Fast start leads Western past St. Paul

COLLINS — Western Reserve felt like it had two opponents Friday. The Roughriders entered the Firelands Conference game vs. St. Paul averaging 23 pas attempts per game — a big change from years past. It was also raining from start to finish — but the 'Riders were ready. Quarterback Hayden Keith was 13-of-15 passing for 198 yards and ran 15 times for 74 yards and a pair of touchdowns in a 28-7 win over the Flyers at Bachelder Field. With the win, Western is 5-1 overall and 3-0 in the FC. It has a huge game next week at Monroeville (6-0, 3-0) for sole possession of first place. The 'Riders went up 16-0 in the first quarter, which proved critical over the final three quarters. "It was big, I thought we played well early," Western head coach Ty Stevenson said. "We worked really hard the last few weeks to weather proof this offense. We went down to Wynford three weeks ago in the rain and we didn't play well (33-22 loss). "We've worked hard to get some things we're more comfortable with in the run game, and some high percentage pass routes. I thought our kids played really well." Western opened with a 6-play, 66-yard drive that saw the Flyers (2-4, 2-1) whistled for a 15-yard chop block penalty on defense. That turned a second-and-12 to a first down at the St. Paul 15, and Keith went around the left side and in on the next play for the TD. Jared Hipp added the 2-point run for an 8-0 lead at the 6:30 mark of the fist quarter. After a St. Paul drive stalled near midfield, the 'Riders struck quickly. Keith found Brexton Fraelich for a 40-yard pass to the St. Paul 7. Landyn Wiegel went up the middle on the next play for the score, and Keith added the two points for a 16-0 lead with 1:09 left in the first. Both teams proceeded to trade fumbles, then Western's Tyler Wood intercepted a pass at the Western 30 and returned it 16 yards. The 'Riders then moved 54 yards in six plays with Keith finding his way around the left end for a 4-yard TD run. The try for two failed, but Western had a 22-0 lead with 1:39 left in the first half. Western then recovered the ensuing squib kick, but were denied on a third-and-goal at the St. Paul 4 on the final play of the first half. The 'Riders then opened the second half with a 9-play, 56-yard march that saw Keith find Hayden Dobias for two big passes, then he scored on a 2-yard run with 7:44 left in the third. The run for two was again denied to leave it 28-0. "Defensively we played well early," Stevenson said. "St. Paul has made a living going up early on teams, and we always try to do a lot of what St. Paul does. "We did a great job of getting up early on them, and just kind of holding on and finishing the game." The Flyers then put together their lone scoring drive. They used up 7:41 of the third quarter and went 59 yards over 14 plays. They were faced with a third-and-33 from their own 42 when Grant Kuhnle found Landon Fries for 38 yards. Five plays later, Fries scored on a 10-yard run on the final play of the quarter, and Nate Griffin added the extra point. Both teams moved the ball in the final 12 minutes, but neither team scored. "We started the game off not adjusting well to things," St. Paul head coach Chris Doughty said. "We started the game flat and made mistakes every time it mattered. Western looked like a conference championship contender tonight, and we didn't. "We made mistakes, and they took advantage of pretty much all of them. It's going to be a matter of going back to the drawing board, get a good week of practice in, fix our mistakes and play better." Dobias caught nine passes for 79 yards for Western, while Jared Hipp added 46 yards rushing on eight attempts. "I told our kids this win makes the next one a lot bigger than it would have been," Stevenson said of the pending game at Monroeville. "Just happy for our kids. It was obviously a tumultuous offseason, and they've worked hard to be where they are. "St. Paul is good. They have guys coming back, but lost (Nick) Pocos. Give them credit, they will get healthy and win a bunch of games — but we're happy tonight." Fries ran 16 times for 73 yards and caught four passes for 60 yards for St. Paul. Stieber added 54 yards on 14 attempts, while Kuhnle was 5-of-9 passing for 65 yards. The Flyers, who played without Nick Pocos (343 yards/41 tackles) in the loss, host New London (2-4, 0-3) next week. "There were some positives," Doughty said. "It was nice to have Jack and Brock (Houck) back out here tonight. But overall, we didn't do enough to win the game and Western played well." St. Paul 0 0 7 0 — 7 W. Reserve 16 6 6 0 — 28 WR — Hayden Keith 15 run (Jared Hipp run) WR — Landyn Wiegel 7 run (Keith run) WR — Hipp 4 run (run failed) WR — Keith 2 run (run failed) SP — Landon Fries 10 run (Nate Griffin kick)