Minster Defensive Stand Earns 28-23 Win Over Fort Recovery

by Bruce Monnin

MINSTER — In a close game between two evenly matched teams, a contest that looked as though it was going to be an offensive shootout early came down to a goal line stand late in the fourth quarter. The Minster Wildcats defense won their biggest battle of the year, stopping the Fort Recovery Indians on a fourth-down play from the one-yard line to secure a 28-23 homecoming win at Minster Memorial Field.

“Man, that’s a good win. I feel good about this. Our kids deserve it,” said a still amped up Minster coach Geron Stokes after the game. “Our kids fought. Their kids fought. That was a great high school football game.”

Minster was ahead 28-21 midway through the fourth quarter when the Fort Recovery defense forced a Minster punt from deep in their own territory, allowing the Indians to take over at the Minster 43-yard line with 6:11 remaining in the game. During the next ten plays, Fort Recovery converted two fourth downs to reach the Minster four-yard line and set up the series which would decide the outcome.

A bobbled handoff on first down left the Indians at the five-yard line. When Cole Hull was stopped for a one-yard gain, Fort Recovery still needed four yards with just two downs to go. On third down the call again went to the Indian workhorse, and Hull gained three yards to the one-yard line.

That left a fourth down and goal with under a minute remaining. The entire stadium knew that Hull, who had carried the ball 30 previous times for 185 yards was going to be asked to penetrate the Wildcat defense one last time. As Hull took the handoff, Joe Trzaska burst through the Fort Recovery line and contacted the runner at the five. Hull spun away and drove forward, but he was grabbed from behind by Eli Wolf and swarmed by a host of Minster defenders at the one-yard line.

The game was not yet over, as Fort Recovery still had all three timeouts left and had Minster backed against their own goal line. Three quarterback sneaks gained Minster two yards, forcing the Wildcats to give the ball back with less than half a minute on the clock. Minster decided it was safer to take a safety than to risk a blocked punt, so punter Peter Ranly ran out of the back of the end zone, making the score 28-23.

The ensuing free kick gave Fort Recovery the ball at the midfield stripe with 15 seconds remaining. There was time was one desperation attempt for the end zone. It was not to be, as Josh Otting broke through the Indian line and sacked quarterback Caleb Martin before he could get the throw off, preserving the Wildcat win.

“We practice that every Thursday,” said Stokes of taking the safety. “Our kids knew what we were doing and executed for us.”

Over half the points in the game were scored in the first quarter, as the offenses dominated early. Fort Recovery received the opening kickoff and drove 65 yards in seven plays, with Martin finding Evan Schoen open over the middle for a 35-yard score. The Wildcats followed with a seven-play drive of their own, scoring on a five-yard run by wide receiver Bryce Schmiesing to even the score.

The Minster defense posted their first big play of the night when Wolf intercepted a pass at the Indian 31-yard line. Three plays late Wolf was the beneficiary of a Josh Nixon 18-yard touchdown pass, giving the Wildcats a 14-7 lead.

Late in the quarter, Fort Recovery took advantage of a dropped snap on a Minster punt to start a drive in Wildcat territory. Three runs by Hull for 31 yards brought the ball to the four-yard line, where Mitch Stammen took the pigskin over the goal line to even the tally at 14 apiece.

Minster again wasted no time in answering the Indian challenge. A 30-yard kickoff return by Schmiesing and a 44-yard reception by the receiver brought the ball to the four-yard line, setting up Evan Huelsman for the go-ahead touchdown.

The Indians looked as though they were going to tie the game on their next possession, driving easily to the Wildcat 17-yard line. But an offensive holding penalty helped the Minster defense stop Fort Recovery from advancing any further.

The Wildcats had an opportunity to open up a two score lead late in the half, as they drove down to the Indian nine-yard line. But this time it was the Fort Recovery defense that held firm, and Minster led 21-14 at the break.

The Indians were able to tie the game at 21 on their first possession of the second half. Hull took the handoff and charged straight into the middle of the Wildcat line, emerging cleanly through a hole and outsprinting the defense for a 72-yard scoring run.

“Hull is tough,” complimented Stokes. “He gets downhill in a hurry, and he made our linebackers question themselves. He gave us fits.”

Fort Recovery threatened again late in the third quarter, achieving a first down at the Minster nine-yard line. But the Wildcat defense would make the second of their three big stands in the game, and the Indians again came away without any points.

“Our defense has fought and battled all year,” added Stokes. “Our kids were just fighting. It was nice to see.”

Minster proceeded to put together their only drive of the second half. Using fourteen plays, they worked their way down the field, and successfully converted a fourth-down play at the Fort Recovery six-yard line on a two-yard Nixon quarterback sneak. Huelsman covered the final four yards on the next play, making the score 28-21 and setting up the end of game dramatics that followed.

The win pushes Minster’s record to 5-2 and gives them a 3-2 mark in MAC play. Next week the Wildcats hit the road for a crucial battle with the 4-3 St. Henry Redskins. 5-2 Fort Recovery returns home to face the 7-0 Marion Local Flyers.

Score by quarter 1 2 3 4 Total

Minster 14 7 0 7 28

Fort Recovery 14 0 7 2 23

First Quarter:

FR – Evan Schoen 35 yd pass from Caleb Martin (Darien Sheffer kick), 9:16

MIN – Bryce Schmiesing 5 yd run (Jason Schultz kick), 6:16

MIN – Eli Wolf 18 yd pass from Josh Nixon (Jason Schultz kick), 5:00

FR – Mitch Stammen 4 yd run (Darien Sheffer kick), 0:05

Second Quarter:

MIN – Evan Huelsman 4 yd run (Jason Schultz kick), 10:51

Third Quarter:

FR – Cole Hull 72 yd run (Darien Sheffer kick), 9:26

Fourth Quarter:

MIN – Evan Huelsman 4 yd run (Jason Schultz kick), 10:00

FR – Safety (Minster punter ran out back of end zone), 0:31

Team statistics MIN FR

First downs 19 17

Rushes - yards 38-127 39-191

Passing yards 231 104

Comp - att - int 16-32-0 12-23-1

Total offense 358 295

Punts - average 4-31.3 3-46.3

Fumbles - lost 0-0 0-0

Penalties - yards 5-32 4-44

Time of possession 24:20 23:40

Individual statistics

Rushing: Minster, Huelsman 23-91, Nixon 9-14, Dues 2-13, Wolf 1-7, Schmiesing 1-5, Ranly 2-(-3); Fort Recovery, Hull 31-185, Stammen 7-21, Martin 1-(-15)

Passing: Minster, Nixon 16-32-0-231; Fort Recovery, Martin 12-23-1-104

Receiving: Minster, Schmiesing 6-113, Wolf 5-83, Huelsman 4-22, Schultz 1-13; Fort Recovery, Stammen 6-42, Schoen 2-44, Sheffer 2-9, Wenning 1-8, Hull 1-1