St. Marys pulls away with big WBL win at Bath

BATH TOWNSHIP - Bath's coaching staff knew they would have their hands full with St. Marys' running attack.

In the Roughriders' 36-32 opening-win over Piqua last week, they racked up 350 yards on the ground.

In Friday's Western Buckeye League showdown with St. Mary's, Bath's defense slowed the Roughriders' potent running game down a little bit.

For the game, St. Mary's (2-0, 1-0 WBL) rushed for 209 yards and threw for just 50 more.

However, missed opportunities for Bath late in the game proved to be the difference as St. Mary's won with a hard-fought 27-13 victory over the Wildcats at Bath Stadium.

In the final seven minutes of the game, Bath (1-1, 0-1) had possession of the football inside St. Mary's territory twice, but was stopped by the stingy Roughrider defense.

With 1:35 remaining, St. Mary's put the game out of reach when linebacker Josh Zimmerman sacked Bath quarterback Cameron Garver (10 for 18, 136 yards), knocking the football loose and giving defensive end Paul Lauth the opportunity to scoop up the football and run 50 yards for a touchdown.

St. Marys coach Doug Frye said Lauth seized the moment.

"He has some wheels," Frye said of Lauth. "It (the football) laid around there for awhile. I felt that our defense played with a different level of intensity tonight."

St. Marys' leading rusher Jeremy Frey, who rushed for 165 yards against Piqua, did not enter the game until midway through the second quarter because of an injury. He ended the game with 48 yards on six carries.

"He (Frey) hurt his back during the week," Frye said. "We sat him down Wednesday at practice. Tonight, he kept telling us on the sideline to put him in."

Running back Aaron Homan led the Roughriders with 68 yards on 11 touches and a touchdown. Quarterback Jake Taylor ran for 28 yards on 9 carries and scored two TDs.

Running back Dylan Dietz added 31 yards on seven carries for the Roughriders.

Freshman running back Aaron Smith led Bath with 54 yards on 17 carries and a touchdown.

Clark said for the most part, his team did what it needed to do.

"I cannot fault the effort," Clark said. "They left everything out on the field. We had some opportunities tonight, but we could not take advantage of them.

"You cannot make mistakes. When you face a great team like St. Marys, you cannot make too many mistakes."

Frye said he was just happy to get out with a win against Bath.

"A win on the road in the Western Buckeye League is always big," Frye said. "(Coach) Todd Clark has a talented team. They are going to be a team to be reckoned with.

"To win in a hostile environment like this is big."