Indians beat Wildcats for regional title

SIDNEY - Fort Recovery's Will Homan, Caleb Martin and Wes Wenning all had big offensive performances on Friday night.

The Indian defense was equally as big.

The end result was the biggest victory in Fort Recovery football history.

Trailing Minster 14-6 after one quarter, the Indians outscored the Wildcats 27-7 over the final three quarters and knocked off last year's Division VI state champions 33-21 in the Division VII, Region 26 final to earn their first-ever trip to the state final four.

"This was a huge hurdle to get over. That's a really good football team" said Fort Recovery coach Brent Niekamp, whose team suffered a 14-12 loss to Minster in Week Seven. "Obviously they got us before, and honestly I was a little bit concerned if that would weigh on us. But it didn't. Our kids were ready for a fight. They fought for four quarters and got them."

The Indians' state semifinal opponent will be officially announced Sunday. Early reports have them facing McComb at Spatans Stadium in Lima next Friday. The other state semifinal would pin Danville against Mogadore.

"No matter who we play next, we know they're going to be really good," Niekamp said. "We just have to prepare for that. I think we're going to be confident. Coming out of this league, you feel like you can play with anybody in the state, so I think our kids will be ready to go."

Homan, a hard-running, lightening-quick sophomore, carried the ball 40 times for 236 yards and scored two touchdowns in the second half to put an end to Minster's seven-game postseason winning streak.

Homan's 59-yard TD run with 1:04 to play in the third gave the Indians a 27-14 lead. He put the nail in the coffin with a one-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter that made the score 33-14.

"He's never disappointed us, ever," Niekamp said of Homan. "He plays so hard. He's such a tough little runner and he's a smart football player. He just plays his guts out. When a guy runs like that and plays that hard, then everybody on the team feels like they've got to step it up to help him out. Our offensive line played a great game tonight. They gave him room to operate and he did his thing."

Homan, starting in the place of injured Kyle Schroer, now has 518 yards and seven touchdowns through three postseason games.

"It feels great that I can do it for Kyle," Homan said. "It was the last game he ever played last week. We're going to keep playing more for him, and do it for Kyle."

On the opening drive of the game, Homan totaled 65 yards on six carries. Martin finished the series by beating everybody around the edge and scoring from four yards out 3 minutes and 23 seconds into the quarter. A failed two-point try left the score 6-0.

That lead didn't hold up for long.

Minster scored 14 unanswered points to close the first quarter. On the Wildcats' first play, Josh Nixon fired a bomb to Jacob Dues for a 37-yard completion, a ball that was nearly ripped away and intercepted by Indian defensive back Darien Sheffer. Later on, running back Evan Huelsman kept the chains moving with a gain of five on a third-and-two and then capped a 63-yard drive by punching in from two yards out with 6:09 left in the first.

After a three-and-out by the Indians, Minster took over at its own 46. It took the Wildcats just six plays to find paydirt. Again, Huelsman had a big third down pickup, gaining eight yards on a third-and-four from the Indian 34. Huelsman followed by taking a screen pass from Nixon and rumbling for 12 yards. One play later, Nixon hit Dues on a fade for a 14-yard touchdown. Jason Schultz's extra point made the score 14-6 with 2:51 remaining in the first.

That was about the end of the highlights for the high-octane Minster offense.

In the second quarter, the Indians responded by scoring 15 unanswered points and forcing three straight Minster three-and-outs. The result was a 21-14 lead at halftime.

Martin made things happen for the Indians. On the drive following Dues' touchdown, the junior signal-caller hit his wideouts for two huge third-down conversions. First, he threaded the needle to Sheffer on the sideline for a pickup of 11 on a third-and-long. Then, on another third-and-long, Brandon Schoen hauled in a 55-yard beauty from Martin. Two plays later, Martin hooked up with Tanner Koch for a nine-yard score.

Following another short series by Minster, Martin found Wes Wenning for a 54-yard touchdown to give the Indians back the lead at 18-14 with 7:36 to go before intermission. Darien Sheffer made two clutch special teams plays to close the half. First, he pinned Minster inside its own five-yard line with a punt. Then he added a 22-yard field goal as time expired.

The Wildcats had a chance to tie in the third quarter. Nixon and Dues hooked up for a gain of 21 yards on a third-and-eight to advance the ball into Fort Recovery territory. But Nixon was picked off by Homan on a shot at the end zone.

The teams traded empty possessions over the next two series and then Homan broke free for his 59-yard score to close the third.

The Indians took six minutes and 49 seconds off the clock before Homan broke the plain for his final score.

Huelsman scored on a seven-yard run with 3:46 left in the game. The Wildcats were marching down the field late in the fourth but Nixon was intercepted by Tanner Koch to wrap things up.

"At this level, your dudes have got to be dudes, and their dudes were dudes," Minster coach Geron Stokes said. "They went out and made plays in critical situations. I just thought they were hungrier. (Martin) stepped up and made plays when he needed to make plays, and we didn't. ... I feel bad for our seniors because they wanted this bad. They just ran into a hungrier team."

Nixon, the MAC's all-time leader in touchdown passes, finished his career by completing 17-of-33 passes for 182 yards. Dues had eight catches for 116 yards but the Wildcats were limited to just 261 yards of total offense.

The Indians were 14-of-19 on third-down conversions. Martin completed 9-of-21 passes for 196 yards. Wenning had four receptions for 102 yards.

"Losing to them early in the regular season, it feels great to come back here in the playoffs and get a win when it really matters," Martin said.

In a preseason interview with the media, all Martin could talk about was playing in Week 15. After Friday night, the Indians are one step closer. And they left the field knowing they can play with any team in the state.

"Now we know we can do anything," Martin said. "We can go to Week 15. We knew that from that from the beginning, but after this win, it's a really big boost to our confidence."
  Added Homan: "If we beat Minster, we can beat anyone."