Minster Overcomes Lost Opportunities to Defeat Riverside 21-6

By Bruce Monnin

SIDNEY — The Minster Wildcats were heavy favorites entering their regional semi-final game against the Riverside Pirates. Minster brought in a 15-2-1 advantage in the series between the two teams, though their last matchup was a 42-8 Minster victory back in 1989.

It would be a game of missed opportunities for the Wildcats, as five times they penetrated Riverside territory and came away with no points. Three times, Minster was stopped inside the Pirate 10-yard line, and twice Wildcat touchdowns were called back because of penalties. However, one might say it was a good night to have a bad night, as Minster still earned a 21-6 victory.

“That’s the name of the game, survive and advance,” remarked Minster coach Geron Stokes. “We tell our kids; you just have to win by one. It doesn’t have to be pretty this time of the year.”

A major reason for the victory was the Wildcat defense. After allowing 130 yards and a touchdown on Riverside’s first two drives, Minster allowed no points and only 117 yards on the Pirate’s remaining eight possessions.

“Riverside has two really good backs that play the game hard,” added Stokes. “They got some angles on us, got the edge and made some plays. Our kids did a nice job adjusting.”

Riverside took the opening kickoff and moved the ball 32 yards before being forced to punt. The Wildcats followed with a 26-yard pass from Josh Nixon to Jacob Dues, a 21-yard run by Evan Huelsman, and a 20-yard pass to Bryce Schmiesing to reach the four-yard line. The Pirates only allowed Minster to gain two yards on the next four plays, and the Wildcats’ first opportunity of the night was lost.

Riverside took the momentum and used it to put together a 16 play, 98-yard scoring drive which took over seven minutes off the clock. Hayden Robinson scored on a four-yard run to give the Pirates a 6-0 lead. Minster regained a little morale when Dues blocked the extra point.

With possessions looking as though they may be few and far between if the Riverside rushing game remained successful, the pressure was on the Wildcat offense to respond. Three straight gains of over ten yards, highlighted by a 33-yard jump ball catch by Dues, brought Minster to the eight-yard line. Two straight Wildcat fumbles took the ball back to the 16-yard line on third down, but Nixon found Dues in the end zone to give Minster a 7-6 lead.

Jacob Stechschulte then grabbed what would be the first of four Wildcat interceptions on the ensuing drive, but Minster could not capitalize. The Wildcats would later take the ball to the Pirate 31-yard line, but a sack of Nixon ended the half.

The Minster offense came out of the locker room ready to expand their lead. They received the kickoff and, with the wind at their back, needed just 40 seconds to score. A 29-yard run by Huelsman highlighted the drive, which was capped off by another 16-yard scoring strike from Nixon to Dues.

A bad snap on a Riverside punt set the Wildcats up only 40 yards from the end zone, and this time they needed 58 seconds to score. The drive was finished by a 17-yard pass from Nixon to Dues which made the score 21-6.

The Minster offense would not score again, despite reaching the Riverside 26-, 9- and 6-yard lines on three of their final four drives. The game was turned over to the Wildcat defense. As the defensive line and blitzing linebackers stuffed the Pirate ball carriers and harassed their quarterback, the defensive backs ended the last three Riverside possessions with interceptions.

Dues added to his fantastic night by grabbing a long Pirate pass attempt at the Minster 35-yard line. The final two picks were grabbed by Jonathan Niemeyer. The first was at the Riverside twelve-yard line on a pass that was deflected at the line of scrimmage. The last was on the final play of the game.

“They are just getting comfortable with playing our stuff, I think,” was how Stokes accounted for the recent success of his defensive backs in grabbing interceptions. “Their eyes are on the ball, and they are going up and getting it.”

Riverside gained 214 yards on the ground, with Connor Cotterman rushing 31 times for 134 yards. Robinson chipped in another 61 yards on 16 carries. However, the Pirate passing game was ineffective, completing only six out of 15 passes for 33 yards while suffering four interceptions.

Minster’s Jacob Dues was the leading receiver on the game, catching eight passes for 154 yards and three touchdowns. His partner in harassing opposing defenses, junior Bryce Schmiesing, caught a quiet four passes for 83 yards. This gives Schmiesing 127 career receptions, passing Eli Wolf as Minster’s all-time leader in this category. However, Dues only trails his teammate by three catches, so this record may change before the Wildcats’ season is over.

As the quarterback delivering these throws, Nixon appears to have become the MAC’s all-time leader in touchdown passes. His 86 scoring strikes passes Coldwater’s Austin Bruns, who threw for 84 scores from 2010-2012. Nixon is now in 18th place on the OHSAA’s all-time list.

Next week Friday 10-2 Minster will play 10-2 Fort Recovery in a rematch of the Wildcats’ 14-12 victory earlier this season. The site will be announced Sunday. Riverside ends its season with a 10-2 record.

Score by quarter 1 2 3 4 Total

Minster 0 7 14 0 21

Riverside 0 6 0 0 6

Second Quarter:

RIV – Hayden Robinson 4 yd run, 9:29

MIN – Jacob Dues 16 yd pass from Josh Nixon (Jason Schultz kick), 7:13

Third Quarter:

MIN – Jacob Dues 16 yd pass from Josh Nixon (Jason Schultz kick), 11:14

MIN – Jacob Dues 17 yd pass from Josh Nixon (Jason Schultz kick), 6:05

Team statistics MIN RIV

First downs 18 15

Rushes - yards 24-64 52-214

Passing yards 287 33

Comp - att - int 16-33-0 6-15-4

Total yards 351 247

Punts - average 2-36.0 2-31.0

Fumbles - lost 2-1 1-0

Penalties - yards 4-35 7-55

Time of possession 14:49 33:11

Individual statistics:

Rushing: Minster, E Huelsman 14-80, Schmiesing 2-9, J Huelsman 2-0, Nixon 6-(minus 25); Riverside, Cotterman 31-134, Robinson 16-61, Helmlinger 4-15, Kaeck 1-4

Passing: Minster, Nixon 16-33-0-287; Riverside, Helmlinger 6-15-4-33

Receiving: Minster, Dues 8-154, Schmiesing 4-83, E Huelsman 2-28, Ranly 1-16, Stoner 1-6; Riverside, Cotterman 3-18, Kean 1-9, Crawford 1-6, Robinson 1-0