Minster quarterback Brogan Stephey led the MAC in rushing yards in 2023 before being sidelined with a broken arm suffered in a Week 5 win over Anna. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
Three weeks removed from the opening of the high school football season, senior quarterback Brogan Stephey and the Minster Wildcats prepare for one more push to live up to their own expectations.
Three weeks out from the opening night for high school football…it seems it rolls around earlier every year.
Publisher and editor Sonny Fulks writes the Big Ten and MAC football for Press Pros Magazine.
It used to be Labor Day. Now, it’s whenever the calendar can best facilitate the back end of the football season, rather than the front – those six weeks of playoff football!
But if you lurk around Minster, Ohio, the heat of August and this week’s opening of practice doesn’t just precede early football. Rather, it’s a reminder of how late it’s getting for a talented offensive football team that’s itching to be a healthy unit on the field for all ten regular season games; and deliver on the on-again, off-again promise of the past two years.
When, with everyone present and accounted for behind quarterback Brogan Stephey, Seth Whiting’s offense raced up and down the field, scoring points at a dizzying pace and suggesting that maybe, just maybe, they could be a threat to anyone in Division VII come playoff time, even Marion Local!
But, we mentioned the issue of health – of being on the field for all ten regular season games. And the on-again, off-again brilliance of Brogan Stephey, James Niemeyer, Cole Albers, et. al., who as a unit struggled with the injury bug as much as they have teams on the opposite sideline the last two years?
Minster Bank proudly sponsors your favorite sports on Press Pros Magazine.com.
Stephey blistered the front half of the schedule in 2022, before suffering a hip injury in the second half that forced him to miss the rest of football, and basketball, too.
And again last year (’23), Stephey’s impact was undeniable, leading the MAC in rushing through five weeks (470 yards and 10 TDs), was third in passing (850 yards and 9 TDs), before breaking his arm on the final play of the first half against Anna…while playing defense…his only defensive play of the game! 4-1 at the time, Stephey was once again forced to sit out the rest of the season, frustrating for the fact of such promise, and the anticipation of a rematch with eventual state champion Marion Local, who beat them in week 3 of the regular season, 42-7. The Flyers later sent them packing in week 3 of the playoffs, 28-7.
“There’s no question that Brogan was one of the top five most dynamic players in the league last year,” said Whiting earlier this week (along with other quarterbacks Michael Osborne from Versailles, Coldwater’s Baylen Blockberger, Anna’s Alex Shappie, and Marion’s Justin Knouff).
Minster Dental proudly support area sports of all sorts on Press Pros.
“I take nothing away from [Michael] Osborne, because he deserved [the recognition] for the year he had. But Brogan was on track to throw for 2,500 yards and 25 touchdowns before he got hurt. And you hate to see anyone get hurt in high school, your team or theirs, because that’s time lost that you can never get back.”
Yes, time is short in high school football, and there is no redshirting for time lost to injury. Which means that now back healthy, and eager to pick up where he left off twice, as Brogan Stephey goes in 2024 – with all that offensive firepower back that he’s played with for two years – well then, so goes Minster.
Senior wide receiver James Niemeyer returns in 2024 after filling in as quarterback for the final eight weeks of the 2023 season.
“We’ll have just about all of our skill positions back, including James Niemeyer (WR, 6’2″, 190 pounds), and Cole Albers (TE, 6’8″, 230 pounds),” adds Whiting, matter-of-factly, that tone of this-is-the-time anticipation in his voice.
And they’ll have early opportunity to again flex those points per position, and under stress, with early games against Fort Loramie, Columbus Africentric, and Anna (all road games) before finally playing at home in Week 4 against Parkway.
“It’s kinda’ crazy,” said Stephey, Thursday. “We’ve never played Africentric before and we play three road games before we play a home game. But I’m anxious to play.”
And anxious to prove, as well.
To prove that the promise and anticipation he showed in 2022 and ’23 was real.
To himself and area football followers – that he can stay healthy for an entire ten-game schedule.
The Hughes Law office, in Urbana, sponsors OHSAA and Buckeye sports on Press Pros. Call them today if they can help you. Ph. 937-398-0520
“We’ve really committed to the weight room in the off-season,” he says. “Me, Caleb Couse, Niemeyer, Connor Schmiesing, and Cole Richard…once guys were through with baseball we really worked hard to get bigger and stronger. I’ve put on some good pounds, I’m stronger, and I’m confident about playing.”
And with no lingering questions about durability and the prospects of the unthinkable happening again?
“You can’t worry about getting hurt playing football,” he assures. “In fact, when you go out there thinking about it, that’s when you do get hurt.”
But most of all, he talks about the opportunity – that one last opportunity – of competing, playing with his friends, and just the fun of being together as a unit.
“It will mean everything to me,” he says. “It’s been really hard to watch from the sidelines and not be able to go out there and play. It’s hard to watch you best friends and not be out there with them…hard to be on the sideline and unable to help. It definitely makes you appreciate the times when you’re healthy, and you’re able to play.
“Coach (Whiting) talked with me during those times and he definitely helped me understand how special it is. We’ve spent a lot of time together (with his receivers) this summer just throwing routes. I’m itching to play.”
Which brings us to some evident conclusions about MAC football in about a month.
One, as Brogan Stephey goes towards fulfilling the promise of the past, so goes the Minster Wildcats. He’s just that dynamic.
Two, as always, it will not be easy with Marion returning stronger than ever, Coldwater and Versailles refining on their own 2023 finish, and Anna threatening from the wings.
And three, there’s no time like the present. There is no making up for what you lose in high school, and you don’t have to remind Brogan Stephey.
You can never get it back!
Dorsten Contracting proudly supports Shelby County League sports on Press Pros.