Wildcats spoil homecoming for Jays

The bad news was that Minster stopped all over the Blue Jays’ hopes of containing the top-rated quarterback and wide receiver combination in the Midwest Athletic Conference with a 34-0 shutout.

Blue Jay head coach Todd Schulte knew that the Wildcats would present a “great challenge” for his team with their three-man front on defense. “That leaves a lot of defenders roaming in space to move in and make a play on the ball. The key for us is to run the football.”

That key didn’t unlock any points for the Jays, as Minster’s defense held St. John’s to minus-one yard rushing and a total offensive production of 35 yards.

After the punt, Minster marched down the field, as quarterback Josh Nixon completed passes to Jared Thobe and Eli Wolfe. Nixon’s shovel pass to Jason Schultz was good for a 5-yard touchdown and Schultz’s extra point was good as Minster lead 7-0 with 7:28 left in the first.

St. John’s went backwards after the Evan Hays kickoff return to the 16 yard line. Austin Heiing was stuffed for a 1-yard loss on the run and Hays lost five on a sweep, as Wolf stopped him in the backfield. Deven Haggard was forced to punt from the end zone and got off a good kick to the Jays’ 45 yard line.

Minster took only seven plays to score, however, as Nixon found Brycee Schmiesing in the corner of the end zone for the 16-yard touchdown. Schultz’s extra point hit the upright as Minster led at the 3:14 mark 13-0.

St. John’s finally got a first down as Martz picked up six yards on a pair of runs and completed a 6-yard pass to Eric Vogt. The drive stalled and Haggard was called on to punt as the first quarter expired. The snap was low and Haggard was forced to run and was stopped on his own 31 yard line.

It took the Wildcats only four plays to reach pay dirt again as Evan Huelsman ran it in from 14 yards out. The PAT was good, as Minster silenced the Blue Jay faithful with a 20-0 at the 10:23 mark.

Hays had a nice kickoff return out to the 34 yard line as the Jays needed an offensive spark. Martz completed a 11-yard pass to Tim Kreeger as the Jays picked up their second first down of the contest. After a bad snap was recovered by Martz, St. John’s faced second=and-long. In a passing situation, Martz hit Garrett Nagel after an incompletion, but was short of the first down. Haggard nailed a 50-yard punt that gave Minster a long field starting at their own 14.

The Wildcats quickly got to midfield on a screen pass to Wolf. Sam Dues ran the ball five times in the drive as Minster reached the one yard line. Quarterback Nixon fumbled the ball on the sneak and it was recovered by Heiing for the Blue Jays.

St. John’s could not capitalize on the break as the Jays went three-and-out. It took Minster only 1:41 to score as Nixon hit Schmiesing for the second time in the end zone as the Wildcats lead 27-0 with only 1:33 left in the half.

Nick Martz was injured on the next play from scrimmage for the Jays and fumbled the ball back to the Wildcats with 1:17 remaining before the break. Plenty of time for Minster, as Nixon connected with Schmiessing for a 15-yard touchdown pass before the half expired.

Neither team scored in the second half as the new OHSSA mercy rule kept the clock running and the junior varsity squads got valuable playing time. St. John’s managed to pick up only three first downs and Minster picked up 16. The Wildcats pounded out 337 yards total offense with 142 on the ground and 185 in the air.