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Thursday, 04 October 2007 |
St. Marys looks to stay on top of WBL, hosts Van Wert
By BRIAN SMITH
Sports Editor
The fortunes of the St. Marys football team brightened considerably after a 35-21 win over Ottawa-Glandorf last Friday.
St. Marys moved into a first-place tie in the Western Buckeye League and catapulted to the 12th position in Region 10, after being as low as 22nd this season.
More important were the improvements seen on the field, though. St. Marys coach Doug Frye praised all three facets of the game in his team’s win over the Titans on Friday.
Now the Riders turn their gaze to the surprise of the 2007 season for homecoming. Van Wert comes to town at 3-3, 3-2 in the WBL – three times its win total of a year ago.
The schedule is not kind to the Van Wert football team. The Cougars face the four current WBL leaders during the last four weeks of the season.
Still, the turnaround for a team that went 1-9 season a year ago is striking. New head coach Bob Priest took over this season and has the Cougars at a respectable .500 mark.
His team lost 12-9 to Bryan in the season opener and has lost to Defiance and Wapakoneta the last two weeks.
Even if the schedule was especially kind to Van Wert early, the Cougars have scored 109 points so far this season.
Van Wert scored 62 points all of last season.
Last year Van Wert surrendered 324 points. At the halfway point of the season, the Cougars have given up just 108 points.
Senior runningback Steve Sealscott is the focal point of the Cougar offense. The 5-10, 185-pound back has 418 yards on 95 carries (4.4 yard per carry) and seven touchdowns this season. He also has 225 yards receiving this season and 31 tackles from his free safety position.
Van Wert is judicious in its passing game. Tim Hoverman is 35-of-63 passing for 563 yards (112 yard per game), with five touchdowns and five interceptions.
Along with Sealscott’s 223 yards receiving out of the backfield, Evan Hamman has seven catches for 212 yards this season (30.3 yards per catch).
Turnovers have hounded the Cougars this season, though.
The steady influence that has helped Van Wert be competitive has been the defense.
Defensive end Adam Kuster leads the Cougars with 50 tackles. Sealscott has 47 tackles. Linebacker Todd Krugh has 43 tackles for Van Wert.
Van Wert has struggled to find consistency in the punting game. Three different players have five or more punts this season – all of them averaging under 30 yards per punt.
Clint Mathews is seven-of-10 on point after touchdown attempts for Van Wert this season.
St. Marys’ search for production in the running game outside of Koby Frye came in the form of Kenny Bruce the last two weeks. St. Marys coach Doug Frye said that Bruce’s ability to get big yardage opened up lanes for Koby Frye.
Two big interceptions by Corey Menker and Derek Dunlap helped the Riders jump into first place in the WBL in the win over Ottawa-Glandorf.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 08 October 2007 )
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