LEWISTOWN -- For the second time in three seasons, the St. Marys football season came to an end at the hands of Sunbury Big Walnut.
The Golden Eagles scored 17 unanswered points to claim a 17-12 victory Saturday at Indian Lake High School Stadium, matching a second round Division III playoff win over the Roughriders in the 2006 season.
Big Walnut, now 10-2 advances on to the Region 10 finals, while the Riders finish the season at 9-3.
The Riders scored the game's first 12 points in the first quarter and appeared to be dominating, but the Golden Eagles made some adjustments, took advantage of a turnover and some big plays to come away with the win.
Aaron Homan returned the opening kick-off to mid-field, giving the Riders a short field to work with on their first possession. Quarterback Jake Taylor took advantage with two completions on the drive, including a 23-yard touchdown pass to a wide open Cody Martin with 8:03 left in the first quarter.
The extra point kick by Chaz Adkins was partially blocked and no good.
The Golden Eagles managed just one first down on their initial possession before punting back to St. Marys. The Riders struck paydirt again, this time with the help of back-to-back big plays. After picking up a first down on three plays, Taylor connected with Matt Watkins for a gain of 34 yard to the Big Walnut 33 yard line.
On the very next play Jeremy Frey burst up the middle and would not be denied as he rambled 33 yards for the score. After an offsides penalty by the Golden Eagles, St. Marys needed just one-and-a-half yards for the two-point conversion, but were denied to maintain a 12-0 lead with 4:24 left in the first quarter.
After another short Big Walnut possession, the Riders appeared to be poised to blow the game wide open. St. Marys mounted a very impressive drive spanning more than eight minutes of the first and second quarters. The Riders ran 19 plays, but the drive ended in frustration as St. Marys turned the ball over on downs.
The Riders got as far as the Big Walnut 15 yard line, declined the field goal attempt on fourth down and ended up turning the ball over on downs.
Big Walnut's third possession of the first half resulted in its third punt. St. Marys again was able to move the ball, but again turned the ball over on downs, this time at the Big Walnut 38 yard line.
Three incomplete passes gave the ball right back to St. Marys, however a Jake Taylor pass was intercepted by Jacob Deltedesco, who returned the ball to the St. Marys 38 yard line. Four plays later Golden Eagle quarterback Johnny Cannell connected with Brett Myers for a 15 yard touchdown. The PAT kick was good, cutting St. Marys' lead to 12-7 with 21 seconds left in the half.
The Riders dominated the stat sheet in the first half with 43 offensive plays and 231 yards, compared to 18 plays and 97 yards for Big Walnut. However, the margin on the scoreboard was just five points.
A 40-yard roll-out run by Cannell set up the go-ahead touchdown for the Golden Eagles. The run got Big Walnut to the St. Marys 6 yard line. Four plays later, on fourth down, Cannell rolled right and scored from two yards out. The PAT kick by A.J. Fleak was good, giving the Eagles a 14-12 lead with 3:15 left in the third quarter.
The Riders stalled on their next possession, and attempted a short snap fake punt. However, Homan was stopped a half-yard short giving Big Walnut another short field.
Big Walnut drove to the St. Marys 20 yard line, where the drive stalled. Fleak came on to nail a 37-yard field goal, extending the Golden Eagle lead to 17-12 two minutes into the fourth quarter.
The Riders were able to break some big runs in the second half, but the drives kept stalling, and without a place-kicking threat St. Marys was unable to convert on fourth downs, going 0-5 on the night.
St. Marys had one last chance with 1:50 left in the game, but Taylor was intercepted for the second time on the night and Big Walnut was able to pick up a first down and run the clock out.
The Riders ran 73 offensive plays, gaining 408 yards, compared to 224 yards on 44 plays for the Eagles.
Frey ended his high school career with a big night, gaining 172 yards on 26 carries. Homan had 71 yards on 14 carries, as the Riders rushed for 310 yards.
With Defiance eliminated in week 11 and St. Marys out in week 12, Ottawa-Glandorf remains the only WBL team in the playoffs. The Titans defeated the Spartans from Marion Pleasant, 28-21, in overtime Friday to advance to the Div IV regional finals next week. Next Friday, O-G will play Genoa Area High School, which defeated Fostoria 28-14 to advance, at a place to be announced. Good luck to the Titans in representing the WBL.
Another Div IV game of interest next week will be the #1 seeded and undefeated Coldwater Cavaliers taking on the 10-2 Kettering Archbishop Alter Knights. If Coldwater and Ottawa-Glandorf continue to advance, they would meet at 3:00 pm Nov. 28 in the Div IV state championship game at Canton Fawcett Stadium.
In Div. V, the Marion Local Flyers are alive and scheduled to play West Jefferson on Saturday Nov. 15. The big game just to the north of St. Marys on Friday the 14th will be the undefeated Ada Bulldogs versus the 10-2 Delphos St. Johns Blue Jays in Div VI. Sidney Lehman is also still in the Div. VI hunt, taking their 11-1 record up against undefeated Mechanicsburg on Friday.
