Cavaliers dominate trenches, beat Minster

MINSTER - The talk coming into the game between the Coldwater Cavaliers and the Minster Wildcats centered on the effect the absence of injured Coldwater quarterback Brody Hoying would have on the game.

Instead, it was the Cavalier offensive line which opened holes for running back Chris Post and provided quarterback Jack Hemmelgarn with all the time he needed to throw the ball.

Similarly, the Coldwater defensive line shut down the Minster running game and harassed Wildcat quarterback Josh Nixon all night long. Combined, they led the Cavaliers to a 28-17 victory.

"We felt going into the game that if there was something we might be a little better than them, it was the O and D lines," Coldwater coach Chip Otten said. "The defense really turned it into a throwing game for them."

The Cavaliers' defense helped Coldwater obtain a quick start. On Minster's first possession, Aaron Harlamert stepped in front of a Wildcat receiver and intercepted a pass at the Minster 35-yard line. Three plays later, Hemmelgarn threw a short swing pass to Chris Post, who sliced through the Wildcat defense for a 21-yard touchdown.

The next series was a repeat of the first. Mitch Clune tipped a Minster pass, which was then intercepted by Mitch Fullenkamp at the Wildcat 24-yard line. An 18-yard touchdown pass from Hemmelgarn to Harlament gave Coldwater a 14-0 advantage midway through the first quarter. When the next Minster possession was also stopped, it appeared the rout may be on.

Fate then took a turn in the Wildcats' favor. On the Cavaliers' first play, they fumbled the handoff and Eli Wolf jumped on the loose ball at the Coldwater nine-yard line. Three plays later, Josh Nixon threw over the middle to Sam Dues for a nine-yard touchdown, closing the gap to 14-7.

Minster's defense stopped Coldwater without a first down on their next two series, and the Wildcat offense took advantage, driving to the Coldwater 15-yard line. When the Cavalier defense stiffened, Jason Schultz drilled a 32-yard field goal to make the score 14-10. Minster seemed to have taken the momentum.

But Coldwater didn't allow that to happen. Two plays after the ensuing kickoff, Post broke through the Wildcat defense for a 56-yard touchdown run. The Cavalier defense allowed Minster to gain only three yards on their next possession and then the Coldwater offense put together a nine-play, 70-yard drive late in the half. When Hemmelgarn found Harlamert for an eight-yard scoring pass to end the drive, the Cavaliers took a 28-10 lead into the locker room.

Both offenses started the second half sluggishly. When Coldwater went back to punt after their second possession, Wolf made a second big defensive play by blocking the kick. Chad Stoner recovered the ball on the Cavalier four-yard line, and two plays later Dues scored from one yard out to close the gap to 28-17.

The teams took turns driving into each other's territory the rest of the game but neither could score again. At the start of the fourth quarter, Coldwater used a 13-play drive to take over seven minutes off the clock, though they were stopped on the Minster 31-yard line after failing to convert on fourth down. Nine of the 13 plays were runs by Chris Post, who ended the game with 154 rushing yards on 25 carries.

"Chris ran well tonight, and it was almost all on the same play," complimented Otten. "We had a nice long drive in the fourth quarter and ran many minutes off the clock."

With the clock running down, the Wildcats mounted one last drive. They reached the one-yard line, but the Cavalier defense stopped Nixon short of the goal line on two consecutive plays to preserve the 28-17 victory.

Hemmelgarn had a solid game replacing Hoying, completing 17-of-24 passes for 175 yards and three touchdowns.

"He just manages the game really well," commented Otten. "He's smart. He knows if he doesn't find someone to just chuck it away. We went into half thinking they had to score three times to win this, and he knew that, so he played smart."

"It might be good for us to be in a battle there at the end," Otten said. "They (Minster) are a good team. Their skill guys are really solid. The two touchdown drives we gave up were less than 10 yards, so we feel pretty good about our defense."

Coldwater, now 3-0, hosts undefeated rival St. Henry (3-0, 1-0 MAC) next week. Minster (2-1, 0-1 MAC) will travel to face their second defending state champion in two weeks, the 3-0 Marion Local Flyers.