Blake Monnin’s legs were the best offense either team could provide. The Tigers ran for 226 yards on 48 attempts. (Press Pros Feature Photos By Julie Wright-Daniel)
Versailles scored once on a fake field goal, and again in the final minute to topple New Bremen 16-13. The Tigers’ fourth-quarter heroics erased a -2 turnover differential and red zone miscues.
Versailles, Oh – With 63 seconds to play, the Versailles Tigers entered the red zone for the fifth time against New Bremen, trailing 13-9. A frightening trend threatened their comeback bid: In four red zone drives, the offense hadn’t scored a touchdown, at least not conventionally.
Follow the best in area sports with Darke County’s on-air voice…Scott Ward on 97.5 FM, WTGR.
A fake field goal earlier in the fourth quarter marked their only TD and kept them alive for this moment. Quarterback Blake Monnin’s legs propelled the offense all night, but his arm met the moment late. Monnin delivered a six-yard strike to a slanting Alex Westgerdes to capture the lead with 31 seconds, and eventually seal a 16-13 victory.
Alan Brads is a contributing columnist and writes sports at large for Press Pros Magazine.
“I told these kids they’re gonna give me a heart attack,” Broerman said with a smile.
The 73-yard game-winning drive bumped the Tigers to 4-2 and 2-2 in the MAC. They rank ninth in the Region 24 rankings, with a solid chance to take care of business and return to the playoffs after missing out last year.
But the Tigers chose to be present postgame and left the postseason to come when it comes.
“I always say you gotta enjoy the win first,” Head Coach Scott Broerman said. “The season is stressful, so we’re gonna enjoy this tonight. I like the way we practice every week. Our coaches believe in it; the kids believe in it. So we’re gonna go about it another week.”
Even after the four-quarter thriller, starting quarterback Blake Monnin was ready to look ahead, but not that far ahead.
Tigerball is alive and well with Versailles sitting at 4-2, currently in playoff position.
“We didn’t make it last year, but we can’t think about the playoffs until the playoffs,” Monnin said. “It’s always one game at a time, and we have Coldwater (5-1) next week.”
New Bremen dropped to 3-3, 1-3 in the MAC, and slid a spot to sixth in Region 28. To add to the heartbreak, the Cardinals’ final opportunity to win was plucked from them on the last play of the game.
Down three with 30 seconds, star running back Jacob Kelly returned the kickoff to the New Bremen 46. Kelly caught a pass to the Versailles 44, and they spiked it. They completed again to the Versailles 30 and stepped out of bounds with at least seven tenths of a second on the clock, likely closer to a full second. But the officials ruled time expired, choking out the Cardinals before their last gasp.
New Bremen coach Chris Schmidt said the explanation given was that the nearest official said he saw the clock was at triple zeros.
Here’s an alternative explanation to consider: Michigan stole New Bremen’s final second.
“We told our kids that we can be frustrated at that all we want,” Schmidt said. “But we can’t let it come down to that. We had chances to make plays so that it wouldn’t come down to trying to keep a second or two on the clock.”
Versailles’ Cole Brewer tries to haul down the slippery Gavin Dicke.
There’s no rest for the weary. The Cardinals play St. Henry and Marion Local over the next two weeks.
“If you don’t get up, you’ll get your face kicked in,” Schmidt said. “That’s part of being in the MAC. These are tough, they sting. But there’s a lot of football in front of us. We gotta regroup and look at the film and see how we can do better.”
Outside the thrilling final 15 minutes, the sides played a rock fight that would have been right at home in the 1930s.
They combined for 31 rushes before either side registered a forward pass.
On a down-to-down basis, Versailles won more often than it lost. They rushed for 5.54 yards per attempt on 48 tries. New Bremen’s Kelly and Gavin Dicke took all 32 of the Cardinals’ carries, gaining 4.15 yards per attempt, a number just too low to buy a gallon of gas these days. Fitting, since the offense seemed to run out of fuel halfway through a few drives.
Wilson Health/Orthopedics proudly sponsors the best in area sports and the Ohio State Buckeyes on Press Pros.
Two items kept Versailles from pulling away. Most memorably, an 86-yard touchdown pass to Joe Lozier two plays after the Tigers coughed the ball up. Lozier ran a skinny post, his defender slipped, and the other 10 expected a run, since New Bremen had passed just once through 24 snaps. He couldn’t be caught.
Even so, the Tigers had enough chances to make it a comfy conference victory, but the red zone was unkind to them.
Red zone turnovers, blown calls, busted coverages … blame it on the full moon.
On their first drive, they rushed for 80 yards, only to fumble it away on the 11-yard line.
On the second trip, New Bremen’s Eli Cathcart barged into the backfield for a TFL at the 15. Two incomplete passes later, Versailles kicked a field goal for a 3-0 lead right before halftime.
Joel Lozier (18) waltzes 86 yards to the end zone in the third quarter.
“We talked to our team all week that we got to be disciplined and continue to do our job,” Schmidt said. “They can go on these drives, but we gotta make them earn it, and hopefully there’s a bad snap, or a penalty, or a turnover. And a couple of times that happened. But we just needed one more, and credit to Versailles, they executed.”
Third time was no charm, a curse, maybe. The Tigers opened the third quarter with a 16-play, nine-minute drive entirely on the ground. Upon entering the red zone, they promptly botched a handoff, catapulting the ball across the line of scrimmage. Despite Westgerdes coming away with the ball, the officials ruled New Bremen had it first.
“He kinda had the ball, I kinda jumped on after he had it,” Westgerdes said. “But it was really close. The ref made the call, and you gotta respect the decision.”
It’s a fake! Kade Schwartz lines up as kicker, but gets the toss, turns the corner, and scores six rather than three.
Two plays later, Dicke hit Lozier for the long TD.
“We know that off turnovers a lot of teams like to take a shot,” Monnin said. “They took the shot and scored. But at that point, we’d already moved the ball well, so we still had confidence we could score on offense. You just gotta keep your head up and go forward.”
Round four looked poised for success when the Tigers set up shop with first-and-goal on the three. But a false start penalty changed the calculus.
On fourth-and-goal from the six, trailing 7-3 with nine minutes left, Broerman called on the field goal unit. But he had bigger and better plans than cutting a four-point lead to one. Monnin, the holder, sped to the left, looking for daylight. As defenders crashed in on him, he flipped the option pitch to kicker and wide receiver Kade Schwartz, who squeezed inside the pylon for a 9-7 lead.
The Phelan Agency, in Versailles, proudly sponsors area sports on Press Pros.
“We needed a touchdown there,” Broerman said. “A field goal would’ve gotten us a little closer. But we go through that one every week, and big players make good plays.”
An aborted extra point could have cost Versailles, but didn’t.
Kade Schwartz was Blake Monnin’s favorite target. He hauled in a few key passes, and drew two flagrant defensive pass interference penalties by beating his man.
New Bremen answered with its lone sustained touchdown drive. Kelly capped it with an uncontested three-yard score, taking a 13-9 lead with 4:03 left.
Tiger fans held their breath as Monnin didn’t get up after a rush with 2:30 to go. But backup Damien Barga stood tall, completing a nine-yard pass and scampering for 16 before Monnin returned.
Fifth time, as it turns out, is the charm. They crossed into the red zone, then Monnin hit Westgerdes to avenge last year’s thrilling loss.
“It was a hard-fought battle the entire game,” Westgerdes said. “We knew we had to get it on that drive. It was now or never, and we all executed; I just happened to get the ball.”
New Bremen’s Tommy McNaughton lunges at Nick Meyer.
Minster Bank is the official banking resource for Press Pros Magazine.com.