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St. Marys' Dyllan Fink tries to bring down Maumee's Owen Tolbert.
ST. MARYS - If you like your offense Grand Lake Health Systems Field was the place to be Friday night.
The game featured just under 900 yards of combined total offense, 90 points, and one punt.
St. Marys rolled up 554 yards, including 491 on the ground, on its way to week 12 with a 57-33 victory over the Maumee Panthers.
"We were able to spread things out on offense," St. Marys coach Bo Frye said. "I'm actually real proud of some of those seniors that stepped in - Adisen Cantor, Parker Wehnes, Mason Ahlers -- they really made some nice plays tonight and I'm proud of them."
The Roughriders (8-3) move on in the D-III, Region 10 bracket and have earned a long bus ride to Medina County to take on Seville Cloverleaf next Friday in round two. The third-seeded Colts (8-2) had a first round bye.
The fireworks started early. After receiving the opening kick, St. Marys lost a fumble at its own 40 yard line on its second play from scrimmage. From there it took the Panthers three plays to get on the scoreboard.
Maumee quarterback Keaton McCullough tossed a 29-yard scoring strike to Braidon Linn with 10:23 on the clock. The Riders blocked the PAT kick.
The Panthers opted for an onside kick following the score, but the first bounce landed in the hands of St. Marys Jace Rhodes who had a clear field in front of him.
Rhodes was dragged down at the Maumee 12 where the Riders scored on a sweep around the right end. Ethan Ibrahim's kick was good for a 7-6 lead with 9:43 still on the first quarter clock.
The defense for both teams remained AWOL in the early going. Maumee's next possession ended with a 25-yard touchdown pass from McCullough to Eli Dodson. The two-point conversion was no good.
St. Marys' Tre Moore (4) tries to beat Maumee's Eli Dodson to the end zone.
It took St. Marys less than a minute to answer. With the Panthers stacking the line of scrimmage with 11 defenders, Tre Moore found a crease and there was no one in front of him on a 52-yard sprint to the end zone.
The Riders elected to go for two and a field goal lead. Dyllan Fink crossed the goal line untouched to give St. Marys a 15-12 lead with 4:40 remaining in the opening quarter.
Now it was the Panthers turn. A 12-play, 72 yard drive was capped with a Dodson three-yard run, followed by a successful PAT kick for a 19-15 lead for the visitors.
The Riders snatched the lead back with a nine play 64-yard scoring drive which ended with a one-yard Logan Peyton sneak.
The St. Marys defense forced a turnover on the ensuing possession when Fink intercepted a pass at his own one yard line. That would eventually set up the Riders longest run from scrimmage this season, a 77-yard TD run by Tyler Holsinger and a 29-19 lead.
St. Marys' Tyler Holsinger (31) busts through the line for yards in the Roughriders' Division III playoff opener with Maumee.
After stopping the Panthers on downs, the Roughriders struck pay dirt again. A well-executed screen pass from Peyton to Cantor resulted in 63-yard touchdown and a 36-19 lead at the half.
Maumee took advantage of two pass interference penalties on St. Marys to set up a three-yard touchdown run by McCullough with 4:37 left in the third. One minute later, Peyton broke a tackle at the point of attack and rambled 36 yards for a 43-26 lead.
The Panthers' final score came on an 18-yard bubble screen pass from McCullough to Linn.
The Riders added two fourth quarter touchdowns on an eight-yard run by fink and a 32-yard run by Holsinger, who finished the night 196 yards on 13 carries.
Five different St. Marys backs rushed for 50 yards or more in the win.
After giving up some big plays in the first half, the Riders were able to come up with some big stops in the second half.
"We've been getting better all season. We're finding ways," Frye said. "Three interceptions tonight were big. We were minus four on the turnover ratio coming in and it's been our goal to get back to zero for a while."
