Fort Loramie Runs Over Minster, 21-6

By Bruce Monnin

MINSTER — Minster celebrated the 20-year anniversary of their 1989 state football championship by honoring the members of that team at halftime. But it was the Fort Loramie Redskins who looked more like those Wildcats of old as they used a punishing ground game and a solid defensive effort to defeat Minster 21-6.

The Fort Loramie defense came out strong. After allowing the Wildcats to gain 20 yards on their first drive, they held Minster to just five yards for the remainder of the first half. They held the Wildcats to under two yards per rushing attempt and harassed quarterback Chase Paxson whenever he attempted to pass.

“Our defense was a rock tonight,” complimented Redskin coach Matt Burgbacher. “We knew we had to bring pressure so that we wouldn’t give Paxson time to throw.”
 
Neither team threatened to score in the first quarter, but early in the second stanza the Fort Loramie defense trapped Minster deep in their own territory. The Redskins started their first drive of the second quarter on their own 34-yard line and scored on their third running play, a 14-yard run by Mitch Raterman, to take the early 6-0 lead.
 
Two series later Fort Loramie struck again, this time needing just six plays to go 57 yards for the touchdown. Nick Meyer pounded it in from one yard out, and the Redskins successfully threw for the two-point conversion to earn a 14-0 halftime lead.
 
Minster came out looking stronger on both sides of the ball in the second half, but still could not score on their first two series. Late in the third quarter they brought in freshman quarterback Adam Niemeyer, which seemed to spark the Wildcat offense. They completed four passes to move from their own six-yard line to the 35, then Ty Whitford broke loose for a 65-yard touchdown run which electrified the home crowd. The momentum was dampened, however, when Fort Loramie blocked the Minster extra point attempt to keep the Redskin lead at eight points, 14-6.
 
“The blocked extra point was key,” said Burgbacher. “Our players came off the field and knew they had momentum back.”
 
The Wildcat defense stopped Fort Loramie on three downs and forced a punt, which Whitford returned 25 yards to the Redskin 31-yard line. Once again, the Redskin defense held fast, allowing just a four-yard run and three incomplete passes to retake possession of the ball. 
 
Minster threatened one last time, getting to midfield with two minutes to go, but a fourth down pass fell incomplete to take the heart of the Wildcats. Redskin Zac Ranly ran the ball 50 yards on the next play and Meyer finished off the two-play drive with another one-yard scoring plunge for the final score of the 21-6 Fort Loramie victory.
 

Next week Friday Minster hosts Springfield Catholic Central in what is likely the last game of their brief series. Their last matchup was a 23-3 Wildcat victory over an Irish team that has made the playoffs the last six seasons. Fort Loramie will be hosting the 1-0 New Bremen Cardinals.

SCORE BY QUARTERS
Fort Loramie  0  14  0  7  —  21
Minster  0  0   0   6   —   6