High school football: Osborne leads St. Marys past St. Henry

ST. MARYS — St. Marys played St. Marys football to a “T” on Friday night in a 33-14 win over St. Henry.

They were physical on both sides of the ball, run-dominant and did more than enough to demoralize their opponent.

Twice, St. Henry made it a one-score game, but both times, the Roughriders answered with a long, back-breaking drive that ended with a touchdown.

They also dominated time of possession, 33:59-13:40.

What didn’t work for St. Marys during a winless first four weeks of last season certainly clicked in Week 1 against the Redskins.

“There’s been a goal in our program to never go back to that 0-4 start,” said St. Marys coach Bo Frye. “That was miserable for coaches, players and everyone in between. We’re not going back to it.”

“We’ve worked since December for this,” running back Dominik Osborne said after rushing for 193 yards and three touchdowns. “We have 21 seniors and we’ve lifted at 5:45 a.m. three days a week since then to make sure we didn’t get off to another start like that.”

Osborne and Colton Mabry, his backfield mate, accounted for all five of the Roughriders’ touchdowns. The two combined for 308 yards on the ground.

“Dominik Osborne has been playing for three years, Colton Mabry has been playing for four years, so we have quite a bit of confidence in those guys,” Frye said. “We’re going to continue relying on them throughout this year.”

St. Marys scored three times in the first half, including the game’s first 12 points.

A 6-play, 54-yard drive that ended with a 9-yard run from Mabry broke the scoreless tie. Osborne set up the play with a 33-yard run.

The Roughriders forced a three-and-out on St. Henry’s next possession, then took the ball 73 yards, capped off by a 34-yard rushing touchdown from Osborne.

St. Henry’s lone source of offense was running back Charlie Werling, who accounted for 155 of his team’s 229 total yards. Werling scored twice, a 2-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter and a 28-yard run early in the fourth.

The first time Werling scored, St. Marys answered with a physical 18-play drive that ended with Osborne’s 8-yard touchdown.

After Werling broke off his long run in the fourth, St. Marys used nine plays and a three-yard touchdown run from Mabry to keep its distance.

“That’s who we are,” Frye said. “That physicality is our backbone. If we’re not physical and we can’t get people on you, it’s bad for us. Last year that was something we couldn’t do. This year we’re a little older, a little longer in the weight room and a little bit more motivated to make sure this thing works.”

Osborne put the finishing touches on the win with just under five minutes left on a short touchdown run.

St. Marys didn’t complete a pass in the game. They finished with 405 yards of total offense.

St. Henry quarterback Jack Huelsman went 4-for-18 for 29 yards. Jared Nietfeld had the game’s longest reception of 15 yards.

Scoring Summary

STM — Colton Mabry 9-yard run (Brady Triplett extra point failed) — 1Q, 3:53

STM — Dominik Osborne 34-yard run (Two-point conversion failed) — 2Q, 11:46

SH — Charlie Werling 2-yard run (Michael Gonzalez extra point good) — 2Q, 9:35

STM — Dominik Osborne 8-yard run (Brady Triplett extra point good) — 2Q, 0:54

SH — Charlie Werling 28-yard run (Michael Gonzalez extra point good) — 4Q, 11:47

STM — Colton Mabry 3-yard run (Brady Triplett extra point good) — 4Q, 6:55

STM — Dominik Osborne 1-yard run (Brady Triplett extra point good) — 4Q, 4:55

Passing

Jacob Kessler (STM) — 0/2, 0 yards

Jack Huelsman (SH) — 4/18, 29 yards

Rushing

Dominik Osborne (STM) — 23 carries, 193 yards, 3 TDs

Charlie Werling (SH) — 12 carries, 149 yards, 2 TDs

Receiving

Jared Nietfeld (SH) — 1 catch, 15 yards

Total yards

St. Marys: 405

St. Henry: 229

Reach Chris Howell at 567-242-0468 or on Twitter/X at @Lima_Howell