First Half Propels Minster over Fort Recovery 28-6

by Bruce Monnin

MINSTER — The Minster Wildcats took advantage of every first half opportunity to jump out to a 28-0 halftime lead over the Fort Recovery Indians. But when the lights at Minster Memorial Field were turned back on after the band’s Homecoming show, the Wildcat offense sputtered, and the Minster defense had to hold on for the 28-6 victory.

“Our first half looked good,” agreed Minster coach Nate Moore. “We need to be able to close a game out on our terms. We didn’t get that done.”

Both teams moved the ball well in the first half. Fort Recovery averaged 42 yards on each of their four drives but were unable to score. One drive ended in an interception and two others ended when the Wildcat defense stopped the Indians on fourth-down plays.

In contrast, Minster was able to finish off two long drives in each of the first two quarters, without spending much time on the field. On their first drive, it only took three plays before senior running back Korey Schultz broke free for a 43-yard scoring run. A blocked extra point left the score 6-0.

The Wildcats started their second drive with a 33-yard pass from Adam Niemeyer to Ethan Wolf. Four plays later Niemeyer found Kurtis Thobe, who did a nice job getting both feet in bounds for a 22-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion gave Minster a 14-0 lead at the end of the quarter.

Early in the second period, it only took the Wildcats three plays to make the score 20-0. Once again it was Schultz with the long touchdown run, a 77-yard sprint along the Indian sideline.

Fort Recovery’s ensuing drive ended when the Minster defense stopped the Indians two yards from the end zone on a fourth down scramble by quarterback Mason Evers. The Wildcats would follow this with their longest drive of the night, using eleven plays to cover 98 yards. Niemeyer scored on a 15-yard quarterback draw and the Wildcats’ halftime lead was 28-0.

Both offenses would struggle to complete drives in the second half. Each team would give the ball away on a turnover and also get stopped on fourth down in their opponent’s territory. Finally, late in the fourth quarter, Fort Recovery would post a score. A 26-yard run by Kyle Timmerman would bring the ball into Wildcat territory. This allowed Mason Evers to later complete a 25-yard touchdown pass to Trent Kaiser, accounting for the final 28-6 score.

Schultz was the leading rusher on the night, earning 176 yards on 18 carriers. Niemeyer would tack on another 221 yards through the air, completing 14 of 22 passes. His favorite receiver was Devon Poeppelman, who secured seven catches for 106 yards. Evers was the leader of the Fort Recovery offense, gaining 129 rushing yards on 21 carries and passing for another 99 yards.

The win pushes Minster’s record to 6-2 and allows them to stay in the top eight in region 24. Next week the Wildcats travel to play the 5-3 Versailles Tigers. 3-5 Fort Recovery returns home to play the 5-3 St. Henry Redskins.

Score by quarter 1 2 3 4 Total

Fort Recovery 0 0 0 6 6

Minster 14 14 0 0 28