Big Plays Key Minster 48-14 Win over New Bremen

By Bruce Monnin

NEW BREMEN - The Minster Wildcat used a dominant first quarter to grab an early lead and four scoring plays of 50 or more yards to keep adding more points in defeating the New Bremen Cardinals 48-14.

After the Minster defense forced a punt without allowing a yard on New Bremen’s opening possession, the Wildcat offense needed only four plays to post their initial points. Caleb Couse caught one 11-yard pass to open the drive and another for the score to give Minster a 7-0 lead.

After the Minster defense again did not allow a yard, Owen Meyer broke through the Cardinal line to partially block their 11-yard punt. Brogan Stephey completed a 38-yard pass to Tyler Bergman and three plays later Stephey scored on a 3-yard run.

The Wildcat offense received the ball one more time in the first quarter, this time on their own 15-yard line. This drive was capped when Stephey ran up the middle, broke one ankle tackle and then sprinted 63 yards for the score, making the Minster lead 21-0 after the opening period. Minster outgained New Bremen 186 yards to 0 in the quarter.

“We came out on fire in the first quarter and did what we were supposed to do,” stated Wildcat coach Seth Whiting. “Any time you can go on the road in the MAC and get a win by 30 you have to be really proud of it.”

The New Bremen defense seemed to regain its footing in the second quarter, stopping a Minster drive on downs 25 yards from the end zone. Then the Cardinal offense went to work, grinding out a methodical 13-play, 75-yard drive. On fourth down, Gavin Dicke would find Grant Dicke open in the end zone for an 8-yard score the reduce the halftime deficit to 21-7.

Minster seized back the momentum to start the second half when Dylan Heitkamp received the kickoff and sprinted down the left side of the field for a 79-yard touchdown return. New Bremen tried to respond, as a 54-yard pass to Rogan Muether brought the ball deep into Wildcat territory before the defense stiffened and the Cardinals turned the ball over on downs.

After five straight pounding runs by Dominick Meyer, Stephey again took off through the heart of the New Bremen defense for a 58-yard touchdown run to increase the lead to 35-7. Both reached deep into the other’s territory without scoring to end the third quarter action.

In the final period, the Cardinals struck paydirt when Gavin Dicke avoided several would be tacklers and threw a short pass to Muether. The receiver spun away from a couple tacklers of his own and covered 46 yards for the last New Bremen tally. Connor Schmiesing would tack on a 50-yard run for Minster to account for the final 48-14 score.

While Minster held New Bremen to just 69 yards on the ground, Gavin Dicke completed 18 of 31 passes for 262 yards, with Muether catching eight balls for 196 yards and a touchdown. Minster spread the wealth to eight different receivers with Stephey completing 19 of 28 passes for 278 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 127 yards and three touchdowns on only eight carries.

“I hate to say it’s what is expected, because you don’t expect a kid to run for 130 and throw for over 200 every week, but it’s what he does,” added Whiting, “and he has really good teammates around him.”

Minster’s record is now 6-1 (4-1 MAC), and they return home to host 5-2 (3-2 MAC) Versailles next Friday. New Bremen’s record drops to 4-3 (2-3 MAC), and the Cardinals travel to face 7-0 (5-0 MAC) Coldwater.

Score by quarter 1 2 3 4 Total

Minster 21 0 14 13 48

New Bremen 0 7 0 7 14

First Quarter:

MIN – Caleb Couse 11 yd pass from Brogan Stephey (Beckham Stephey kick), 9:01

MIN – Brogan Stephey 3 yd run (Beckham Stephey kick), 6:29

MIN – Brogan Stephey 63 yd run (Beckham Stephey kick), 3:27

Second Quarter:

NB – Grant Dicke 8 yd pass from Gavin Dicke (Aiden Eastham kick), 0:48

Third Quarter:

MIN – Dylan Heitkamp 79 yd kickoff return (Beckham Stephey kick), 11:48

MIN – Brogan Stephey 58 yd run (Beckham Stephey kick), 7:01

Fourth Quarter:

NB – Rogan Muether 46 yd pass from Gavin Dicke (Aiden Eastham kick), 9:48

MIN – Isaac Larger 18 yd pass from Brogan Stephey (Beckham Stephey kick), 6:19

MIN – Connor Schmiesing 50 yd run (Beckham Stephey kick), 4:41

Team statistics MIN NB

First downs 24 16

Rushes - yards 26-262 29-69

Passing yards 278 262

Comp - att - int 19-28-0 18-31-0

Total yards 540 331

Punts - average 0-0.0 5-28.6

Fumbles - lost 1-1 0-0

Penalties - yards 3-15 5-35

Time of possession 19:16 28:44

Individual statistics

Rushing: Minster, Stephey 8-127, Schmiesing 7-80, Meyer 11-55; New Bremen, Jelley 3-23, Gavin Dicke 6-15, Grant Dicke 1-15, Muether 16-15, Whitlach 1-4, Topp 1-4, Team 1-(minus 4)

Passing: Minster, Stephey 19-28-0-278; New Bremen, Gavin Dicke 18-31-0-262

Receiving: Minster, Richard 4-58, Couse 4-48, Schmiesing 3-66, Bergman 3-62, Heitkamp 3-14, Larger 1-18, Albers 1-12; New Bremen, Muether 8-196, Grant Dicke 4-31, Wuebker 3-21, Whitlach 2-3, Leichliter 1-11