St Henry’s wide receiver caught this beautiful pass despite the defense of New Bremen’s Joel Lozier. (Press Pros Feature Photos By Julie McMaken Wright)
St. Henry didn’t let a seven-point halftime deficit or quarterback Charlie Werling’s mysterious ankle get in its way in the second half.
New Bremen, OH – Charlie Werling stood free of pain while the school bus waited for him and answered questions about a football game he had just finished on his terms.
Veteran columnist Jeff Gilbert writes Ohio State football and OHSAA sports for Press Pros Magazine.com.
He didn’t look or sound at all like the St. Henry quarterback who was sacked on third down in the third quarter, sat on the field with trainers and coaches gathered around for five minutes and limped to the bench.
But Werling wasn’t finished having fun. And neither was his team.
“We’re fighting for a chance to host a home playoff game,” he said. “So that’s a real big motivator.”
When Werling got hurt the Redskins were already facing adversity. They trailed New Bremen by a touchdown.
But Werling’s exit wasn’t as foreboding as it seemed for the men in red and white. However, it wasn’t necessarily a sign on a night when an almost full moon shone on Cardinal Stadium. But everything after that moment went St. Henry’s way for a 21-14 Midwest Athletic Conference victory over the Cardinals.
St Henry’s Charlie Werling makes his way across the goaline for a touchdown.
Both teams clinched playoff spots in Division VII, Region 28. New Bremen (4-5) is currently No. 8 in the region and travels to Delphos St. Johns (2-6) next week. St. Henry (5-4) is No. 9 and finishes at home against a Versailles (5-4) team that has lost four straight. The top eight teams will host first-round playoff games in two weeks.
“It just felt like there was a couple plays here or there where we just didn’t quite execute the way we wanted to,” New Bremen coach Chris Schmidt said. “And that was the difference. Credit to Coach Werling and his staff and their players. They made some of those plays.”
Werling and fellow junior quarterback Jack Huelsman made their share of plays, and each led a touchdown drive while the Cardinals’ defense stopped New Bremen.
Huelsman started the first three games this season before Werling took over. So Huelsman was ready to go on the Redskins’ next possession. He threw a 24-yard pass to Carter LaGuire to move the ball to the Cardinals’ 11.
After two incompletions, Huelsman lofted a pass across the field to the back right corner of the end zone that Carson Harrod ran under for an 11-yard touchdown on third-and-10. The score was tied 14-14 with 2:27 left in the third.
New Bremen’s Rogan Muether maneuvers his way around Carson Harrod for some yardage.
“It’s awesome having another guy to count on,” Werling said. “At practice we’re always helping each other with our reads, and we have a competitive friendship. He makes a good throw, I want to make a good throw. We just push each other.”
St. Henry head coach Josh Werling, the quarterback’s older cousin once removed, loved the way Huelsman took control and led the team.
“We talked about turnovers and those kinds of things, and so we made the decision as a team to make a quarterback change,” Josh Werling said. “Jack’s still been getting reps at quarterback in practice and playing receiver and safety for us now. You talk with your team about it, your captains about it, and you move forward. The touchdown was a huge, critical play and just shows the character of Jack Huelsman.”
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New Bremen moved the ball across midfield, but Brody Schwartz sacked New Bremen’s Gavin Dicke to force a punt. And Werling came back in the game.
“It’s been a continuous thing,” he said. “I’m not too worried about it. It just kind of gives out, and then give it a few minutes and it’s back.”
St Henry’s Carson Harrod snagged a pass in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown.
The Redskins embarked on a 13-play, 81-yard drive. Werling carried the ball on six of the plays for 47 yards, including the final five yards for the winning score with 2:49 left.
“It’s everything you dream of, coming back for a win,” Werling said. “Just finishing runs was my main emphasis, not going down on the first tackle, breaking tackles, everything. My guys blocked well for me, so I was able to do my job.”
Josh Werling decided quarterback runs might be the difference on the final drive.
“We gained the extra blocker, and with how their front was I thought that would benefit us,” he said. “Our defense got a huge stop there, and we wanted to milk as much clock as we could.”
Wide receiver Grant Dicke gets sandwiched between two St Henry defensive players.
The critical moment of the drive came when the Redskins faced fourth-and-two at the New Bremen 14. New Bremen called timeout with two seconds left on the play clock. The Redskins planned to go for the first down all along and not try to kick a field goal.
But not so fast.
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First, they want to try to draw the Cardinals offsides.
Charlie Werling said the Cardinals had timed up his team’s pre-snap motion well. So when a receiver went in motion, Werling used a hard count at the precise moment and the Cardinals jumped offside. First down at the nine. Werling for four yards, Werling five yards for the touchdown.
St Henry’s Charlie Werling fights off NB’s Grant Dicke during one of his runs of the night in the win over New Bremen.
“I hope this helps turn the page towards the future,” Josh Werling said. “That fourth-quarter drive to me meant so much. We talk about believing in what we got, and, boy, they did that. The offensive line, running backs, quarterbacks, receivers, all delivered, all bought in. It was a proud moment as a head coach.”
But the Cardinals, also chasing the best playoff seed it can get, weren’t finished.
Sophomore quarterback Gavin Dicke, who completed 13 of 21 passes for 172 yards and a touchdown, connected with his brother, Grant Dicke, on a Hail Mary kind of throw on fourth-and-two for 43 yards.
Grant Dicke made the catch between two defenders in the middle of the field at the St. Henry 25 1:38 left. But the joy in New Bremen was shortlived. Dicke’s next pass was intercepted by Carter LaGuire, and the Redskins ran out the clock.
With nothing to lose and less than two minutes on the clock, Grant Dicke hauls in a Hail Mary pass from his brother Gavin.
“We still had a chance,” Schmidt said. “It was a nice throw by Gavin to give his brother a chance, and Grant went up and made that catch. That interception was a bad call. That one was on me. I’ve got things to fix and correct as well.”
LaGuire is primarily a receiver for the Redskins. But he was in at cornerback because senior Jared Nietfeld, also a receiver, was cramping.
“He made the captain’s decision there – what’s better for the team is me being off the field right now,” Josh Werling said. “Carter came in and made a huge play for us, and that’s just an unselfish decision by Jared Nietfeld.”
The second-half heroics came after a first half won by the Cardinals even though the half started better for the Redskins.
After New Bremens’ successful Hail Mary pass, the following play was intercepted by St. Henry’s Carter LaGuire.
St. Henry’s Brayden Heath intercepted a pass halfway through the first quarter that set up Werling’s 30-yard touchdown pass to Harrod. The rest of the half belonged to the Cardinals.
Rogan Muether scored from the two to cap a drive to tie the score 7-7. Then after Jordan Evers recovered a St. Henry fumble on a handoff from Werling to Nietfeld, Dicke hit a wide-open Muether for a 36-yard touchdown pass for a 14-7 lead.
But the best was yet to come for the Redskins.
Which is why Charlie Werling looked so relaxed and confident in a white Nike hoodie, sweatpants and slides while the bus waited. This had been a fun Friday night for a team looking for a winning record after going 5-7 last year.
“Going out there week after week with everyone and just fighting no matter what,” Werling said. “Giving these seniors a fun last year.”
New Bremen lineman Jordan Evers (56) sacks St Henry’s quarterback Charlie Werling (12).
