Minster Defense Shines in 20-0 Shutout over Fort Loramie

By Bruce Monnin

MINSTER — Most fans remember that last year the Minster Wildcat football team’s season did not end until the state championship game. Fewer recall that the Wildcats needed a late game blocked extra point and overtime in order to survive its opening game against the Fort Loramie Redskins.

This year Minster looked to be the better team from the beginning of the game in every area except scoring. The Wildcat offense was its own worst enemy for much of the game, but each time something went wrong, the Minster defense shut Fort Loramie down. The Redskins failed to convert any of their nine third downs in the game, succeeded just once on four fourth down attempts, and were stopped twice after penetrating to the Wildcat two-yard line.

“I just loved our kids’ resiliency. We bounce back so fast now. The moment we have a turnover or give up a big play, our kids are excited to see how we handle adversity,” remarked Minster coach Geron Stokes. “Who cares about the football part of it? It’s cool to me that we can bounce right back.”

The Wildcats drove into Fort Loramie territory on their first three possessions but came away with no points. After Alex Lehmkul intercepted a Redskin pass in the Minster end zone, the Wildcat offense finally reached paydirt. Jared Huelsman’s eight-yard scoring run capped an 80-yard scoring drive to give Minster a 7-0 lead.

On their ensuing drive, the Redskins earned 57 of their 90 first half yards on a Mike Hoying run to the Minster seven-yard line. Three plays later they reached the Wildcat one-yard line, but Hoying was stopped for no gain on fourth down.

Fort Loramie mounted the only scoring threat in the third quarter when they reached the Minster two-yard line. An August Boehnlein interception stymied the Redskins once again.

Early in the fourth quarter the Wildcat defense took the responsibility for scoring into its own hands. When a Fort Loramie dropped a backwards pass, Huelsman scooped up the live ball and charged 40 yards for the back breaking touchdown, extending the lead to 13-0.

After an Austin Brown interception, Minster turned to the ground game. Ten consecutive running plays netted 78 yards and a one-yard Isaac Schmiesing plunge made the final score 20-0.

“Our kids were invested. They wanted to seal it there. Our offensive line pounded it and our backs found holes,” added Stokes, “These guys conditioned. We were in shape tonight. Credit our seniors for getting us in shape.”

After passing for 130 yards and rushing for 211 more in his debut against the Redskins last year, Minster senior quarterback Huelsman had another big statistical night. This year he posted 143 yards on the ground and another 163 through the air, completing 15 of his 22 passing attempts.

Next week Friday 1-0 Minster hits the road to play 0-1 Covington while 0-1 Fort Loramie has its home opener against Springfield Greenon.

Score by quarter 1 2 3 4 Total

Minster 0 7 0 13 20

Fort Loramie 0 0 0 0 0

Second Quarter:

MIN – Jared Huelsman 8 yd run (Isaac Schmiesing kick), 2:44

Fourth Quarter:

MIN – Jared Huelsman 40 yd fumble return (kick failed), 7:22

MIN – Isaac Schmiesing 1 yd run (Isaac Schmiesing kick), 1:14

Team statistics MIN FL

First downs 22 8

Rushes - yards 43-242 28-97

Passing yards 162 86

Comp - att - int 15-22-1 9-18-3

Total yards 404 183

Punts - average 3-27.0 4-40.2

Fumbles - lost 1-1 2-1

Penalties - yards 7-74 6-50

Time of possession 24:47 23:13

Individual statistics

Rushing: Minster, Huelsman 24-143, Schmiesing 16-85, Schmitmeyer 3-14; Fort Loramie, Hoying 12-65, Mescher 8-12, Wehrman 3-9, Brandewie 3-6, Siegel 2-5

Passing: Minster, Huelsman 15-22-1-162; Fort Loramie, Siegel 8-17-3-68, Brandewie 1-1-0-18

Receiving: Minster, Schmiesing 7-62, Lehmkuhl 5-60, Frericks 1-18, Heitbrink 1-16, Schmitmeyer 1-6; Fort Loramie, Kemper 2-22, Barhorst 2-12, Hoying 2-7, Brandewie 1-26, Billing 1-15, Mescher 1-4