Versailles Runs Over Minster 35-6

By Bruce Monnin

MINSTER - From the opening drive of the game, the Versailles Tigers dominated on the line of scrimmage against the Minster Wildcats. An advantage of 313 rushing yards earned for Versailles versus only 25 yards on the ground for Minster allowed the Tigers roll to a 35-6 victory.

“Our team played great all game,” explained Versailles coach Ryan Jones. “I’m really proud of how the team played and practiced all week.”

The Tigers received the opening kickoff and handed the ball off to Joel Gehret four times. On his fourth run, Gehret ran around the right side of the line and sprinted along the hashmarks for a 46-yard score.

Versailles needed 13 plays for their next score. After converting one fourth down earlier in the drive, the Tigers faced a fourth down and eight at Minster’s 18-yard line. Connor Stonebraker found A.J. Griesdorn open at the five and he ran in to make the score 14-0.

Midway through the second quarter, Versailles tacked on a third score when Gehret ran the ball on seven consecutive plays, the final rush a one-yard scoring plunge. Down 21-0, Minster tried to answer before half, reaching the Tigers’ 25-yard line before an interception by Lucas Stammen ended the threat.

Versailles outgained Minster 217 yards to 35 in the half, with Gehret running for 166 of those yards on 19 carries.

The Tiger’s put up the only score of the third quarter when Stonebraker connected with Gehret for a 27-yard touchdown strike. A Michael Osbourne 57-yard scoring run early in the fourth quarter set the running clock in motion, but Minster restored the clock to normal operation shortly thereafter. James Niemeyer found Dylan Heitkamp for a 40-yard touchdown pass to make the final score 35-6.

Gehret led all rushers with 178 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries. Stonebraker added 108 passing yards, with Osbourne catching four passes for 43 yards. Niemeyer threw for 135 yards for the Wildcats, with Heitkamp catching two for 87 yards and Devan Wuebker pulling down three catches for 34 yards.

Versailles’ record is now 7-3, and as the #4 seed they will host 6-4 National Trial next Friday to open the Region 24 playoffs. Minster’s record drops to 6-4, and the Wildcats will end the regular season with the #6 seed in Region 28. Minster will host 3-7 Fort Recovery in their playoff opener.

“We have a home game next week. That will be great,” added Jones. “Hopefully they will make some more memories that will last a lifetime Friday night.”

Score by quarter 1 2 3 4 Total

Versailles 14 7 7 7 35

Minster 0 0 0 6 6

First Quarter:

VER – Joel Gehret 46 yd run (Joel Gehret kick), 9:55

VER – A.J. Griesdorn 18 yd pass from Connor Stonebraker (Joel Gehret kick), 0:26

Second Quarter:

VER – Joel Gehret 1 yd run (Joel Gehret kick), 1:49

Third Quarter:

VER – Joel Gehret 27 yd pass from Connor Stonebraker (Joel Gehret kick), 4:10

Fourth Quarter:

VER – Michael Osbourne 57 yd run (Joel Gehret kick), 8:24

MIN – Dylan Heitkamp 40 yd pass from James Niemeyer (kick failed), 5:13

Team statistics VER MIN

First downs 17 7

Rushes - yards 43-312 17-25

Passing yards 108 135

Comp - att - int 8-10-0 9-20-2

Total yards 420 160

Punts - average 2-37.5 5-35.8

Fumbles - lost 0-0 0-0

Penalties - yards 2-15 2-20

Time of possession 31:27 16:33

Individual statistics

Rushing: Versailles, J Gehret 23-178, Osbourne 4-79, Subler 2-22, Henry 6-17, Schmitmeyer 1-9, Stonebraker 6-7, T Gehret 1-0; Minster, Bergman 6-10, Schmiesing 3-10, Niemeyer 7-3, Frimel 1-2

Passing: Versailles, Stonebraker 8-10-0-108; Minster, Niemeyer 9-20-2-135

Receiving: Versailles, Osbourne 4-43, Griesdorn 3-38, J Gehret 1-27; Minster, Wuebker 3-34, Heitkamp 2-87, Couse 2-12, Schmiesing 2-2