By DAVID STILWELL
The Evening Leader

DEFIANCE -- Doug Frye simply called it "the Roughrider Mystique."

"Never quit. Out-condition your opponent, and believe in yourself," Frye said. "These kids believed and they proved a point here tonight."

The "Mystique" was alive and well Friday night, as St. Marys scored a thrilling 45-44 triple-overtime victory over Defiance at Fred J. Brown Stadium.

"I couldn't possibly be more proud of these guys," said Frye as his charges answered the bell time and time again. "I told the kids before the game, we don't have a chance to make the playoffs, but we're playing the defending state champs and we've got a chance to knock them out of the playoffs. So in a sense this was our playoff game tonight."

The game featured a little bit of everything -- comical officiating, goal line stands, turnovers, crucial penalties -- but in the end, it all rested on the toe of senior kicker Kurt Kill.

Defiance PAT kicker Brock Dodrill left the door open as his attempt in the third overtime sailed just wide. Kill, who had a game-tieing field goal, had hit four PATs in a row, including two must-makes in overtime, calmly booted the ball though the uprights in the third OT, giving the Roughriders the one-point win.

While the Bulldogs won the battle in the trenches, the Riders went to the airways to most of their damage, which included a record-setting 204 yards passing -- yes PASSING.

Junior quarterback John Meinerding completed 15 of 20 passes for 169 yards, while Andy Slone completed two halfback passes for 35 yards.

This from a team that came into the game with just 17 completions and 190 yards passing in its first six games combined, and ranked dead last in the WBL in any kind of passing category you could possibly think of.

Most of the passing came on "The Drive" late in the fourth quarter.

Starting on its own eight yard line, Defiance mounted a late fourth quarter drive, aided by two long pass plays of 37 and 45 yards from quarterback Drew Price to split end Nate Drown.

But the Bulldog drive eventually stalled inside the Roughrider five, and Dodrill kicked a 19-yard field goal with 2:14 left in the game to give Defiance a 24-21 lead.

The ensuing kickoff was squibbed and bobbled down to about the 10, where Bob Huttis picked it up and appeared to fumble on a crushing blind side hit. However, the officials ruled the Huttis was down, and the Riders had possession at their own 10.

What ensued was the closest thing Roughrider fans have seen to a two-minute drill in the school's history.

Meinerding threw 13 consecutive passes on the drive, most of which were short out patterns, mixed in with 31-yard sideline streak to Jason Homan, who stepped out of bounds at the Defiance 10 with 23 seconds to play.

"We had to be patient," Frye said. "If we got greedy or selfish, it would have backfired. I think John Meinerding did a great job of leading the team on that drive. He became a quarterback tonight."

Two more short competitions moved the ball to the three, but with just 8.4 seconds left, The Riders settled for a field goal from Kill to send the game into overtime.

The format is simple. Each team gets the ball at the 20, and whoever scores the most wins. If the game is still tied, the process is repeated until someone wins. The Riders won the toss, and elected to play defense first.

Mirroring some of their drives during regulation, the Bulldogs grounded out the 20 yards on seven running plays, capped by Josh Hacker's five-yard run. Dodrill's Kick was good.

The Riders needed just two plays on their turn with the ball, as Slone connected with Huttis on a 18-yard halfback pass. Kill was perfect.

The Riders appeared to have Defiance stopped in the second overtime, but the officials ruled otherwise. On fourth and goal from the one, Defiance Coach Jerry Buti opted to go for six instead of a field goal. The Riders were waiting on the handoff to Hacker, and appeared to have stopped him short of the end zone.

The Rider defense sprinted off the field in triumph, but one of the linesmen signaled a touchdown. He appeared to be over-ruled by the referee who waved off the touchdown. Then all the officials huddled for about a minute and (possibly by majority vote) reinstated the touchdown.

"One of them (officials) apparently signaled a touchdown," Frye said. "You have to be able to overcome those type of things, and keep coming back."

And the Riders did.

Aided by two interference penalties, St. Marys answered in the second overtime on a two-yard option pitch from Meinerding to Huttis. Kill split the uprights again.

On to the third overtime.

Defiance had its back to the wall again, facing a fourth and seven, Price connected with Drown, who made a sensational catch at the two yard line for a first down. Price scored on a keeper on the next play, giving the 'Dogs a 44-38 lead. Dodrill booted the extra point, and the two officials under the goal post seemed as though they waited an eternity before waving off the attempt, wide to the left.

The door was now open, but just by a crack.

St. Marys went to work with sophomore Eli Holsinger, who picked up a first down on three straight runs. Bob Huttis did the rest of the work, scoring on a three-yard run, allowing for Kill's game-winning kick.

Meinerding got St. Marys going on its first possession as he completed two slant passes to Homan, the second of which went for 36 yards and a touchdown.

Defiance answered on its first offensive possession, driving 68 yards on 12 plays, including nine runs by Hacker.

The Bulldog defense scored next as Meinerding was blind-sided on a sack and coughed up the ball to Mike Nutter, who returned it 45 yards for a TD.

St. Marys took advantage of a Defiance fumble to tie the score early in the third quarter. A 15-yard pass from Slone to James Mabry set up a one-yard run by Joe Young.

Defiance answered with a crushing 17-play drive, as Hacker again led the way.

But St. Marys was not to be denied on this night, and tied things up again with a long drive of its own. Holsinger had the big play -- a 40-yard run. Huttis capped things off on a three-yard run with 9:40 left in the game.

Holsinger was the leading rusher for St. Marys with 75 yards on 18 carries. He was filling in for Ken Williams, who joins Josh Lamb on the sideline with season-ending injuries.

The Riders are now 4-4 on the season and play the its final two games against Wapakoneta and O-G at home.

The Bulldogs came into the game ranked third in the computer ratings, but are now all but eliminated with a 5-3 record.