By Don Bachman
Two seasons ago at
Maria Stein a 116-pound freshman fullback, by name Jon Hogenkamp,
made his varsity football debut and scored his first point by plunging for the
point after touchdown. Friday night this
same lad, now blossomed out to a hard-driving 165, duplicated this feat to give
Minster a hard fought and bitterly contested 7-6 win over Maria Stein St.
John’s Blu-Jays.
The vital point
followed a six yard touchdown blast by Johnny Horstman
that dampened St. John’s homecoming festivities.
Minster coach Paul Maltinsky had nothing but words of praise for his defensive
line which came through magnificently.
Maria Stein was held to 108 yards rushing on 36 running plays, for an average
of only three yards. Denny Mescher, the Blu-Jays’ hard running fullback, managed only
33 yards in ten attempts.
Maltinsky was pleased with the showing of fullback Rolly Hausfeld which, coupled with the steady work of Horstman
and Hogenkamp, gave the Orange and Black a
hard-hitting backfield.
Maria Stein’s
defense was rugged, as the locals averaged only 4.1 yards in 43 rushing plays.
Horstman’s 20 yard
off-tackle jaunt in the final quarter was the longest run of the evening,
Marinus Puthoff picked up ten yards around end in the
second quarter for the Jays’ biggest running play.
Both teams stayed
on the ground in the first quarter, and most of the action was concentrated
between the 30 yard lines. Late in the quarter Ed Imwalle
put the Cats deep in their own territory with a punt that rolled out on the
four.
The Wildcats moved
to the 25, and Horstman’s punt and a clipping penalty pushed the Jays to their
39. After two running plays netted only one yard Mescher passed to Imwalle to the 37. Puthoff rambled around end for ten yards and Rolland
“Brownie” Thobe and Mescher each picked up four to
put the oval on the 24. A holding
penalty pushed Maria Stein to the 39.
With third down and 14, Thobe hit Chuck Will with a pass on the ten and
the big Blu-Jay raced into the end one for the score. Denny Mescher’s
kick was wide.
Minster was unable
to get a sustained drive going and left the field at halftime trailing 6-0.
The Wildcats came
back to score the first time the got the ball in the second half. They hit through the line for three first
downs to the Blu-Jay 35. A pair of nine yard runs by Hausfeld and
Horstman were key plays. Hogenkamp then drove to the 34 but an offside penalty made
it first and 15 on the 40. A short pass,
Ted Frericks to Oldiges,
was good to the 30 and Hogenkamp cracked over right tackle
to the 17. Horstman advanced to the 14
and Hogenkamp to the 10. Frericks picked up
a first down on the six but sprained his right ankle and was forced out of
action.
Hogenkamp moved to quarterback. Horstman took
a handoff and cut over his left tackle for the touchdown. Hogenkamp smashed
through the right side of the line for the point that put Minster ahead 7-6.
After the Orange
and Black defense stopped the Jays on the Minster 34, the Wildcats fumbled with
Jim Mescher recovering on the Minster 38. After Puthoff went
to the 33 the Cats rose to stop St. John on the 34.
Horstman sped to
the Maria Stein 46 with six minutes remaining in the game. The Wildcats moved to the 39 before Horstman
came through with a sensational pressure punt that rolled out on the Blu-Jay
six with three minutes left.
Maria Stein picked
up a first down t its own 31 with 30 seconds
remaining. After an incomplete aerial Mescher hit Imwalle on the 41 but
the game ended as another long pass fell incomplete.
The win gave the
Wildcats a 3-2-1 record for the season and a 2-0-1 mark in league play. Minster is second in the league behind Piqua
Catholic. Friday night the Wildcats play
host to the league leaders, and a win for Minster would boost the locals into
first place going into the last week.
Scoring by
quarters:
Minster 0 0
7 0 — 7
Maria Stein 0
6 0 0 — 6