Minster running back Connor Schmiesing follows his blocking through a gaping hole, racking up 94 yards rushing and two touchdowns in the Wildcats win over Anna. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
Minster left no doubt where its strength lies as a football team, accounting for 535 yards and 321 of it on the ground, from three players, in a 41-14 thrashing of Anna.
Anna, OH – There was a sign made of styrfoam cups above the Anna press box Friday night that read, ‘The Difference’. It didn’t mention what, or who, the difference was…just that there was a difference, evidently.
Two hours later everyone knew what the difference was, along with the evidence.
The trio of Minster quarterback Brogan Stephey, Dominic Meyer, and Connor Schmiesing collectively ran for 321 yards and six touchdowns in a convincing, if not dominating, 41-14 Wildcat win over the Anna Rockets. They were the difference!
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The 3-0 Wildcats controlled the passing game (214 yards), the run game (321 yards), time of possession (29 mins to 18), and by game’s end had those 41 points and 535 total yards to show for it.
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Expected to be a shootout prior to kickoff, despite Anna racking 316 yards of its own, the only team that did much shooting was Minster…with Stephey, Meyer, and Schmiesing.
For his part, Anna senior Zach Osborne was a good as anyone could have asked for, collecting 135 yards on 18 carries. But while Zach was nimble and Zach was quick, Zach didn’t have near enough help against a relentless Minster attack that controlled the line of scrimmage…and just about every other facet of football.
“Brogan is the first topic of conversation with everyone, and it’s deserved,” said Minster coach Seth Whiting. “He’s an outstanding high school football player, he’s smart, and he does things the right way.
Anna’s Zach Osborne built upon his impressive numbers…135 yards rushing and this first half touchdown.
“But Connor Schmiesing is great, and Dominic Meyer had a great night…and people forget we’re missing James Niemeyer and Noah Schwieterman, who were all-conference kids last year. But the kids who’ve stepped in and played for them (Tyler Bergman and Dylan Heitkamp) are also playing excellent for us.”
They all contributed, for sure, out-shooting the Rockets at their own game – run and shoot.
But Anna never had the ball long enough to do enough shooting, and Brogan Stephey, who accounted for 314 yards, matched Anna’s output for total offense, himself.
It was fast, and furious, after a scoreless first quarter.
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Stephey scoring on the opening drive from 2 yards out…7-0.
Anna answered with Zach Osborne scoring from 7 yards…7-7.
Minster answered with a 14-yard run by Stephey…14-7.
Minster’s Dylan Heitkamp battles Anna’s Aaron Shappie for a pass in the first half.
And the Wildcats added an additional score just before the half on a Schmiesing 10 yard run…21-7.
At 8:59 of the third quarter Stephey again gashed the Anna defense for 55 yards and his third touchdown…27-7.
Four minutes later Schmiesing scored his second from a yard out…34-7.
Anna finished the third quarter with an Osborne 33 yard run…34-14.
And the scoring was concluded with six minutes left in the fourth quarter when Dominic Meyer crossed the goal line for the game’s final points…41-14.
Individually, Meyer was credited for 133 yards on 10 carries, Stephey had 94 yards on 14 carries, and Schmiesing had 94 yards on 13 carries.
Stephey also connected on 20 of 24 pass attempts for 214 yards, but the passing game paled in comparison to the Wildcat’s dominance at the line of scrimmage, and beyond – all on the ground.
“We have confidence in our running game,” said Stephey, talking about the balance between run and pass. “We came in here tonight knowing what we can do. Our game plan was to play with balance, but we were running the ball well and we stuck to it.”
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Connor Schmiesing smiled at the mention of domination at the line of scrimmage. The holes for running backs were massive, thanks to the play of Minster’s offensive line.
“The holes were huge,” he began. “And the offensive line played great. We had a bunch of trust in those guys this week, and we knew we could run the ball like this. We just let ballplayers make plays.”
Minster’s Connor Schmiesing gets separated from the ball in the first half of the Wildcats’ Friday win over Anna.
Offensive lineman Will Frimel was in the middle of things, and enjoyed one of his best nights as a Wildcat blocker.
“It was amazing. The whole line worked together tonight,” he smiled. “The emphasis of the week was whoever dominated the line would win the game. That’s what we did tonight. Watching film this week, I knew if we made the blocks these guys would be right behind.”
Anna quarterback Alex Shappie had his moments, 16 of 26, for 187 yards. But a pair of costly turnovers in the first half…an interception and fumble…derailed a lot of the Rockets’ momentum.
“We could have tackled better,” Whiting admitted. “But our defense is a bend-but-don’t break thing. And we’d have liked to have gotten some more stops, but when they got down there we held them out. It’s definitely something to improve on.”
For a second week in a row they played without featured wideout James Niemeyer, who broke a collarbone in the season opener with Fort Loramie. But Niemeyer is due back by season’s end, in time for the post-season, and that makes it a work-in-progress scenario until that time with the fill-ins doing a good job, while getting valuable game experience. Good as they are now, Minster’s a totally different team with the threat of the 6’3″, 195-pound Niemeyer on the field.
Why they call it a ‘horse collar’…Minster’s Dylan Heitkamp gets a handful of jersey trying to bring down Anna’s Zach Osborne.
And despite having a forgettable night, the Anna Rockets, now 2-1, are a good football team built around Alex Shappie and Zach Osborne. Like Minster, they could have tackled better, and the turnovers short-circuited a couple of promising drives. But atonement for Friday has to come quickly because the Rockets travel to Coldwater next week, where the margin for error will be even smaller.
Minster, meanwhile, hosts Parkway next week, hoping to build upon that running game.
“Our offensive line was great tonight, and right now we have a six or seven-man rotation without missing a beat,” said Seth Whiting. “And that lets us rotate guys on the defensive line, too. We can stay pretty fresh.”
535 yards is testimony to that, along with three different guys with a hundred yards rushing, give or take.
And that sign over the press box?
If someone had the time, and the styrofoam cups, they could fill in the answer…Stephey, Schmiesing, and Dominic Meyer.
Dylan Heitkamp’s 63-yard kickoff return in the second quarter set up Minster’s second touchdown.
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