Colton Mabry of St. Marys runs the ball against St. Henry earlier this season. Since Marbry’s return from injury, the Roughriders are 3-0.
Since Colton Mabry returned to the lineup in Week 5, St. Marys (5-2, 4-2 Western Buckeye League) has reeled off three straight victories and the running game has returned to its dominant early-season form.
Mabry, Dominik Osborne and Caleb Schmidt have collectively rushed for 1,785 yards and 21 touchdowns, and this week, the Roughriders host Kenton (1-6, 1-5 Western Buckeye League), a team that allows 32 points and over 170 rushing yards per game.
Kenton, however, enters Friday night with a polar opposite approach that includes the WBL’s top passing duo in Korbin Johnston (136/189, 2,035 yards, 16 TDs) and Zayne Perkins (46 catches, 633 yards, 8 TDs). The Wildcats are putting up 29 points per game.
“Kenton has shown the ability to score points on everyone,” St. Marys coach Bo Frye said. “They return a number of veteran players. They are an athletic, big, physical, well-coached football team.”
The Wildcats have lost four straight games to Bath, Celina, Defiance and Wapakoneta, all teams with winning records. Their lone victory was over Elida, a 37-0 shutout in Week 3.
To no one’s surprise, Kenton coach Zach Turner comes into this week with an emphasis on containing the run, specifically Mabry, who’s improved every week since his return to the lineup.
“Mabry is a dominant inside runner who runs behind his pads very well, ” Turner said. “He does a great job of running through contact and the offensive line has been a key piece for them. They get off the ball extremely well and they know their assignments.”
The starting defensive line tasked with stopping St. Marys’ Wing-T attack includes Bill Wilkinson (6-2, 180), Matt Handell (5-11, 220), Jaycob Francis (5-11, 240) and Zach Burroughs (5-10, 235).
“They play to their identity very well,” Turner said of the Roughriders. “You know going into it you have to stop the run. If you don’t do that, you’re in for a long night.”
For St. Marys, Frye believes the key to his team’s recent success has started in the trenches.
“We need to win the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball,” Frye said. “It’ll be important that we finish drives in the end zone and defensively we need to tackle well and limit the big play.”
Kenton’s offense is classically pass-heavy, but it has also included 1,076 yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground this season. Johnston leads the way with 537 yards and seven touchdowns and Grady Kleman-Beazley has 368 yards and four touchdowns.
The 5-8, 160-pound Kleman-Beazley also compliments Perkins and Maddux McFarlin (40 catches, 592 yards, 2 TDs) in the passing game with 173 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
On the defensive line, St. Marys has recorded 133 tackles 15 sacks and a fumble recovery. Caleb Turner leads the unit with 33 tackles and three sacks. Linebackers Camrom Dammeyer and Taylor Compton have combined for 110 tackles and defensive back Parker Beam leads the team with three interceptions.
”Defensively they let their kids play loose and they buzz around,” Turner said. “You have to be able to be sound in your pass protection and keep your QB upright. They have length at the defensive line and a lot of high-motor players.”
Last season St. Marys topped Kenton 59-32 on Oct. 6.
Reach Chris Howell at 567-242-0468 or on Twitter/X at @Lima_Howell
