney 22
Coldwater - Delphos St. Johns (Sat. 11-1-97 game)
New Bremen 27 - Minster 21
Versailles 42 - Graham 15
For more area scores see WKKI's website: K94 Sports
Ohio High School Athletic Association
Playoff Watch (before Oct. 31 games)
Defiance ~ #1 in Division II Region 6, up from #2 last week WON
~ #2 in State Division II (AP poll), #2 last week.
Celina ~ #3 in Division II Region 8, #3 last week WON
~ #11 in State Division II (AP poll), up from #14 last week
Ottawa-Glandorf ~ #2 in Division IV Region 16, down from #1 last week. WON
~ #15 in State Division IV (AP poll), unranked last week.
Kenton ~ #4 in Division IV Region 16, up from #5 last week. LOST
Non-WBL Area Teams
Greenville ~ #6 in Division II Region 8, down from #4 last week. ?
Bellefontaine ~ #3 in Division III Region 10, #3 last week. WON
~ #7 in State Division III (AP poll), up from #10 last week.
Columbus Grove ~ #4 in Division V Region 18, down from #3 last week. WON
~ #6 in State Division V (AP poll), up from #8 last week.
Coldwater ~ #2 in Division V Region 20, up from #4 last week. ?
~ #6 in State Division V (AP poll), up from #8 last week.
Sidney Lehman ~ #4 in Division V Region 20.WON
Versailles ~ #5 in Division V Region 20, #5 last week. WON
Delphos St. John's ~ #1 in Division VI Region 22, #1 last week. ?
~ #1 in State Division VI (AP poll), #1 last week.
New Bremen ~ #5 in Division VI Region 24, up from #6 last week. WON
(The top 4 teams in each Region qualify for the OHSAA post-season tournament.)