Big Plays Lead to
Minster 32-0 Victory over Springfield Catholic Central
By
Bruce Monnin
MINSTER — The statistics did
not look good for the Minster Wildcats.
The Irish from Springfield Catholic Central ran 62 plays compared to 26
for Minster. The Irish held the ball for
over 33 minutes of the game compared to just 14 minutes for the Wildcats. 70% of the plays in the game began on
Minster’s half of the field. Finally,
the Wildcats lost fumbles on both a punt return and a kickoff return in their own
territory, without forcing a single Irish turnover in return. Somehow, with a stout defense and big
offensive plays, Minster also earned a 32-0 victory over Springfield Catholic
Central.
The game got off to an ominous start for the Wildcats. The Springfield kickoff bounced off one of the Minster up backs and the Irish recovered at the Wildcat 34-yard line. The Minster defense responded to the challenge, throwing Springfield backwards eight yards and forcing a punt. On the second Irish drive, they reached the Wildcat 38-yard line before being forced to punt once again. Minster wasted no time in their second series. The ball was pitched to Ty Whitford, who found his line had opened a huge hole. He accelerated through it and went untouched for an 80-yard touchdown run to give the Wildcats a 6-0 lead after one quarter. Springfield reached Minster territory for the third consecutive series to start the second quarter, but the Wildcat defense again stopped them just past midfield. On the Irish punt, the ball hit the back of a Minster blocker, enabling Springfield to recover the ball on the Wildcat 19-yard line. For a fourth time, the Minster defense buckled down, allowing just two yards in the next four plays to take the ball over on downs. The rest of the quarter belonged to freshman quarterback Adam Niemeyer. He started by hitting sophomore Derek Collins in stride on a deep ball for an 85-yard touchdown pass. On the next Wildcat series, Niemeyer and Collins hooked up again, this time for a 56-yard scoring strike. Just before half, Niemeyer looked to a different receiver, connecting with Ian Ranly for a 12-yard score to give Minster a 26-0 halftime lead. The Wildcat offense tacked on another score in the third quarter to seal the win when Ty Whitford again broke loose and outran the defenders for a 66-yard score, part of his 174 rushing yards on the night. The Minster defense stopped the Irish offense twice more in Wildcat territory, including on a fourth-down play from the one-yard line. “The kids just played hard tonight,” explained Wildcat coach Eric Belcher about the difference from last week. “The offense could pass the ball, and Niemeyer made good decisions tonight. We also did a very good job of putting pressure up front.” Irish quarterback Brian Kelly could attest to the pressure put on him by the Minster defense. He was sacked 8 times for a loss of 44 yards and only gained 25 yards on his 15 other carries on the night. Next week Friday Minster (1-1) travels for the
first time this season to face the defending division six state champions, 2-0
Delphos St. Johns. The Wildcats will be
trying to break a 13-game losing streak against the Blue Jays. The Irish fall to 0-2.
SCORE BY QUARTERSMinster 6 20 6 0 — 32
Springfield Catholic Central 0 0 0 0 — 0