Jacob Kessler of St. Marys is tackled by Kenton’s Maddox Hommel during Friday night’s game.
Richard Parrish | The Lima News
ST. MARYS – St. Marys wants to run the football virtually every play, while Kenton looks to pass as much as possible.
Something had to give in Friday’s Western Buckeye League matchup between those two different offenses.
St. Marys’ lethal running attack proved to be too much for Kenton to handle as the Roughriders rushed for 506 yards, en route to a convincing 64-28 victory over the visiting Wildcats.
St. Marys improved to 6-2 overall and 5-2 in WBL action. Kenton fell to 1-7 in all games played and 1-6 in league action.
“We’ve been doing it (running the football) all year,” St. Marys coach Bo Frye said. “We were in a little lull there, early in the season. We’re starting to peak at where we want to get to every year.”
Nine different players carried the football for the Roughriders on Friday, while they did not attempt a single pass on the night.
Jacob Kessler led the St. Marys rushing attack with 107 yards on just four carries. Kessler had a 62-yard touchdown run on the first drive of the night.
St. Marys spread the wealth around on Friday.
Caleb Schmidt had 96 yards on 13 carries and had a TD run. Colton Mabry rushed for 90 yards on 13 touches. Dominik Osborne carried the football 13 times for 64 yards and had three TDs. Tre Moore recorded 62 yards on just two carries and had a 52-yard TD run. Quarterback Aiden Meinerding recorded 14 yards on four carries and had a score. Dyllan Fink ran for 26 yards on five carries and had a TD run. On defense, Fink made an interception on Kenton’s last possession of the contest and ran it back 45 yards for a score for the Roughriders.
“We’ve got a veteran team,” Frye said. “A lot of those kids have been carrying the ball for three or four years. Kessler, you will see in the backfield more now after we moved him from quarterback. But they are all natural running backs. … That’s what we get here at St. Marys.”
Kenton did its damage in the air. Quarterback Korbin Johnston was 29 of 42 passing for 295 yards and had three TD passes. Maddux McFarlin was Johnston’s favorite receiver with 10 catches for 115 yards and two TDs. Teammate Zayne Perkins had 10 receptions for 99 yards and two scores.
The Roughriders jumped out to a commanding 21-0 lead by the end of the first quarter. By halftime, St. Marys led 35-6. Kenton cut the deficit to 22 points, 42-20, by the end of the third quarter.
St. Marys rolled up 334 rushing yards in the first half.
“I told them that if they wanted to throw a pass, we had to get to 400 (rushing yards). I didn’t know we had 334 (yards) at that point. It felt like it was a lot, but I didn’t think it was that much,” Frye said with a grin.
Frye said his team battled through some adversity in the first half of the season.
“(Colton) Mabry got hurt earlier this season. He missed the Wapak and Defiance games. He’s been our leader. We were also searching for a quarterback earlier in the year. … We really didn’t have a quarterback. We had moved Kessler to quarterback, basically to run the ball. But Aiden Meinerding is really coming around (at quarterback). You didn’t see a lot from him (Meinerding) tonight, but you will in the future,” he said.
Score by quarters
Kenton 0 6 14 8 – 28
St. Marys 21 14 7 22 – 64
Scoring Summary
SM – 62-yard run by Jacob Kessler (kick by Bradey Triplett); 9:51, first
SM – 9-yard run by Dominik Osborne (kick by Bradey Triplett); 6;12, first
SM – 1-yard run Dominik Osborne (kick by Bradey Triplett); :54, first
SM – 6-yard run by Dyllan Fink (kick by Bradey Triplett); 6:45, second
K – 6-yard pass from Korbin Johnston to Maddux McFarlin (pass failed); 2:11, second
SM – 2-yard run by Caleb Schmidt (kick by Bradey Triplett); :38, second
K – 13-yard pass from Korbin Johnston to Zayne Perkins (pass good); 9:00, third
SM – 1-yard run by Aiden Meinerding (kick by Bradey Triplett); 6:49, third
K – 11-yard pass from Korbin Johnston to Zayne Perkins (pass failed); 3:02, third
SM – 2-yard run by Dominik Osborne (run good); 9:48, fourth
K – 26-yard pass from Korbin Johnston to Maddux McFarlin (pass good); 3:01, fourth
SM – 52-yard run by Tre Moore (kick by Owen Lee); 1:14, fourth
SM – 45-yard interception return by Dyllan Fink (kick by Owen Lee); 1:08, fourth
Team Statistics
Kenton St. Marys
49 Rushing Yards 506
295 Passing Yards 0
344 Total Yards 506
29/42/1 Pass Comp./ Att./INT 0/0/0
15 First Downs 19
5/36 Penalties/Yds. 3/29
2/0 Fumbles/Loss 1/0
3/39 Punts/Average 0/0
Individual Statistics
Rushing: Kenton – Korbin Johnston – 18 carries, 45 yards; St. Marys – Jacob Kessler – 4 carries for 107 yards, TD
Passing: Kenton – Korbin Johnston – 29 of 42, 295 yards, 4 TDs; St. Marys – N/A
Receiving: Kenton – Maddux McFarlin – 10 catches, 115 yards, 2 TDs
