By Duane Bachman
MINSTER – Bath
Township turned a fumble and a bad kick into 14 first quarter points and then
proceeded to hold off a determined Minster crew to edge the Wildcats 14-13 here
last Thursday.
Minster took the
opening kickoff, but Albers fumbled on the Minster 28-yard line, and after four
thrusts through the middle, Brunning skirted right
end for the score. The pass for the
extra point was good and Bath led 7-0.
The Cats brought
the oval to their own 28, but two line plunges and an incomplete
pass did not prove fruitful, and Frericks went into
punt formation. A low pass from center
made Frericks hurry his kick, and the ball fell dead
on the Minster 26-yard line. Two five-yard
penalties momentarily stalled the Bath offense, but Brunning
hit his left end, Croissant, with a touchdown pass for Bath’s second
tally. The plunge for the extra point
was good, making the score 14-0.
The Wildcats
advanced the ball to the Bath 43-yard line, but there the drive was
stalled. On Bath’s first play, Ken Gudorf speared a fumble in mid-air and brought it to the
Bath 43-yard line.
Wetzel picked up fourteen
yards to the 29, and after an incomplete forward pass, Albers plunged through
the middle for a first down on the nine-yard line. Wetzel cut off tackle to the two, but a
jarring tackle caused him to lose possession of the pigskin, with Alberson recovering for Bath.
Late in the second
stanza, Frericks snared a Bath aerial on the visitors’
42. Albers and Wetzel combined to pick
up a pair of first downs, and with a minute and a half to go, Wetzel cut off
end for the Minster score. Baumer’s placement split the uprights making the halftime
score 14-7.
In the third
quarter an exchange of punts gave the Cats the ball on their own 43. Wetzel and Albers once again took the ball to
the Bath 15, but the defense tightened and took over on downs.
In the fourth
stanza a Bath punt gave the Wildcats possession on their own 45-yard line. Consecutive first downs by Frericks and Wetzel took the ball to the 13, but then
Wetzel lost three yards and Frericks lost eight. At this point Coach Maltinsky
inserted Jim Overman in the quarterback slot and the freshman responded by
hitting Les Albers with a pass to the two-yard line. Overman sneaked over to score, but Baumer’s kick was blocked, making it 14-13.
Brunning carried the ball to the 13, but the Minster defense tightened and forced
Bath to punt. With time running short, Frericks attempted a pass, but the aerial was intercepted
by Colburn. The Bath squad ran out the
clock and handed the Wildcats their fourth loss of the season.
The Wildcats are to
be commended as they showed a complete reversal of form from their showing
against the Marion eleven. They
displayed a fine example of “never give up” football, even with their drive
falling short by a single point. The Cat
defense was invulnerable after the first six minutes of the contest with Schemmel, Clune, Bohman. Wolf and Bowerman turning in outstanding
performances.
On the offensive
side of the ledger Dave Wetzel, senior halfback, and Leo Albers, freshman
fullback, ran the ball beautifully, with Jim Overman and Ted Frericks doing an outstanding job in the signal-calling
department.
The Maltinskymen can be proud of themselves, as they showed
more spirit and determination than in any of their previous outings.
Eight seniors will
don Wildcat uniforms the last Friday when they meet the Versailles Tigers on
the Tiger home grounds. Ted Frericks, Rob Clune, John Bitler,
Jim Bohman, Jim Cull, Dave Wetzel, Ken Gudorf and Don Bowerman will close
out their high school careers trying to pick up the third victory of the season
in the finale.
Scoring by quarters:
Lima Bath 14 0 0 0 — 14
Minster
0 7 0 6 — 13
Team
statistics LB MIN
First
downs 11 13
Rushing
yards 147 260
Passing
yards 83 18
Comp
- att - int 4-9-1 2-7-1