Roughriders rout Wildcats 58-14

ST. MARYS - Scoring twice in the first four minutes of the game, St. Marys took control of Kenton early and never let up on its way to a 58-14 victory over the Wildcats Friday at Skip Baughman Stadium.

Eric Spicer capped the Roughriders' opening drive with a 33-yard scoring burst. A few seconds later, Grant Keith intercepted a tipped pass from Kenton quarterback Trent Hites on the Wildcats' first play from scrimmage.

Four plays later, Bo Kuenning bulled into the end zone from eight yards out, and with 7:40 left in the first quarter the Roughriders were up 14-0.

"With a Kenton team, at any time they can put the ball in the end zone right now," St. Marys coach Doug Frye said. "Getting out to a big lead is extremely important in any game, but especially against a team like Kenton." 

Hites got the Kenton offense rolling on its second possession, completing seven consecutive passes, including a four-yard scoring strike to Chris Deardorff, cutting the Rider lead in half with 4:25 left in the first quarter.

However, St. Marys answered with a 23-yard touchdown run by Spicer, followed by a safety when Hites was flagged for intentional grounding in his own end zone.

A one-yard run by St. Marys quarterback Dustin Howell on the second play of the second quarter put the Rider up 30-7.

Hites added another touchdown pass  in the second quarter, but Spicer answered on the Riders' next play from scrimmage with  a 74-yard touchdown run to give St. Marys a 37-14 lead that would hold up until halftime.

Despite carrying the ball just one time in the second half, Spicer  finished with 250 yards rushing on 16 carries.

Julius Fisher added 108 yards rushing on 14 carries as the Roughriders amassed 479 yards on the ground.

Hites, the Western Buckeye League's leading passer, finished with 255 yards through the air, connecting on 28 of 44 throws.

But more importantly for Frye, the Rider defense was able to keep the fleet-footed Wildcat quarterback in check on the ground.

Hites was sacked five times and finished the game with negative 20 yards rushing.

"We put some pressure on him, but we were really worried about Hites' scrambling," Frye said. "The number one thing I told the defense in our Sunday meeting was to stop the run, and I thought our defensive line was up to the challenge."

Fisher and sophomore Sean Perry tacked on second half touchdown runs for St. Marys. Freshman Ty Schlosser became the 12th different Roughrider to carry the ball in the game when he scored on a 26-yard  run to cap the scoring in the fourth quarter.

The Riders, now 4-0 and 3-0 in the WBL, travels to Kraft Stadium to face the Elida Bulldogs next Friday. Kenton, 1-3 (1-2), hosts Van Wert at Robinson Field.