Coldwater Uses Domination on Line to Secure 28-0 Victory over Minster

By Bruce Monnin

COLDWATER — The Minster Wildcats traveled to Coldwater as the owners of the sixth longest winning streak in the state (nine straight wins). They faced a Coldwater Cavalier team holding the fourth longest win streak (ten games). One streak was destined to live on while the other was doomed to be ended.

Using domination on both sides of the line of scrimmage, it was the home team who won this contest of two defending state champions, jumping out to a 21-0 halftime lead which expanded to a 28-0 Cavaliers victory.

“I would say we kind of continued to do the things we try to do,” explained Coldwater coach Chip Otten. “Offensively we spread the wealth. Defensively we made them go the long haul and did not give up any big plays.”

Minster coach Geron Stokes summed up the game more succinctly. “We’re not tough enough yet to win here against a team like Coldwater.”

The Cavalier offensive line provided quarterback Jack Hemmelgarn with all the time he wanted to throw the ball. He responded by connecting on 27 out of 34 pass attempts for 276 yards.

“The O-Line is doing a great job right now, and when we can use all of those receivers and Petey (Chris Post) at running back, it makes it really hard to defend us,” complimented Otten. “Jack hit some big throws tonight, like how the heck did that happen. He is playing at a high level.”

On the other side of the ball, the Coldwater defensive line harassed Minster quarterback Josh Nixon all night. It showed in his stats, as he completed just 10 of 22 passes for 113 yards.

“We felt like if we could get some pressure with the front four guys, that would be huge,” added Otten.

The tone of the game was set in the opening two drives. Minster received the opening kickoff and lost three yards on the drive before being forced to punt. Coldwater then used nine plays to march 55 yards, topped off by an 18 yard touchdown pass from Hemmelgarn to Aaron Harlamert.

The Wildcats would reach Cavalier territory twice in the opening half but would be stopped on fourth down each time. Coldwater, on the other hand, was twice able to complete drives with touchdowns in the second quarter. The first time was on a long thirteen play drive which appeared to stall as the Cavaliers faced a third down and ten at the Minster 19-yard line. But Hemmelgarn found Kyle McKibben for an 18-yard sideline completion as he barely kept his feet in-bounds. Post then scored from one yard out on the next play to make the score 14-0.

Later in the half Coldwater scored in just seven plays as Hemmelgarn completed passes of 19, 12 and 22 yards to set up a six-yard Post scoring plunge which gave the Cavaliers their 21-0 halftime advantage.

Minster came out strong to start the second half, reaching the Coldwater 26-yard line early in the third quarter. But the Cavalier defense sacked Nixon on a fourth-down play to end the threat. The Wildcats’ next drive ended in a fumble, and Coldwater took advantage of the short field for the final score of the game. Eight plays and 39 yards later, the Cavaliers were at the Minster one yard line, and Post ran in for his third touchdown pf the evening.

The bright spot for the Wildcat offense was the running game, led by Evan Huelsman who compiled 82 yards on 16 carries. Post led the Cavaliers on the ground, with 45 yards on 14 carries to go with his three touchdowns. He also led in receiving with 11 catches for 84 yards.

Coldwater, now 3-0, remains at home to face undefeated rival St. Henry (3-0). 2-1 Minster will return home to face their second defending state champion in two weeks, the 3-0 Marion Local Flyers.

Score by quarter 1 2 3 4 Total

Coldwater 7 14 0 7 28

Minster 0 0 0 0 0

First Quarter:

CW – Aaron Harlamert 18 yd pass from Jack Hemmelgarn (Kyle McKibben kick), 6:51

Second Quarter:

CW – Chris Post 1 yd run (Kyle McKibben kick), 7:27

CW – Chris Post 6 yd run (Kyle McKibben kick), 2:54

Fourth Quarter:

CW – Chris Post 1 yd run (Kyle McKibben kick), 10:25

Team statistics CW MIN

First downs 21 11

Rushes - yards 32-50 32-102

Passing yards 276 113

Comp - att - int 27-34-1 10-22-0

Total yards 326 215

Punts - average 2-31.5 3-41.7

Fumbles - lost 0-0 1-1

Penalties - yards 5-50 3-20

Time of possession 28:45 19:15

Individual statistics

Rushing: Coldwater, Post 14-45, Giere 4-20, Harlamert 1-0, Muhlenkamp 1-(-2), Schoenherr 1-(-2), Hemmelgarn 9-(-2), Thobe 2-(-9); Minster, Huelsman 16-82, Stechschulte 9-39, Nixon 7-(-19)

Passing: Coldwater, Hemmelgarn 27-34-1-276; Minster, Nixon 10-22-0-113

Receiving: Coldwater, Post 11-84, Harlamert 6-75, Homan 4-51, McKibben 3-52, Schoenherr 3-14; Minster, Schmiesing 5-27, Dues 3-75, Huelsman 1-9, Ranly 1-2