Minster Holds on For Huge Road Win at Versailles, 26-23

By Bruce Monnin

VERSAILLES — What a difference a year makes. Last season, the Minster Wildcats visited Versailles and the Tigers used their spread offense to score 41 first half points and defeat Minster 54-15. This year, the Wildcats took an early lead and held on for dear life to secure a 26-23 win, holding the Versailles offense to just 200 total yards for the game.

It was the fourth consecutive MAC win for Minster, the first time that has happened since 1996.

“It was a total team victory,” stated Wildcat coach Nate Moore. “Everyone played their tails off. That’s what good football teams do and right now we are a good football team.”

For the second week in a row, the end of the game was more exciting than most Minster fans would have preferred. The Wildcats held a 26-8 lead late in the third quarter, when Damian Winner connected with Mitchell Campbell for a 75-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 26-15.

Minster followed that up by throwing interceptions the next two times they had the ball. The second one was returned 30 yards by Aaron McNeilan to give Versailles the ball with six minutes remaining in the game. Two plays later Winner tossed a 15-yard touchdown pass to McNeilan, then a two-point conversion pass to Ethan Bruns, to cut their deficit to just three points, 26-23.

The Wildcats ran just three plays before punting on their next possession. That gave Versailles the ball at midfield with almost four minutes remaining. But the Minster defense came through, forcing two incompletions and turning in a big nine-yard sack to end the Tigers’ hopes.

The game also started out in favor of Versailles. They received the opening kickoff and used 12 plays to easily drive for an opening score. A 19-yard pass from Winner to McNeilan gave the Tigers an 8-0 lead. The drive covered 70 yards, 34 of which were on the ground. For the rest of the game, the Wildcat defense would limit the Tigers to negative 24 yards rushing and just 130 yards total, 75 of which came on that third quarter scoring pass.

Moore said they made only minor adjustments after that drive. “What they were doing was out of their comfort zone,” he explained. “We were going to let them try to do what they were not the best at.”

Minster responded immediately, but the going was more difficult for the Wildcats. Their drive appeared to be in trouble when they faced a fourth down and 11 to go at the Tiger 20-yard line. Paxson threw for the end zone, forcing a Versailles defender to commit a pass interference penalty, giving Minster an automatic first down. Three plays later, Chase Paxson scrambled into the end zone from ten yards out to cut the Versailles lead to 8-6.

Minster reached paydirt twice more in the second quarter. The first score was set up when Paxson threw to Mitchell Poeppelman for an 81-yard gain to the six-yard line. Paxson finished off that drive with a one-yard scoring run. The Wildcats snuck in one more score before the half which was set up by 30- and 18-yard passes from Paxson to Daniel Gusching. Paxson scored his third rushing touchdown of the half from six yards out with 18 seconds remaining to give Minster the 20-8 halftime lead.

The Wildcats threatened to put the game away by scoring on their opening drive of the second half. Adam Kaiser was the workhorse this time, rushing the ball twice and catching the ball three times for a total of 47 yards. Minster scored on a 21-yard pass from Paxson to Poeppelman which gave the Wildcats a 26-8 lead, all of which was needed to hold off the Versailles comeback.

Next week Friday, 4-4 Minster will return home to continue their late season run towards the playoffs as they host 2-6 Parkway. The Wildcats will attempt to win five consecutive MAC games in the same season for the first time in the history of the program. Versailles, now 5-3, travels to play a huge region 20 game against 6-2 Anna.

Score by quarter 1 2 3 4 Total

Minster 6 14 6 0 26

Versailles 8 0 7 8 23