Drew Langenkamp surpassed the 1,000 rushing yard mark in the fourth quarter. (Press Pros Feature Photos By Julie Wright-Daniel)
St. Henry’s Drew Langenkamp rushed for 238 yards and three total touchdowns to take down Coldwater 24-21 at home. He passed the 1,000-yard mark for the season a few plays before catching the game-winning touchdown.
St Henry, Oh – A chunk of Coldwater and St. Henry’s crowds succumbed to the cold, wind and rain at halftime and headed home.
But inside St. Henry’s locker room, quitting wasn’t an option.
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The deck was stacked against the Redskins. They trailed 14-7, and the nasty conditions worsened with every minute. A muddy field favored the team with the lead – Coldwater – and the team that doesn’t care to throw the football – also Coldwater.
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But St. Henry had something, or someone, that Coldwater didn’t: Drew Langenkamp.
Langenkamp’s three touchdowns delivered St. Henry a 24-21 senior night win over the Cavaliers.
After leading his team to its third straight win, Langenkamp guessed how many rushing yards he had.
“150?” Langenkamp said.
Not even close. 238 on the ground, plus a dramatic game-winning 23-yard touchdown catch. He eclipsed 1,000 yards rushing this season in the fourth quarter.
“All credit goes to everyone else,” Langenkamp said. “The offensive line, [Coach] Werling drawing up the best game plan for us, and our incredible receivers who open up run lanes for me.”
He churned out 76 yards in the first half, and scored once from 14 yards. But two turnovers limited the ‘Skins to just those seven points at the half.
Karsyn Homan slipped through defenders at will in the first half.
“I had a feeling with the way the ball was rolling that I was gonna get a lot of chances in the second half,” Langenkamp said.
Going back into the wind and rain in the third quarter, head coach Josh Werling fully committed to the wildcat power run offense.
“Our talk at halftime was that with the conditions … the game was going to be very simple,” Werling said. “Nothing fancy, no fancy formations. It was going to be won at the line of scrimmage. And I felt like our kids did that.”
On the first play from scrimmage in the third, Langenkamp validated the decision by bouncing out to the right, turning the corner, and dashing 66 yards to a St. Henry touchdown.
“We knew with the weather coming in that we’d have to rely on our O-line like we do every week,” Langenkamp said.
Drew Buschur, Jackson Langenkamp, and Gavin Hess were particularly effective in opening up holes on the right side.
Coldwater put the pressure back on by reclaiming a 21-17 lead.
The Redskins turned to the air, hoping a star wideout like Austin Zimmerman or Tate Boeckman would make a play. But instead Langenkamp rose up in the end zone, high-pointed a jump ball, and held on to the 23-yard game-winning touchdown with five minutes left.
Coldwater’s Derek Due powers into a Redskin defender.
“I’ll definitely talk to our receivers and brag about that this week,” Langenkamp said. “But they do their thing too.”
All that comes just one week after his 170-yard, three-touchdown performance in a win over Minster.
Suffice to say, Langenkamp and the Redskins are rolling at the right time.
“What is so important about this win is now you’re 100% in,” Werling said. “There’s no more percentages, no more odds. You’re in.”
The Redskins shot up to sixth in Region 24, good enough for a home playoff game.
Early losses to Celina, Archbold, and then Marion Local – which combine for a 26-1 record – make for a worse record than truly represents the Redskins. Other playoff-bound teams in Region 24 will peruse JoeEitel.com next Friday night, praying to find St. Henry on a seed line that doesn’t coincide with their own.
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Delphos St. John’s poses neither a threat nor an opportunity to boost their resume in Week 10.
St. Henry also clinched a solo second-place finish in the MAC, and could even jump up to snag a share of first place if Coldwater does what no one ever does against Marion Local next Friday.
St. Henry’s Drew Buschur and Coldwater’s Griffin Lefeld battle in the trenches.
“Our league is not forgiving this year,” Werling said. “Coming out of our first five, we were looking at Marion, New Bremen, Minster and Coldwater. To come out of that 3-1 … I’m just very proud of them doing that.”
When asked for the second week in a row if he’d root against Marion Local, Langenkamp passed.
“You know the deal, I’m rooting for us again,” he said.
Coldwater backslid to seventh in Region 18. If they lose again to Marion Local, the Cavs may fall out of a home playoff game.
“It’s a similar game,” Coldwater coach Chip Otten said. “It’s our top two rivals … We’ll try to reload and try it again.”
Otten said nose tackle Braylon Gerlach is on schedule to return next week after suffering a frightening injury in Week 8.
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They’ll need all hands on deck to avoid entering the playoffs on a three-game skid.
If you think St. Henry is better than its 6-3 record, you also concede that a 24-21 road loss to the ‘Skins ain’t the end of the world.
Landon Schwartz became an effective runner whenever Drew Langenkamp needed to take a down off.
“Great game,” Otten said. “They had one guy who made a lot of big plays. But we hung tough … It was a good battle between two good teams I think … Just a good backyard brawl, as they say.”
Coldwater led for a majority of the game, and trailed for just over five minutes.
Three consecutive stuffs by St. Henry’s Buschur stalled the Cavs’ opening drive. But that proved inconsequential when Coldwater’s Derek Dues recovered a botched handoff at St. Henry’s 24.
Quarterback Karsyn Homan scored on a keeper from two yards out, just the beginning of his successful night toting the rock.
St. Henry responded with a heavy dose of Langenkamp, which produced a touchdown to tie it 7-7 through one quarter.
Alex Lefeld makes a sliding catch for a Cavalier touchdown.
Coldwater ran the ball 12 times in a row, then finally threw a four-yard touchdown pass to Alex Lefeld on a slant.
The Cavs extended momentum when Keaton Tobin intercepted a Landon Schwartz pass, but they couldn’t turn it into points. They missed a 39-yard field goal right before halftime, and carried the 14-7 lead to the locker room.
Langenkamp flipped the game on its head with the 66-yard score on the first play after intermission, then helped produce a three-and-out on defense. He led the offense back down the field in the wildcat, but the ‘Skins settled for a goal-to-go field goal after Collin Westgerdes stopped Langenkamp three yards short of the end zone.
Coldwater’s Chip Otten and St. Henry’s Josh Werling share a postgame handshake.
St. Henry’s newfound 17-14 lead survived for exactly two plays.
Homan zipped a pass to Karter Freed, who was running a slot seam, seemingly unseen by the defense. Freed caught and ran for a 77-yard TD to take a 21-17 lead late in the third quarter.
St. Henry gave it back on a controversial turnover on downs that looked like Langenkamp made it to the sticks. But no matter, the Redskin defensive front snuffed out a fourth-and-one QB keeper to take it right back.
On the drive’s third third down, Schwartz found Langenkamp in the front of the end zone for the 23-yard game-winner.
Between rushing, receiving, and even a completed pass, Langenkamp accounted for 268 of St. Henry’s 354 yards – or 76%.
Not even a tough MAC defense on a cold, mucky field could slow him down, and he’s not done yet. Muddy or not, here he comes.
An animated Josh Werling addresses his team after the big win.
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