Fast Start Helps New Bremen Run Away from Minster, 45-21

 

By Bruce Monnin

 

NEW BREMEN  -  The New Bremen Cardinals came out of the locker room firing on all cylinders to start their matchup with the Minster Wildcats.  After jumping out to a 21-0 first quarter lead, New Bremen used a dominating run game and relentless defensive pressure to defeat Minster 45-21.

 

Less than two minutes into the game, Hunter Schaefer found a hole in the right side of the Wildcat line, broke one tackle and was off for a 44-yard score. 

 

Minster tried to respond with a fake punt in Cardinal territory, but Will Frimel was stopped one yard short of a first down by David Homan.  New Bremen took over at the Wildcat 38-yard line and Schaefer had a 28-yard run to bring the Cardinals close to the end zone.  Homan then rushed three times to gain the final five yards to make the score 14-0.

 

After Minster receivers dropped passes on three consecutive plays, New Bremen took possession near midfield.  Six plays later Homan ran the ball in from eight yards out to make the lead 21-0 late in the first quarter.

 

Neither team could dent the end zone during the next seven drives.  The Wildcat defense appeared to have another stop in the subsequent possession, but the Cardinals opted to roll the dice on fourth down at their own 32-yard line.  Homan broke through the line of scrimmage and found himself in open territory, which he converted into a 68-yard score.

 

Late in the half, with New Bremen looking to increase their lead yet again, Minster forced a fumble which was recovered by Max Knapke.  A 25-yard pass from Brogan Stephey to Conner Schmiesing had Minster inside the Cardinal 20-yard line, but the New Bremen defense stiffened and held the Wildcats scoreless.

 

“It was good to get off to a good start,” stated New Bremen coach Chris Schmidt.  “Then it kind of felt like we got into a lull.  I thought our defense did a really good job.  There was that one situation where we fumbled it before halftime, and we ended up keeping them out, which I thought was huge, given that they were getting the ball to start the second half.”

 

Minster did come out in the second half and score on their opening possession.  Stephey had a 40-yard run during the drive, then threw a seven-yard touchdown pass to Devan Wuebker to decrease their deficit to 28-7.  New Bremen answered later in the quarter as Homan threw one of his three completions on the night to Aaron Thieman in the end zone to increase the lead back to 35-7.

 

The two teams kept exchanging scores in the fourth quarter.  Stephey started with a six-yard touchdown, which was followed by a 22-yard field goal by Schaefer.  After Stephey was injured on an 18-yard run, James Niemeyer took over as Minster quarterback and connected with Charlie Schmiesing for a 10-yard scoring strike.  Schaefer tacked on one last one-yard touchdown for the final 45-21 outcome.

 

Schaefer was the leading rusher on the night with 178 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries.  Homan tacked on another 172 yards and three touchdowns on 22 carries, part of a 420-yard rushing effort by the Cardinals.

 

“We’ve been able to run the ball successfully the last couple of weeks.  That builds confidence for the backs in the line,” added Schmidt.  “We’re not real big, we just try to rely on athleticism, quickness and good technique.” 

 

For Minster, Stephey rushed for 85 yards on 17 carries, but his stats were reduced by the five times the New Bremen defense sacked him for a loss of 31 yards.  Stephey also completed 17 passes for 228 yards before he left the game with an injury.

 

Next week the 7-2 Cardinals (5-2 MAC) go on the road to face the 3-6 Delphos St. John’s Blue Jays.  The 6-3 Wildcats (5-2 MAC) will finish the regular season hosting the 6-3 Versailles Tigers. 

 

Score by quarter             1         2         3         4         Total

New Bremen                 21         7         7         10            45

Minster                         0         0         7         14            21

 

First Quarter:

NB – Hunter Schaefer 44 yd run (Hunter Schaefer kick), 10:11

NB – David Homan 1 yd run (Hunter Schaefer kick), 6:55

NB – David Homan 8 yd run (Hunter Schaefer kick), 4:33

Second Quarter:

NB – David Homan 68 yd run (Hunter Schaefer kick), 4:19

Third Quarter:

MIN – Devan Wuebker 7 yd pass from Brogan Stephey (Brogan Stephey kick), 9:37

NB – Aaron Thieman 6 yd pass from David Homan (Hunter Schaefer kick), 2:20

Fourth Quarter:

MIN – Brogan Stephey 6 yd run (Brogan Stephey kick), 11:22

NB – Hunter Schaefer 22 yd field goal, 6:53

MIN – Charlie Schmiesing 10 yd pass from James Niemeyer (Justin Bergman kick), 4:17

NB – Hunter Schaefer 1 yd run (Kai Eastham kick), 3:17

 

Team statistics             NB                    MIN

First downs                   19                     22

Rushes - yards              52-404              29-124

Passing yards               20                     269

Comp - att - int              3-13-2               20-43-0

Total yards                    424                   393

Punts - average             3-35.7               5-34.4

Fumbles - lost               2-1                    3-2

Penalties - yards           6-45                  4-25

Time of possession       24:05                23:55

 

Individual statistics

Rushing:  New Bremen, Schaefer 22-178, Homan 22-172, Thieman 3-26, Googeg 3-12, Bambauer 1-9, Suchland 1-7; Minster, Stephey 17-85, Bergman 8-30, Co. Schmiesing 3-8, Frimel 1-1

Passing:  New Bremen, Homan 3-12-2-20, Thieman 0-1-0-0; Minster, Stephey 17-37-0-228, Niemeyer 3-6-0-41

Receiving:  New Bremen, Thieman 3-20; Minster, Wuebker 8-100, Co. Schmiesing 4-71, Niemeyer 3-36, Ch. Schmiesing 2-22, Gehret 1-11, Couse 1-9