Mistake Free Minster Advances with 45-21 Win Over Mechanicsburg

by Bruce Monnin

MECHANICSBURG – In just this second meeting all-time between these two schools, both the Minster Wildcats and the Mechanicsburg Indians showed the ability to sustain and finish off long offensive drives. It appeared the game might turn on which team would be the first to make an error. The Wildcats responded with an almost mistake free game, capitalizing on three Mechanicsburg turnovers for a 45-21 victory.

“Holy cow, what a tough, physical team coach has over there,” complimented Minster coach Seth Whiting. “I couldn’t say enough about how well and hard they played, but I am really proud of how our kids battled.”

The Wildcats won the coin toss and chose to receive the opening kickoff. On their sixth play, with five yards needed to convert a fourth down, Brogan Stephey spotted Chase Couse open deep for a 30-yard scoring strike.

Mechanicsburg answered with a thirteen-play drive to knot the game at 7-7. The Indians mixed in two completions with nine running plays, scoring on a four-yard plunge by quarterback Jaden Roland.

Minster showed they could also use a lot of clock en route to the end zone. The Wildcats used thirteen plays and scored on their first effort of the second quarter, this time by Stephey connecting with Connor Schmiesing on a short swing pass for a ten-yard score. The extra point was blocked, and the lead was just 13-7.

Two more scores followed. Charles Bradford capped an Indian drive with a 22-yard run to claim a 14-13 lead. Minster followed with another series which ended in a touchdown pass, as this time Stephey found Devan Wuebker for a 26-yard score. A two-point conversion pass to Charlie Schmiesing returned the lead to seven points, 21-14.

As the first half ground to a close, Mechanicsburg worked its way down the field towards what seemed like the inevitable tying score. Instead, Wuebker stepped in front of an Indian receiver to intercept a pass at the 18-yard line and returned it to near midfield. Minster took advantage, ending the half with a 29-yard Stephey field goal to increase the lead to 24-14 at intermission.

“Devan Wuebker has continued to make big plays when we absolutely had to have them,” stated Whiting, “going all the way back to the Anna game when we were down 21-11 and he gets a pick-six. Tonight, he got us up by two scores. We knew if we could get to a two-score lead, they would struggle possession-wise just because of how they operate on offense.”

Mechanicsburg calmly opened the second half with another long, grinding scoring drive. They broke tendencies by scoring on a 20-yard pass from Roland to Kailen Butler which cut the Indian deficit to just three points.

The Wildcats answered in an unexpected manner. Putting the passing game to the side, Minster ran the ball for 13 consecutive plays. Connor Schmiesing carried six times for 32 yards, and Stephey toted the ball seven times for 25 yards and a one-yard quarterback sneak to make the score 31-21.

As important as the points, the Wildcats also drained almost eight minutes off the clock. “I told them I didn’t want to have to throw the ball in the second half,” admitted Whiting.

Having to pay attention to the clock, Mechanicsburg’s play grew sloppier. Minster’s defense stopped the Indians on downs deep in their own territory to set up a Connor Schmiesing 21-yard touchdown run straight through the middle of the disheartened Mechanicsburg defense. Soon after, Charlie Schmiesing forced a fumble that Couse recovered, and Connor Schmiesing capitalized again, this time on a 33-yard run for the final 45-21 score.

Connor Schmiesing led all rushers with 139 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries. Stephey added 74 yards and a score on 16 carries. Stephey also threw for 167 yards and three touchdowns, with Schmiesing catching four passes for 54 yards and a score.

The win pushes Minster’s record to 9-4, and next Saturday the Wildcats have a rematch of their opening game against 11-2 Fort Loramie at a neutral site. Mechanicsburg ends their season with a 9-3 record.

Score by quarter 1 2 3 4 Total

Minster 7 17 0 21 45

Mechanicsburg 7 7 7 0 21

First Quarter:

MIN – Chase Couse 30 yd pass from Brogan Stephey (Brogan Stephey kick), 9:15

MECH – Jayden Roland 4 yd run (Eli Wilson kick), 3:56

Second Quarter:

MIN – Connor Schmiesing 10 yd pass from Brogan Stephey (kick blocked), 11:53

MECH – Charlie Bradford 22 yd run (Eli Wilson kick), 7:53

MIN – Devan Wuebker 26 yd pass from Brogan Stephey (Charlie Schmiesing pass from Brogan Stephey), 4:38

MIN – Brogan Stephey 29 yd field goal, 0:00

Third Quarter:

MECH – Kailen Butler 20 yd pass from Jayden Roland (Eli Wilson kick), 6:26

Fourth Quarter:

MIN – Brogan Stephey 1 yd run (Brogan Stephey kick), 10:58

MIN – Connor Schmiesing 21 yd run (Brogan Stephey kick), 8:41

MIN – Connor Schmiesing 33 yd run (Brogan Stephey kick), 7:34

Team statistics MIN MECH

First downs 22 16

Rushes - yards 36-230 38-215

Passing yards 167 138

Comp - att - int 11-17-0 9-17-1

Total yards 397 353

Punts - average 0-0.0 0-0.0

Fumbles - lost 0-0 2-2

Penalties - yards 3-35 5-29

Time of possession 24:50 23:10

Individual statistics:

Rushing: Minster, Co. Schmiesing 17-139, Stephey 16-74, Bergman 3-17; Mechanicsburg, Roland 15-92, Bradford 9-67, Hursey 10-42, Smith 4-14

Passing: Minster, Stephey 11-17-0-167; Mechanicsburg, Roland 9-16-1-138, Hess 0-1-0-0

Receiving: Minster, Co. Schmiesing 4-54, Niemeyer 2-40, Wuebker 2-37, Couse 2-28, Ch. Schmiesing 1-8; Mechanicsburg, Butler 3-38, Smith 2-42, Ritchie 2-12, Bradford 1-41, Schetter 1-5