Minster Caps Off .500 Season Over Sidney Lehman, 46-13

By Bruce Monnin

SIDNEY — Even though there were no realistic playoff hopes on the line, the Minster Wildcats came out firing early and dominated the Lehman Cavaliers Friday night at Sidney. A 20-point first quarter led the way to the eventual 46-13 Minster victory.

“I really respect our players because we challenged them to play ten weeks, to not give up even when the playoffs got out of touch, and they did that,” commented an extremely pleased Minster coach Whit Parks. “They practiced hard every week, right until the end.”

The game opened auspiciously for the Wildcats. Lehman attempted to start the game with an onside kick, but it never went the required 10 yards and Minster started near midfield. The first couple of few plays yielded negative yardage, then Michael McVety broke a 19-yard run for a first down and followed on the next play with a 42-yard scoring carry.

On the following kickoff Lehman fumbled the return and McVety pounced on the loose ball. After Minster converted on a fourth down and five thanks to a pass interference penalty, McVety scored again on a 10-yard run.

The Wildcat defense got into the act on the next series, forcing a punt after four plays. On the next play, McVety broke free and galloped 72 yards for his third touchdown of the quarter and a total of 140 yards in the first 5:52 of the game.

It took Minster only 30 seconds into the second quarter to score again. Tony Dahlinghaus intercepted a Lehman pass and returned it 59 yards to the Cavalier eight-yard line. Andrew Meyer carried the ball twice to tally the score which gave the Wildcats a 27-0 lead.

Late in the half. Lehman intercepted a Minster screen pass and seven plays later Kyle Corbin scored on a three-yard run to reduce the Minster halftime lead to 27-7.

With Minster compiling 208 first half rushing yards while going 0-10 through the air, coach Parks resolved to stick to the ground game in the second half. “I thought we had some passing open up early, but we didn’t hit it. We just decided we’d just keep it on the ground. That’s the kind of football I like anyway.”

Minster turned to a new running back in the second half, as on their first play from scrimmage Troy Parks burst for a 50-yard scoring jaunt. After a Chris Stueve interception ended a long Lehman drive, Parks was again handed the ball on the next series. A 72-yard run was followed by an 11-yard gain and finally a 13-yard touchdown on the third play.

Meyer capped the Minster scoring with a six-yard fourth quarter touchdown carry. Lehman scored a late touchdown against the Minster defensive reserves, and the final score was 46-13.

Coach Parks had nothing but praise for his departing group of seniors. “This senior class, they are all warriors. They all had their best year as seniors, which is what we always ask them to do. I’m proud of them for that.”

Minster ends the season with a 5-5 record (3-5 in the MAC) and end in 12th place in the region 24 computer rankings. Sidney Lehman finishes the season with a 3-7 mark.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Minster 20 7 13 6 — 46

Sidney Lehman 0 7 0 6 — 13