Minster’s Tyler Bergman gives the stiff-arm to a Versailles defender in the first quarter. (Press Pros Feature Photos By Julie Wright-Daniel)
Minster made plays whenever it mattered most to claim a 14-12 win over Versailles. The Wildcats won the turnover battle 4-0, and scored on a 4th down run and a pick six.
Versailles, OH – “During the summer and the season, coach has always preached that you get six moments per game,” Minster running back Dominick Meyer said. “You gotta win those moments. If you do, you’ll have a pretty good chance to win the game.”
Alan Brads writes OHSAA sports and sports at large for Press Pros Magazine.com.
Turnovers, PAT drama, and a defensive score punctuated a defensive showdown that kept the clock churning. The punctuation marks nearly all went in favor of Minster, and that was enough for a 14-12 win over Versailles.
Wilson Health proudly sponsors your favorite area sports on Press Pros Magazine.com.
Minster improved to 5-3 (4-2 MAC), while Versailles fell to 4-4 (2-4 MAC).
“We tell our kids there’s a handful of moments in the game you have to win those specific moments,” Minster head coach Seth Whiting said.
“Six plays,” Whiting and Bergman each said independently of each other. It sounded less like a specific count for that game, and more like a mantra they’ve been saying before the season started. Let’s check their math.
Play 1 of 6: A Versailles extra point sailed wide after the Tigers took an early 6-0 lead. If the scab had just begun healing after PAT woes tipped the scales against them two weeks ago against Marion Local, this surely reopened the wound. But the missed PAT would hurt more than a 14-day-old memory before the night ended.
Minster’s Carson Kaylor scans for a receiver to pass to.
Nonetheless, the going was great for Versailles early. An 11-play, 10-rush touchdown drive swallowed up most of the first quarter, and saw little resistance on a down-to-down basis from Minster’s defensive front. The Tigers relied heavily on running back Landyn Knapke, who took eight carries.
“[Knapke] did a fantastic job,” Versailles’ coach Ryan Jones said. “Every week he does unbelievable. The line blocked well, at times we made some mistakes, but he ran the ball really hard and really well.”
The first and only pass of the drive delivered the final blow, a 19-yard touchdown strike to Kade Schwartz.
But to Minster’s credit, the Wildcats contained Knapke to steady, modest gains on that drive, and the entire night. On 35 attempts, Versailles’ longest rush went for only 11 yards. Grinding the clock and limiting drives normally works in the Tigers’ favor, but four turnovers in a limited-possessions game proved fatal.
The Minster Bank is proud to sponsor the best in area sports coverage on Press Pros Magazine.
Play 2 of 6: Minster found some run game of its own in the second quarter and plodded into the red zone before stalling out on the three-yard line. Whiting rolled the dice, as he often does, and sent the offense out on fourth down. Meyer plunged into the end zone, and the Wildcats claimed a 7-6 lead late in the second quarter.
Versaille’s Kade Schwartz is defended by Minster’s Noah Schwieterman missing the attempted pass from quarterback Ethan Wilker.
Meyer and quarterback Carson Kaylor didn’t post a gaudy stat line, but they made just enough plays to stay afloat. Kaylor converted a 4th & 2 earlier in the scoring drive on a QB draw.
The low-tempo, run-heavy drive left under two minutes in the half for Versailles to operate, meaning they couldn’t lean on Knapke’s legs to take them back down the field.
Play 3 of 6: On the next play from scrimmage, Versailles QB Ethan Wilker threw a pass for the first time since the TD throw. It was another touchdown … But this time, intercepted by cornerback Andrew Ketner, who anticipated the hitch route, and coasted 35 yards for a 14-6 lead.
Now with 1:28 left in the half, Versailles had to stick with the passing game. Wilker found spotty success in the passing game, mainly throwing to Schwartz. On 3rd & 10 from Minster’s 30, Wilker overthrew a receiver, and Minster’s Tyler Bergman picked it off to protect the eight-point lead before halftime.
The defenses both turned up from good to great in the third quarter, leaving neither running backs nor quarterbacks any space to work in. Knapke fought tooth and nail to pop one loose and change the game in the Tigers’ favor for once, but Minster tackled too well.
Versaille’s Cooper Koverman is up-ended by a Minster defender.
Play 4 of 6: With the explosive play off the table, Versailles ate up nearly another whole quarter with a 13-play drive, capped by a Knapke touchdown up the gut from the one-yard line. For the potential game-tying two-point conversion, the Tigers stuck with what worked, and handed to Knapke. This time, linebacker Ty Hein was waiting for him.
“From practice we knew they were gonna come right up the middle,” Hein said. “So I told myself I had to stop them in the middle. They ran it right at me, so I just threw my body in there.”
Knapke was marked just inches short of the goal line. Minster led 14-12 with a quarter to play.
Minster Dental is proud to sponsor the best in area sports stories on Press Pros Magazine.com.
Play 5 of 6: It appeared for a moment Versailles had finally changed the game with one play. Landyn Knapke fielded a punt around his own five-yard line, ran left behind a few blocks, and broke free all the way to Minster’s 30-yard line. It was all for naught. The Tigers picked up a first down into the red zone, but on 1st & 10, Wilker fumbled the snap, and Hein, who was rushing off the edge, saved the day for Minster. Unhindered by a chunky cast on his right arm, he fell on the football, returning possession to the Wildcats with 3:31 to play.
Versailles’s Logan Nerderman instep with Minster’s quarterback Carson Kaylor.
Play 6 of 6: Against all odds, Versailles got the ball back, and drove straight down to Minster’s 25. But another shotgun snap eluded Wilker, who scraped the ball up off the ground, and fired deep into enemy lines. Minster’s Bergman called game, intercepting Wilker again to derail another promising Versailles drive.
“It was just a big feeling of relief,” Bergman said. “They’d had those long drives all day, so to get a final stop was a weight off our shoulders.”
Six plays. The math checks out.
Versailles is one of the better 4-4 teams you’ll come across, but in the biggest moments of the season to date, the Tigers have neither had the breaks go their way, nor made enough plays to overcome them.
They’ll have more chances. They face Coldwater (5-3) next week, then end the season at home against St. Henry (7-1). At least one has to be a Tiger victory to avoid their first losing regular season since 2019. Ranked 11th in Region 20, their playoff hopes are also standing on paper-thin ice.
Minster’s Dominick Meyer’s scores a touchdown for the Wildcats.
“We can play with anybody,” Jones said. “But we have to execute at a higher level.”
Minster is ranked 8th in Region 28, but could catapult toward a first-round bye with a win next week at home against Marion Local. Many of the Minster players, fans and staff members hung around H.B. Hole Field after their win, waiting to hear a result from Maria Stein. The Flyers captured win #72, perhaps their closest call yet, a 28-27 2OT win over Anna.
“We just gotta keep our momentum going,” Bergman said. “We can’t have more ups and downs like we’ve had throughout the season. We’ve gotta stay locked in, and we can’t have another bad week.”
Chances are, next week, about six big plays will decide if the Wildcats will be the ones to break football’s longest win streak.
Minster’s Tyler Bergman intercepts late in the fourth quarter keeping the Tigers from a possible score and winning the game.
The Phelan Agency, in Versailles, proudly sponsors area sports on Press Pros.