ST. MARYS — Wapakoneta decisively defeated rival St. Marys 49-21 on Friday night, turning a competitive start into a dominant victory. The Redskins entered the game with heightened motivation after St. Marys held its homecoming ceremony prior to kickoff, an event Wapakoneta quarterback Daron Houser indicated gave his team "a good edge" for the contest. Houser added that the team approached practice all week "with a chip on our shoulder."
The game remained tight initially, with the score tied 14-14. However, Wapakoneta's offense surged in the second quarter, scoring 28 points in just 5 minutes and 50 seconds of game time to take a commanding 35-14 lead into halftime. Gauge Vaughn contributed two touchdowns during this period, first on a 17-yard run and then on a 7-yard pass from Houser, extended by the quarterback's play, into the back-right corner of the end zone. Vaughn credited his offensive line for the receiving score, noting they "don’t always get that much credit."
The Redskins capitalized further just before the half ended. After a St. Marys timeout with nine seconds left, Tre Moore fumbled the ball, which Houser scooped up and returned 39 yards for a touchdown as time expired in the second quarter, putting Wapakoneta up by three scores. Houser expressed surprise at the timeout, stating he was "glad that they called that timeout."
Wapakoneta's momentum continued into the third quarter when Blake Rogers returned the opening kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown, extending the lead to 42-14 and leaving the home crowd in disbelief. St. Marys coach Bo Frye lamented his team's performance, stating, "I don’t know what happened. We just fell apart," and took "full blame" for the collapse across all three phases of the game.
The Wapakoneta rushing attack totaled 302 yards. Gauge Vaughn led the effort with 188 yards on 19 carries, scoring two touchdowns. Daron Houser added 61 yards on 10 carries, completing 5 of 6 passes for 85 yards and two touchdowns despite playing with a heavily wrapped right shoulder. Trent Lisi had four receptions for 78 yards and a touchdown, including a 5-yard pass from Houser.
For St. Marys, Dyllan Fink carried the ball 19 times for 99 yards. Logan Payton had 7 carries for 35 yards and a touchdown, also completing 4 of 10 passes for 25 yards and a touchdown to Aidyn Johns, who caught two passes for 13 yards. Payton, however, was intercepted twice, both times by Wapakoneta's Braeden Bowersock. Bowersock, who secured two interceptions, shared that he felt motivated after a difficult game the previous week where he believed he "let my teammates down and this community down."
Wapakoneta coach Travis Moyer noted the team's emphasis on generating "explosive plays," achieving 16 plays of at least 10 yards in the game. Moyer highlighted improved execution from all 11 players, better ball control, and success at the line of scrimmage, emphasizing the need to "continue to play a high level" and "get better."
Wapakoneta now holds a 2-3 overall record and a 2-2 record in the Western Buckeye League. St. Marys moves to 3-2 overall and 2-2 in WBL play.
