Late Score Gives Versailles 21-14 Victory over Minster

By Bruce Monnin

VERSAILLES - The offenses of both the Versailles Tigers and the Minster Wildcats were hindered by a combination of muddy field conditions and excellent defensive play. Both teams cashed in on two long scoring drives, but a 56-yard Versailles punt return just before half set up a 14-yard scoring drive that was the difference in a 21-14 Tiger victory.

Minster would gain 172 yards on their two scoring drives, while only gaining 36 yards the remainder of the game. Versailles had shorter distances to go for their scores as they netted 20 more yards per punt than Minster, and 12 more net yards per kickoff.

“I thought it was one of the better games our special teams played this year,” complimented Versailles coach Ryan Jones. “Also, both teams made their extra points, and that was impressive with the footing out there.”

“Physical football game. Good battle,” summarized Minster coach Seth Whiting. “I thought our kids played really hard. We just ran out of time at the end. They made one more play than us.”

The Wildcats took a page out of the Tigers’ playbook by receiving the opening kickoff and taking 17 plays and over seven minutes off the clock before scoring. Minster converted on two fourth downs on the drive, including a 14-yard pass from James Niemeyer to Dylan Heitkamp on a fourth down and eight. Niemeyer later connected with Kole Richard for a six-yard touchdown for the early 7-0 lead.

Neither offense had much success in the rest of the half, with Niemeyer ending one Versailles threat with an interception. Minster was forced to punt in the final minute of the second quarter, and Lane Bergman weaved through the Wildcat punt coverage for 56 yards to the Minster 14-yard line. Two plays later Michael Osbourne threw a 13-yard pass to A.J. Griesdorn to tie the score at intermission.

Versailles received the second half kickoff and drove 60 yards to take the lead. Osbourne threw deep to Jace Watren for a 37-yard score, making the lead 14-7. Versailles threatened to open up the game on their next possession, but a Connor Schmiesing interception at the Wildcat 11-yard line kept Minster within one score.

Perhaps inspired by the defensive stand, Minster drove 89 yards on the ensuing drive to tie the game 14-14. Three straight passes for 21, 5 and 10 yards to Noah Schwieterman started the drive, which culminated when Niemeyer again found Richard, this time for a 27-yard score.

Versailles followed with a classic game-winning drive. The Tigers converted two third downs, and then on a fourth down and eight Osbourne found Lane Berman for a 12-yard gain. On third down and 12 to go from the Minster 16-yard line, Osbourne was flushed from the pockets and chased by the Wildcat defensive line. He eventually connected with Watren with just three minutes remaining in the game. The Tiger defense stopped the final Minster drive to seal the 21-14 win.

“We talk to our receivers about scramble rules and making sure they get open because Mike (Osbourne) can find them,” explained Jones. “That was a huge play to give us the lead.”

Perhaps surprisingly, the majority of the yardage was gained through the air, with Osborne completing 11 or 21 passes for 140 yards while Niemeyer countered with 15 of 28 passes for 161 yards. Not to be overlooked was the play of the Wildcat defensive line of Charlie Schmiesing, Ian Homan, Will Frimel and Chad Schulze, who combined for 16 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and 4 deflected passes.

“Our defensive front played outstanding,” added Whiting. “We played excellently in the run game. That’s a team that runs for over 200 yards every week and we held them to 33 carries for 93 yards.”

Versailles’ record is now 8-2 (6-2 in the MAC) and will finish with the #2 seed in Region 24. The Tigers will open the playoffs by hosting 3-7 Troy Christian. Minster’s record drops to 8-2 (6-2 in the MAC), and the Wildcats will end the regular season with the #5 seed in Region 28. The Wildcats will host 5-4 Bradford in their playoff opener.

Score by quarter 1 2 3 4 Total

Versailles 0 7 7 7 21

Minster 7 0 0 7 14

First Quarter:

MIN – Kole Richard 6 yd pass from James Niemeyer (Caleb Couse kick), 4:35

Second Quarter:

VER – A.J. Griesdorn 13 yd pass from Michael Osborne (Joel Gehret kick), 0:17

Third Quarter:

VER – Jace Watren 37 yd pass from Michael Osborne (Joel Gehret kick), 0:17

Fourth Quarter:

MIN – Kole Richard 27 yd pass from James Niemeyer (Caleb Couse kick), 9:15

VER – Jace Watren 16 yd pass from Michael Osborne (Joel Gehret kick), 2:59

Team statistics VER MIN

First downs 16 11

Rushes - yards 33-93 19-32

Passing yards 140 161

Comp - att - int 11-21-2 15-28-0

Total yards 233 193

Punts - average 2-39.5 4-36.8

Fumbles - lost 0-0 0-0

Penalties - yards 2-55 1-5

Time of possession 28:06 19:54

Individual statistics

Rushing: Versailles, Osbourne 12-51, Gehret 15-36, Henry 6-6; Minster, Schmiesing 12-24, Niemeyer 6-12, Bergman 1-(minus 4)

Passing: Versailles, Osbourne 11-21-2-140; Minster, Niemeyer 15-28-0-161

Receiving: Versailles, Watren 6-89, Griesdorn 2-25, Bergman 2-20, Gehret 1-6; Minster, Richard 4-52, Heitkamp 4-49, Schwieterman 4-40, Schmiesing 2-12, Couse 1-8