’Riders rough up Patriots

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The Roughriders were bigger. They were faster. They were more, well, rough, too.

All three took their toll on the Patriots.

The Jay County High School boys soccer team gave up three goals in the second half on Monday as they lost to the St. Marys Memorial Roughriders, 4-1.

“The physicality got the best of us,” said JCHS coach Brad Horn, whose team dips to 1-3 on the year. “They were just so much bigger than us. The team wanted no part of that game at all.

“Pretty disappointing. I know they feel the exact same way. We had some players over there saying no one was trying. When you have that in a varsity game, that is pretty pathetic.”

Trailing 3-1 when the game was stopped in the 63rd minute for a water break in the near 90-degree heat, the Patriots were visibly gassed. For the remainder of the game they looked as if they were just counting down the time until the clock read zeroes.

Memorial (2-1-2), like it had all game, sliced through the Jay County defense. Ethan Rose, who already had a goal, weaved his way through the Patriot back line. As he got into the 6-yard box the JCHS defense finally converged and he wasn’t able to get off a shot.

Adam Tobin was.

Tobin, a sophomore, buried a free ball into the left side of the net for the game’s final goal with 7:05 to play.

“We were already down,” Horn said. “They were just out of it. They didn’t keep their heads up. They were already upset with how they were playing and they just let it get to them.”

The Roughriders’ skill set was prevalent from the onset.

Less than four minutes in, they got on top 1-0 as Jordan Moore headed the ball past JCHS goalkeeper Ian Ruiz on an Evan Menker free kick from the right side of the penalty area.

Memorial continued to get chances throughout the game, using its one-touch, give-and-go passing.

“They dominated us,” Horn said. “That killed us. That easily could have been a seven-, eight-, nine-goal game for them. They missed a lot of easy shots.”

The only bright side for the Patriots came relatively early in the first half when Christian Merentes scored the first goal of his career.

Gio Perod centered a ball toward Merentes from the right side of the field. Standing near the top left of the penalty area, Merentes buried a goal into the gusty wind and the far side of the net for the equalizer.

“Gio put a nice ball,” Horn said. “Christian had a beautiful shot.”

But the opportunities from thereon out were few and far between as Memorial continued to control possession.

The Roughriders broke the tie in the 49th minute on Moore’s second goal. Duncan Fry chipped a centering pass from the right side of the field and it was kicked around in front of Ruiz without a shot on frame. But Moore crashed and netted the go-ahead and eventual game-winning goal.

Rose made it 3-1 as he converted a give-and-go sequence with Moore.

“If we don’t have any focus there is no way we are going to beat a team as good as St. Marys,” Horn said. “They are just a pretty solid squad all around.”