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Celina's Ian Mullins (56) tries to keep St. Marys' Colton Mabry (34) from getting through as Roughrider lineman Terry Amborski tries to make room during Friday's Battle of Grand Lake at Grand Lake Health Systems Field.
ST. MARYS - In the 106th "Battle for the Lake" Celina got a dose of old fashioned Roughrider ground and pound football.
St. Marys amassed 321 yards of rushing offense on 66 carries, rolling past the Bulldogs 35-6 in the Western Buckeye League opener Friday at Grand Lake Health Systems Field.
The Roughriders (2-0, 1-0) put on a three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust clinic in the first quarter. Dominik Osborne nearly returned the open kick-off for a touchdown but was tripped up at the Celina 44 yard line.
From there St. Marys ran 15 plays, converted three fourth downs, ate seven and a half minutes off the clock, and scored on a one yard run by Colton Mabry. The Riders averaged 2.93 yards a carry on the drive.
The Bulldogs fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Parker Beam recovered for St. Marys at the Celina 31. Eight more running plays from there found the Riders back in the endzone with Mabry's second one-yard touchdown run.
Bradey Triplett added the second of what would be his five PAT kicks on the night, and with 1:03 left in the first quarter St. Marys had run 23 plays from scrimmage to Celina's zero, and led 14-0.
"That's not the way you draw the start of a game up, especially a big rivalry game," Celina coach Brennen Bader said. "Bottom line is they went 40 yards in 15 plays. We made them earn it, but the defense was on the field way too much and that was the problem."
For St. Marys coach Bo Frye, getting a short field on the game's first possession was just what the doctor ordered.
"I think the opening kickoff set the tone for the game," he said. "We should have took it to the house, but we got it down to the 40 yard line and whenever you're starting at the 40 yard line doing what we do, you're in good shape."
Celina's Wes Greber (4) tries to get by St. Marys' Luke Borns (12) as Camron Dammeyer chases.
Celina (1-1, 0-1) was able to quickly answer the Riders' second score thanks to a 61-yard run by Jon Lutz to the St. Marys 10. Three plays later Bulldog quarter Bobby Morris scampered in from one yard out with 11:19 left in the half. The PAT kick by Karsyn Smalley was blocked.
Each team turned the ball over on downs on its next possession setting up 10-play, 63-yard scoring drive by the Riders. Osborne capped the drive with a 30 yard scamper for a 21-6 lead with 57 seconds left in the half.
Celina was able to move the ball on it's opening possession of the second half, but the drive ran out of gas on fourth down at the St. Marys 15.
The Riders went back to work on the ground. A 40-yard run by Caleb Schmidt highlighted an 11-play, 85-yard scoring drive finished off with a one-yard sneak by quarterback Jacob Kessler with 1:03 left in the third.
St. Marys capped the scoring with another sustained drive and a two-yard TD run by Schmidt in the fourth quarter to put the game on ice.
"I thought Celina played hard. I thought they did some good things and that's a testament to their kids. I think we wore them down," Frye said. "We're are a completely two-platoon football team, and we've worked really hard to get to that point. And I think you saw the benefit of it tonight."
"It wears you down," Bader said of the St. Marys game plan. "But you've got to win first downs to get them in situations of second and third-and-long to get them a little more uncomfortable with what they do. But when they're living in second-and-medium and third-and-threes, it's pretty easy."
For the second straight week Osborne (108) and Mabry (101) rushed for over 100 yards. Schmidt tallied 86 yards on 13 carries.
After gong 0-for-2 passing last week against St. Henry, the Riders did not attempt a pass against Celina, and will head to week three next Friday at Defiance still looking for their first pass completion of the season.
"We're a senior-dominated football team and our goal is excellence," Frye said. "Excellence is nothing ever sloppy or not right. So we're chasing excellence, and keeping the ball on the ground is part of being excellent."
Celina's Bobby Morris (1) tries to evade St. Marys' Wesley Blair during Friday's Battle of Grand Lake at St. Marys.
Lutz finished with 75 yards on seven carries for Celina. Morris scrambled for 20 yards before leaving the game with cramps late in the third quarter.
"Hats off to St. Marys they brought it tonight. They were the more physical team for the 48 minutes," Bader added. "It wasn't a lack of effort from us tonight, it's just they were more physical for too many plays, especially early on, and we just didn't recover from those early punches."
The Bulldogs will look to get back on the winning track next Friday at home against Van Wert.
