Minster Jumps on New Bremen Early in 25-15 Win

By Bruce Monnin

MINSTER — It was Senior Night in Minster, and the Wildcats came out strong to start the game, chalking up a 19-0 halftime lead over the New Bremen Cardinals. Minster then used a strong run offense and a stifling pass defense to hold on for a 25-15 victory.

The Wildcats received the opening kickoff and needed only four plays to generate the first score of the night. Alex Schmitmeyer did the honors with a 37-yard touchdown gallop.

Minster’s second drive has a more methodical affair, using 13 plays to cover the required 83 yards. Jacob Niemeyer completed four early passes during the drive, then Schmitmeyer took over with seven rushes for 35 yards, including the four-yard score, making the lead 13-0.

After New Bremen’s second straight three and out, the Wildcats ground out another drive, covering 80 yards with Schmitmeyer again scoring the points, this time from 5 yards out. The score was 19-0 and the rout appeared to be on.

However, the momentum began to turn late in the second quarter. The Cardinals mounted two drives, but each was ended by an interception, one by Cody Frericks and the other by Mike Ketner.

“They went and made plays when we needed them to make plays,” explained Minster coach Geron Stokes of his secondary. “Those are good kids back there. They’ve really fought and competed and had to struggle sometimes this year to get better. Those are seniors, and I am glad to see them get rewarded for all their work.”

Minster’s first half dominance showed in the statistics, as New Bremen was held to just two first downs and 60 yards, while Minster gained 260 yards, including Schmitmeyer’s 134 yards on 17 carries.

“Our seniors had us ready to go. I’m really proud that we could get them a win on Senior Night,” stated Stokes. “We played well in the first half. It is good we didn’t play as well in the second half. It creates the urgency to go right back to work Monday.”

The Cardinals received the second half kickoff and immediately put themselves back in contention. They alternated runs by Nolan Bornhorst and Justin Tenkman to drive 60 yards in 10 plays, with Tenkman scoring on a nine-yard effort. The fake on the extra point resulted in a Mitchell Hays run earning the two-point conversion, reducing the deficit to 19-8.

The teams traded punts until early in the fourth quarter, when Noah Enneking intercepted a New Bremen pass near midfield. The Wildcats shut down Schmitmeyer at halftime, so Broc Miller took over his duties. Miller covered all 48 yards in four carries, bulling through the heart of the Cardinal defense for a 17-yard touchdown to increase the Minster lead to 25-8.

New Bremen responded immediately, driving 50 yards with Tenkman capping the effort with a seven-yard run around the right side of the line, bring the deficit back down to 25-15. One last Cardinal drive was stopped near midfield by a Wildcat sack on fourth down.

“The first half they came out and controlled the line of scrimmage and had us on our heels,” lamented Cardinal coach Chris Schmidt. “It was great to see the fight we had, to come back out in the second half.”

“Until somebody beats them (Minster) in Division 7, they’re still the best team, and they showed that tonight,” added Schmidt. “I’m proud of our kids. Our kids have a lot of heart. You don’t turn around a program without being tough and fighting through adversity. We had to do that a little bit tonight, but just weren’t able to come out on the winning end.”

Minster ground out a total of 264 yards on the ground for the game. After Schmitmeyer’s 134 yard first half, Miller also topped the century mark with 103 yards on 17 carries.

Next week the 7-3 Wildcats remain at home to host their playoff opener, probably against 6-4 DeGraff Riverside (though possibly against 7-2 Miami Valley Christian Academy). The 6-4 Cardinals just missed the playoffs by one spot, finishing ninth in Region 28.

Score by quarter 1 2 3 4 Total

Minster 13 6 0 6 25

New Bremen 0 0 8 7 15

First Quarter:

MIN – Alex Schmitmeyer 37 yd run (kick failed), 10:21

MIN – Alex Schmitmeyer 4 yd run (Bryan Falk kick), 1:47

Second Quarter:

MIN – Alex Schmitmeyer 5 yd run (kick failed), 7:23

Third Quarter:

NB – Justin Tenkman 9 yd run (Mitchell Hays run), 6:59

Fourth Quarter:

MIN – Broc Miller 17 yd run (kick failed), 9:16

NB – Justin Tenkman 7 yd run (Ryan Bertke kick), 5:27

Team statistics MIN NB

First downs 17 9

Rushes - yards 40-264 24-103

Passing yards 84 58

Comp - att - int 7-12-0 9-20-3

Total yards 348 161

Punts - average 4-34.5 3-39.0

Fumbles - lost 0-0 0-0

Penalties - yards 9-75 2-15

Time of possession 26:45 21:15

Individual statistics

Rushing: Minster, Schmitmeyer 17-134, Miller 17-103, Niemeyer 6-27; New Bremen, Tenkman 7-40, Hays 2-34, Bornhorst 12-20, Selby 1-8, Wells 2-1

Passing: Minster, Niemeyer 7-12-0-84; New Bremen, Bornhorst 9-20-3-58

Receiving: Minster, Heitbrink 3-27, Frericks 1-22, Ketner 1-21, Brown 1-10, Bornhorst 1-4; New Bremen, Tenkman 3-7, Roetgerman 2-31, Blickle 1-11, Selby 1-9, Bertke 1-4, Yingling 1-(-4)