Dylan Heitkamp scoring the first of his two touchdowns in the win over CCPA. (Press Pros Feature Photos By Julie McMaken Wright)
Minster dominated both sides of the ball in a no muss, no fuss 42-0 win over Cincinnati College Preparatory Academy to earn another shot at Marion Local in a Division VII regional final.
Written By: Scott Halasz
SIDNEY, OH – It’s very likely that fans of Cincinnati College Preparatory Academy had a feeling how the night would go. 
As the Lions took the field to face Minster in a Division VII regional semifinal, there were about 30 fans on the visitor’s side of Sidney Memorial Stadium. Eight minutes into the game it was clear why CCPA fans stayed in the 513 and it likely had nothing to do with gas prices.
Those eight minutes were all it took for Minster to score a pair of touchdowns, force a three-and-out while allowing just two yards, and cruise to a 42-0 win, setting up another opportunity to take down the Mercer County Goliath known as Marion Local.
Brogan Stephey doing what he does best.
“You wanna get a chance to play those people, so our kids are excited and we’re ready to get to work and try to crack the code on those guys,” Coach Seth Whiting said. “That’s what you’re fighting for.”
If Friday’s game was a fight, it would have been scored a TKO.
Minster (11-2) led 35-0 at halftime, triggering a second-half running clock due to the point differential.
QB Brogan Stephey ran for a three-yard touchdown to start the scoring, then found James Niemeyer for an 18-yard TD pass and a 15-0 lead after a Dominick Meyer two-point run. Meyer scored on a one-yard run in the second quarter to give Minster a 22-0 lead before Stephey threw TD passes of 28 and 32 yards to Dylan Heitkamp and Niemeyer to close out the first-half scoring.
The Lions, meanwhile, had negative 10 yards of offense, due mostly to four QB sacks for a combined loss of 29 yards.
Yikes!
Minster had a game’s worth of offensive stats in the first 16 minutes — 168 yards rushing and 139 yards passing. Other than one drive that ended on downs and another that ended with a nice interception by a CCPA player, the Wildcats offense was doing anything and everything it wanted.
James Niemeyer gaining yardage for the Wildcats.
Well, almost.
“We added a goal to run for over 300 tonight,” Whiting said. “We just didn’t get the chance. We only ran 40 plays.”
All but four were in the first half and the four second-half plays netted 15 yards. The Lions managed to dig themselves out of the first-half hole where yards were concerned, finishing with 63, mostly on one long pass.
The only question left to ponder was whether the offense or defense was more impressive.
Whiting was diplomatic.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I thought our kids played really well. I was happy with the way they came out. (CCPA) had some talented kids on both sides of the ball and we were, you know, concerned about trying to keep some of those kids at bay. And I think our defense played really, really well.”
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The “really, really well” is likely a bit of an understatement. The Lions were scrambling – literally and figuratively – to try and move the ball. Run plays were stuffed at the line and pass plays rarely had time to develop as the defensive line constantly harassed freshman quarterback Kemmarion McCray.
Connor Schmiesing en route to a third down touchdown.
Defensive lineman Ian Homan was the focal point of CCPA’s blocking scheme, which called for a running back to stay in the backfield just for extra protection.
Didn’t help.
Homan had a massive sack on CCPA’s second drive, grabbing McCray from behind and flinging him to the ground for a 13-yard loss.
“He’s pretty good,” Whiting said. “He’s six-foot-three, 215 pounds and fast. It’s a lot to deal with. He made some plays and a couple other guys got in and made hits.”
Will Frimel, who Whiting said might be the best defensive tackle he’s ever coached, was one of the “other guys.”
But Frimel, the consummate teammate, deflected any praise.
“Ian Homan, he had a game tonight,” Frimel said. “He played really well. Overall, I think our defense played pretty solid. We played together. Had a good night.”
Dominick Meyer scores after driving his way to the one yard line.
No. 3 CCPA was supposed to be a formidable opponent for the No. 2 seeded Wildcats. The Lions didn’t play a Division-VII opponent during the regular season and played a pair of Division-III teams in addition to a mix of D-IV, D-V, and D-VI.
But nothing really prepares a team for a MAC opponent.
“The MAC is a different animal,” Whiting said. “We see some pretty competitive stuff during the year and I’ve said this a bunch of times, even down MAC teams or teams that are supposedly having a down year in the MAC are incredibly difficult to (play). We’re privileged that we play in such a great conference with, you know, tons of good talent and athletes and really good coaches. So you know, it prepares our kids well.”
Every little bit will help when prepping for Marion Local, winners of 61 straight.
“I’m excited,” Frimel said. “I would like to play tomorrow but we’ve got work to do. Got some game planning to do.”
Minster’s defensive lineman Will Frimel sacks CCPA’s freshman quarterback Kemmarion McCray.
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