By Don Bachman
ANSONIA – The
Wildcats ran up yardage almost at will at Ansonia Friday night but were able to
reach the end zone only twice in dropping Ansonia’s Tigers 12-6 for their
second league win.
Minster outplayed
the Tigers as they had the ball 65 plays to only 32 for Ansonia, picked up 18
first downs to four and gained 318 yards to 98.
Three fumbles, a rash of penalties and an intercepted pass cut off other
scoring attempts.
Minster fumbled on
the first play and after forcing Ansonia to punt lost the ball three plays later on a fumble.
Each time the Cats’ defensive line stopped Ansonia scoring ideas.
After Montoney punted to the Minster five the Wildcats picked up
38 yards in three plays to the 43. Hogenkamp cracked to the Ansonia 45, but a clipping penalty
moved the ball back to midfield. Hogenkamp drove to the 44 and then gathered in a pass from
Ted Frericks on the 19. Two running plays and an incomplete pass put
the ball on the 14 but Hogenkamp was stopped inches
short of a first down and the Tigers took over.
Early in the second
period the Orange and Black picked up a first down on the Ansonia 34. After Wetzel gained a yard, Frericks passed to Jay Hogenkamp
who lateraled to Wetzel for a first down on the ten. At that point the officials, who gained
almost as many yards as the teams, called four straight
off side penalties, two on each team.
Following this confusion Wetzel was dropped for a five-yard loss and
Riegle intercepted a pass.
Ansonia was unable to
dent the Minster forward wall and the half ended 0-0.
The homecoming and
Dad’s night ceremonies during halftime lasted 40 minutes and drew Ansonia a
15-yard penalty for delaying the game.
John Boerger, who played a tremendous game at
right tackle for the Cats, pounced on a fumble at the Ansonia 43 to set up the
first score. After two running plays
were stopped for no gain, Kenny Gudorf made a fine
catch of a Frericks aerial for a first down on the
31. Wetzel sprinted to the 19 on a
reverse and a penalty gave the Orange and Black the ball on the 14. Frericks shot a
strike to Jon Hogankamp in the end zone. The point attempt was blocked.
Ansonia registered
their initial first down with three minutes to go in the third quarter on a
14-yard run by Dickey but was unable to get into Minster territory.
Montoney, whose punting kept the Wildcats in a hole in the first half, got off a
poor punt that traveled only eight yards to give the locals their second
scoring chance. Jon Hogankamp
shifted to quarterback to replace Frericks, who was
playing with an injured ankle, and on the first play drove to the 40. Fullback John Seger bulled his way to the 25. Hogankamp flipped a
pass to Gudorf on the nine and when Gudorf twisted away to elude a defensive man attempting to
steal the ball he was ejected for some unknown reason and the Wildcats were
penalized to the 41.
Maltinsky sent Frericks back in the lineup and he hit Jay Hogenkamp with a pass to the seven-yard line. Jim Dahlinghaus
cracked through a hole between left tackle and guard for the score. The placement attempt was wide.
A long pass, from
Dickey to McGhee, was good for 45 yards and a touchdown to cut the lead to
12-6. The placement attempt was spoiled
by a bad pass from center.
Minster picked up
the onside kick and moved to the Ansonia 14 before losing the ball on downs
with two minutes left. Dickey threw two
incomplete passes before Dahlinghaus intercepted on
the 40. Minster stalled on the Ansonia
27 when the game ended.
Despite the small
margin, the Wildcats were impressive.
The squad showed spirit and the defensive line play was savage. Ansonia gained only 44 yards rushing at the
Cats’ forward wall. Ted Frericks, who did not carry the ball or play defensively,
hit on 8 of 14 pass attempts and was helped along by Jay Hogenkamp
and Ken Gudorf.
Dave Wetzel ran well as did Jim Dahlinghaus
and John Seger and the always dependable Jon Hogankamp. Jarrin’ Jon picked
up 136 yards on 23 rushes.
Friday night the
Cats collide with the Marion Township Blujays in the
annual Dad’s night game.
Scoring by quarters:
Minster 0 0 6 6 — 12
Ansonia 0 0 0 6 — 6
Team
statistics MIN ANS
First
downs 18 4
Rushing
yards 201 44
Passing
yards 117 54
Comp
- att - int 8-14-1 2-7-1
Punts
- average 3-25 6-33
Fumbles
- lost 3-3 4-3
Penalty
yards 90 46