Gavin Dicke completed 10 of 15 passes for 244 yards and four touchdowns in the Cardinals 26-25 win over Versailles. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
The final minute of Friday’s dramatic comeback win over Versailles gave us a glimpse of one of the MAC’s best young playmakers at quarterback…New Bremen’s Gavin Dicke.
Obviously the odds were against New Bremen and junior quarterback Gavin Dicke in the final minute of Friday night’s 26-25 come-from-behind win over the Versailles Tigers.
After spotting Versailles the go-ahead touchdown with just 63 seconds remaining in the game, Dicke had little time and little margin for error to move his team 65 yards and into the end zone for a winning touchdown. But that’s what his coach, Chris Schmidt, said was possible prior to his taking the field.
“Versailles was going for the two-point conversion and I told them at if we can stop the conversion we still have a chance to score a touchdown and win the game,” said Schmidt.
Dicke took him seriously, driving the Cardinals those 65 yards, including picking up a critical fourth down and 5 yards to go that left him just one second on the scoreboard clock, and still 17 yards from the goal line.
Obviously, he made he made the most of that one remaining second, finding teammate Trevor Topp at the goal line for the winning touchdown as time expired. It was Dicke’s fourth touchdown throw of the night, and more than enough to earn ‘Who’s Hot’ honors this week from Press Pros.
“He’s a competitor, and a playmaker,” said Schmidt, pre-season. “He likes to throw it, he’s not afraid to fail, and he likes the responsibility that comes with the position.”
“I’m a gutsy guy,” said Dicke, following the Versailles win. “Coach tells us all the time to envision plays, and that’s what I envisioned. I told them the whole time that we were going to get into the end zone. And they blocked [my teammates], they made plays, and Trevor caught the ball.”
Just what he had envisioned.
Smallish, he played at 5’9″ and 160 pounds as a sophomore, and Schmidt had envisioned him being a bit bigger than that in 2025. And he his, about two inches and twenty pounds, give or take – big enough to both deliver and take a hit when he decides to run the ball. In addition to completing 10 of 15 passes for 244 yards and four touchdowns Friday, he ran the ball for 47 yards, twice extending drives by picking up the first down.
As for throwing the ball downfield, two of his four scoring strikes were in excess of fifty years – 64 and 78 yards.
The 63 seconds left on the clock when Versailles scored probably sent a feeling of excitement to those who anticipate his playmaking ability…or in Chris Schmidt’z case, the instinct for something good.
“We work on the two minute drill every week in practice, and tonight was the first time the offense has won it. Every other time the defense has won it. I guess we were due.”
The win improved the two-time state champion Cardinals’ record to 4-0, along with heightened anticipation for next week when they play another unbeaten, the perennial-defending state champion Marion Local.
In the meantime, our congratulations to Gavin Dicke, this week’s ‘Who’s Hot’ honoree on Press Pros.
Peace of mind is as easy as the relationship you have with your local bank, and the St. Henry bank is small enough to know you, and big enough to serve you. The St. Henry Bank joins Press Pros Magazine in recognizing this week’s “Who’s Hot” honoree…Gavin Dicke from New Bremen High School.