Blue Jays Blow Open Game Late, 26-7

By Robb Hemmelgarn

MINSTER — Heading into last night’s game at Minster Memorial Field, Delphos St. John’s coach Todd Schulte expected nothing less than a tight battle from the opening kickoff until the final seconds ticked off the clock.

For nearly three quarters it was exactly that, however 19 points in the final 13:30 of the game helped propel the visiting Blue Jays to the 26-7 victory over the Wildcats, their ninth consecutive win against the Orange and Black.

“We knew it would be a battle coming in tonight because Minster always plays us tough,” explained Schulte. “They came at us in the first half and really stopped us from executing when we needed to. I felt, though, we were able to wear them down from the middle of the third quarter on, and we were able to pound them a little more and eventually leave with the win.”

Defense defined the opening frame as Minster took control of the pigskin four times and were forced to punt on each possession, while the Blue Jays picked up just one meaningless first down in the 12-minute span and tossed an interception.

A few minutes into the second quarter, junior Zac Boeke returned a St. John’s punt ot the Wildcat 47-yard line. Things looked bleak, though, as an illegal substitution penalty and a sack gave the Wildcats third down and 16 at their own 40-yard line.

The home team, though, answered with their first big play of the night when quarterback Aaron Heitbrink connected with senior Tony Schmiesing for a 55-yard pickup to the St. John’s five-yard line.

Two plays were all it took before senior Troy Parks hit paydirt for a 7-0 Wildcat lead.

“We couldn’t get much going on the ground, so we went to the air and it came up big for us,” said Wildcat coach Whit Parks. “We planned to throw the ball tonight, so it was nice to get a big one like that in the beginning. Over the last couple of weeks, we have become a big-play team passing the ball and that’s important, but we also need to do a lot better running.”

The Blue Jays took over at their own 36 and needed just three plays to even things back up. A pair of first down runs by quarterback Nick Johnson was followed up by a 36-yard touchdown run by tailback Andrew DeWitt.

With just over a minute to play before intermission, Minster’s Michael McVety slivered off for a 55-yard run before he was stopped at the St. John’s 39-yard line.

On the ensuing pay, Heitbrink came up with another monster completion – this time to freshman Brian Mueller, who pulled down at the three-yard line. Two straight running plays and an incomplete pass netted zero yards and forced coach Parks to call timeout.

As the offense trotted back on the field, a chorus of grumbles could be heard in the home stands as the Wildcats elected to go for the touchdown rather than the field goal. Heitbrink’s pass fell incomplete and the Blue Jays took over.

“We called timeout and a field goal did cross our minds, but looking at the final score, it probably wouldn’t have made any difference,” reasoned Parks. “I knew the odds in this game, and I knew how good of a team St. John’s was. We were playing four sophomores and a freshman on offense and I knew we were going to have to score touchdowns to win this game.”

Both defenses tightened once again for most of the third period before the Blue Jays took control at the Wildcat 25-yard line late in the quarter. Five plays later, Johnson sniffed out the end zone on a four-yard run. The extra point was successful, and the Blue Jays took control, 14-7. Minster punted on its next series and the Jays took over on their own 25-yard line. The ensuing drive was fueled by a 44-yardrun by DeWitt, which gave the visitors the ball on the one-yard line. On second and goal, he capped the drive with his second score of the evening. The extra point was blocked by McVety, and with 8:28 remaining in the game, the Blue Jays extended their lead to 20-7.

The Wildcats’ following drive was cut short by a St. John’s interception, which five plays later turned into Johnson’s second touchdown run of the night. The extra point failed once again, but the Blue Jays took the 26-7 lead which they would hold onto for the win.

“This game boiled down to us not being able to stop their offense on the ground,” said Parks. “They used the clock to their advantage and executed their plays well, and we couldn’t stop it.”

Offensively, St. John’s picked up 270 yards on the ground and were led by DeWitt’s 137 yards on 13 totes. Johnson was close behind with 108 yards on 18 carriers. Michael McVety led the Wildcat rushing attack with 74 of his team’s 83 yards on the ground.

The Wildcats (2-2, 1-2) will travel west next week to face the 3-1 Marion Local Flyers, while St. John’s (4-0, 3-0) will host the undefeated and unchallenged Versailles Tigers in hopes of keeping their hopes for an MAC title alive.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Delphos St. John’s 0 7 7 12 — 26

Minster 0 7 0 0 — 7