Lehman beats Minster again; DSJ awaits in State Semis
By Tim Langevin
Minster’s “magical redemption tour” was tapped out by Lehman’s “new look” offense 27-14 in the Division VI regional championship game at Piqua High School Friday.
And in the words of offensive coordinator Bill Zimmerman,Jr., “We are no longer a one-trick pony.”
“The main thing we realized at the beginning of the season, what a superior quarterback we had in Jonathan Slagle,” he further explained. “We made it a point as a staff to make sure we got him on the edge with his running abilities and take advantage of his throwing abilities.”
The senior QB didn’t disappoint. He responded with the best performance of his career, completing 11-of-15 passes for 167 yards and two TDs. He ran the ball four times for 70 yards, including a 59-yard romp on a QB keeper up the gut.
Lehman head coach Dick Roll said, “Jon Slagle threw the ball well. He had a great week of practice. We knew to get to that next step we had to start throwing the ball. And our pass protection was excellent.”
And another QB did his thing. Chase Paxson methodically marched the Wildcats 77 yards on a game-opening drive that consumed 5:36 of the clock. He dinked and dunked, reminicent of last week’s upset win, completing 5-of-5 passes for 41 yards.
Fifteen plays later, Minster led 7-0 with 6:19 left in the quarter on “a statement drive”. Mitch Poeppelman was on the receiving end of a three-yard-pass. That would prove to be the last statement until midway through the third quarter.
Coach Roll said, “We were scared of Minster. They were a better team than week two. We were fortunate enough to beat them and that was a great win for us. Like I said all along, these kids are playing with a chip on their shoulders.”
The Cavaliers responded with a quick drive to knot the score 7-7 with 3:29 left. Slagle completed two passes for 20 yards to Travis Ratliff and Nick Cordonnier. And the backfield beast Kaleb Goins rambled for 50 yards on five touches, including a 29-yard TD run.
The Cavs weren’t finished. The opening drive of the second quarter, Lehman scored quickly once again to expand the lead 14-7. Goins lulled the Minster defense to sleep with runs of three, four, and two yards. Then, Boom Baby!
Slagle found Evan Goffena way down field on a 62-yard pass play, out-racing Mitch Poeppelman to the endzone.
Minster took the ensuing kick off and marched 53 yards, but on third and eight from the Lehman 23-yard-line, Paxson was picked off by Slagle at the two-yard-line. Another defensive stop.
The Cavalier defense must have been fed raw hamburger with gun powder before the game because Paxson was on the run most of the evening. The senior QB was 16-of-28 for 170 yards with one TD and two picks. He ran 10 times for just 31 yards.
Back to the game. Lehman started from its own two-yard-line with 2:38 left until half. On the first play, Goins covered about 60 yards on a 34-yard run that was ESPN Highlight material. He ran left to about the 20, then cut up the middle, whoops nothing there, then reversed it to the right, whoops nothing there, then weaved to the right side-stepping defenders, whoops nothing there, then bolted down the right sideline before being shoved out of bounds.
“I was gassed after that one,” Goins said.
On first and 10 from the 36-yard-line, Slagle and Cordonnier went to work to beat the clock. His first pass was a 20-yard reception. His second a three-yard pitch and catch. And the third was a 41-yard TD strike across the middle for a 20-7 lead with 1:30 left in the half.
Lehman covered 98 yards in four plays in just over a minute. Heck, Goins run took 35 seconds.
Lehman took the opening second-half kick off and did what they did all game, march down the field quickly. The Cavs covered 71 yards in five plays for a commanding 27-7 margin. Slagle capped it with a nifty 59-yard run.
Minster kept it interesting with a five-play, 61-yard drive to close the gap 27-14 with 8:00 left in the third quarter.
The Lehman defense kept Minster out of the endzone the rest of the way with two huge stops in the final quarter.
Evan Goffena picked off Paxson in the endzone and then the Cavs held on fourth and five from the seven-yard-line.
“Give credit to Lehman Catholic. Great football team,” First-year Minster head coach Nate Moore said. “I am so proud of the kids. They fought back in that fourth quarter. After a great opening drive, the Lehman defense settled in.”
He added, “I hope the kids learned from this experience this season as a part of this program. No quit in this team. That’s a testament to their character. They overcame a 0-4 start.”
Coach Roll said, “We started making plays in the secondary. We said all week that our secondary had to play well. They are a good offensive team and Paxson is a good QB.”
Roll concluded, “We are a blue-collar football team. That’s what we instill from the beginning.”
And what another blue-collar performance by Kaleb Goins. He carried the ball 21 times for 151 yards to surpass 2,000 yards rushing on the season. He is 148 yards shy of the single season mark of 2,219 yards. The senior standout already owns three other school records.
And when his illustrious high school career comes to a close, we may not get to see him play much. After the season, Goins will make a recruiting visit to San Diego State University.
WR Nick Cordonnier made five catches for 84 yards and one TD.
Minster’s Adam Kaiser finished the game with 80 yards on 21 carries and a score.
WR Derek Collins led the Minster corp with four catches for 54 yards.
Lehman amassed 402 yards of total offense to 281 for Minster.
The Wildcats finish a roller-coaster, Cinderella season with a 7-6 record.
Minster was 6-24 the previous three seasons before Nate Moore arrived. Ironically, Lehman was 6-24 the previous three seasons before Dick Roll arrived five seasons ago. His overall record at Lehman is 45-16 with two state appearrances the past three years.
And so, the table is set for a Thanksgiving feast of high school football this Friday. The (12-1) Lehman Cavaliers battle the (13-0) Delphos St. John’s Blue Jays in one state semi-final Friday at Wapakoneta’s Harmon Field. The other semi-final match-up finds (12-1) Shadyside against (13-0) Mogadore at Steubenville’s Hardin Stadium.
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