Redskins In The Midst Of It…St. Henry Excuses Versailles From Region 24 With Regional Semi-Final Win

Behind another big night from running back Drew Langenkamp, St. Henry continues its march back to Canton with an impressive performance on all points, knocking off fellow Div. VI contestant Versailles from the tournament trail.

St. Henry, OH – St. Henry running back Drew Langenkamp is making yards and touchdowns routine these days, the latest being his 229 yards and four scores Friday night in a convincing 38-14 regional semi-final win over MAC rival Versailles.

Make no mistake, those kinds of numbers are not routine, or easy, against the rest of the Midwest Athletic Conference, but Langenkamp is simply having fun.  When you’re playing good football on a good football team you can justify such a claim.

“Our whole team is together all the time, and we’re having fun whether it’s playing cards or playing football,”  he said following Friday’s win, and the Redskins’ tenth win of the season…their seventh in a row.

“Monday through Friday we’re doing something together and we’ve been doing it our whole lives.  It’s a tight-knit group and there’s a bond.  Football’s no different.  A lot of guys contribute, have fun, and that’s what led to our success tonight.”

Example:  After taking the opening kickoff, Langenkamp ran 60 yards on the first play from scrimmage for a touchdown, just eleven seconds into the game.  It’s questionable whether anyone laid a hand on him, so good was the blocking and his escort down the field.

And yet, there was some drama to the game, a matchup between two of the MAC’s better teams over the second half of the season – a pair of teams that spent much of the first half nursing their wounds.  Through the first five weeks of the play both had 3 wins against 2 losses.  Since the sixth week of the season, St. Henry is 7-1…Versailles is 6-3, and a surprise to some for being a regional semi-finalist.

But on this night St. Henry was the better of the two, despite a first quarter by Versailles bent on making the Redskins earn it.

At 5:47 of the quarter the Tigers’ Blake Monnin sneaked it right up the gut for 15 yards for a tying score…7-7.

After an exchange of punts and a Versailles drive, running back Landyn Knapke scored on the first play of the second quarter to make it 14-7, Versailles.

At 9:18 of the second quarter quarterback Landon Schwartz dropped one down the stovepipe for 41 yards to Will Gerlach for a 41-yard score…14-14.

Four minutes later, on St. Henry’s next drive, kicker Ian Schwieterman connected from 24 yards out to put the Redskins in front again, 17-14.

And three minutes later, Schwartz found Langenkamp streaking to the end zone with a minute left in the half and hit him in stride for 43 yards and his second touchdown of the half…24-14.

Not a bad half of offensive football by a pair of teams bent on advancing to Week 4 of the tournament.

But as sudden as it began, Versailles’ offensive night proved to be over by the start of the second half.

” Coach Dues made a great adjustment there after their second drive by getting back into our odd-man front,”  said head coach Josh Werling.  “They were attacking our flats so that odd front gave us some extra hats in that five to ten yard range and it kinda’ slowed them down.  So hats off to Craig Dues and our defense.”

But Langenkamp and St. Henry had some unfinished business, scoring with :55 left in the third quarter top increase the deficit to 31-14.  And with 10 minutes left in the game Langenkamp again banged in from close range to complete his night – 229 yards rushing, four scores, and advancement to the regional final next Friday night against Deer Park on a neutral field.

On a night when the top talent across Ohio in Division VI proved its worthiness – Kirtland over Hillsdale…Liberty Center over Columbus Grove…and South Range romped over United – St. Henry is proving that their second half of the year is no fluke, and that they’re once again to be in the conversation for last man standing in Canton.  Or, actually, the last two men standing.

“We have a fun locker room environment,”  adds Josh Werling, echoing the words of Drew Langenkamp.  “They can get after each other, and yet there’s a humility to them.  There’s a lot of laughs and it’s a family atmosphere in there, and I love that.  I’m really proud of how they’re playing, and how they played tonight.”

The offense finished having run up a total of 402 yards, headed by Langenkamp’s 229 yards rushing on 16 carries.  Landon Schwartz threw it for 127 yards, completing 8 of 13 passes.

The defense held Versailles to 177 yards, Craig Dues’ adjustment paying dividends after it looked like it might be a scoring fest following the first quarter.  What remains to be seen, of course, is the challenge of unfamiliarity now beginning with Deer Park next week, and beyond that the state semi-final round.

But Werling knows that this is a state-seasoned team, or the remnants thereof – last year’s Division VII champions and the team that snapped Marion Local’s 76-game win streak.

And he knows that it’s becoming a confident team, as well, as seen by their winning ten of their last eleven, including Versailles, Minster, Anna, and Coldwater.

“First time in thirty years, to the date, that St. Henry has played for back-to-back regional titles,”  said Werling as he wrapped things up before leaving the ballpark Friday for another week and study on Deer Park.  Yes, the Redskins are in the midst of it, once again, just with some different names and faces in leading roles.  Same ol’ happy group, though….

And that’s the way it goes.