Another classic battle

ST. HENRY - The postseason contest between St. Henry and New Bremen looked a lot like the first meeting.

For a second time this season, the Redskins defeated the Cardinals by a one-score margin, winning the Week 11 contest 13-10 at the Wally Post Athletic Complex and advancing to play at Minster next Friday. It was the third straight one-score win for St. Henry, which has held opponents scoreless in the second half over its last three games. That streak began in a 21-14 victory over New Bremen in Week Nine.

"All credit to New Bremen. That's a great football team over there," said St. Henry coach Josh Werling after a fifth win in a row. "Their defense played lights out. We had fits all night. But our defense responded in the second half every time. Early in the year, we couldn't get those stops. We have gotten those stops over the last three weeks. I'm so proud of our kids. They showed a real spine tonight."

"Our defense is led by Brody Schwartz. He's a senior captain. He's been through all the wars, and we trust him with everything," the coach added. "Coach Craig Dues calls the defense. He was great again tonight. He doesn't ever get enough credit. Those guys were fabulous tonight."

After a second quarter full of offensive highlights, the second half turned defensive. New Bremen outgained St. Henry 242-203 on the night. St. Henry kept New Bremen out of the red zone for most of the game, though. The Redskins had their backs against the wall plenty of times, too.

St. Henry's night started with an offensive three-and-out and blocked punt. New Bremen took over at the 19-yard line and did nothing offensively. St. Henry appeared to recover a fumble on New Bremen's first play, but the runner was ruled down. After a few minutes of yelling from the stands and confusion on the field, the Cardinals were given back the ball and awarded a replay of first down. The explanation was an inadvertent whistle. New Bremen took a 3-0 lead on Aidan Eastham's 30-yard field goal with eight minutes left in the first quarter.

The Redskins drove to New Bremen's 35 on their next series. But three failed plays set up a fourth-and-long, then Charlie Werling's throw to the end zone was batted down. A few minutes later, Brody Schwartz intercepted a New Bremen pass near midfield but gave back the ball to the visitors with a fumble on the return.

Eventually, St. Henry took advantage of a break. St. Henry was facing second-and-a-mile when it completed a short pass to Landon Schwartz, who was hit late out-of-bounds to draw a 15-yard penalty. Charlie Werling followed with a quarterback keeper right through the middle for a 51-yard touchdown.

New Bremen's offense had some big plays in the tank, too.

Facing a third-and-long near midfield, quarterback Gavin Dicke threw across his body for a 22-yard completion to Pierce Whitlatch. New Bremen finished the drive in the end zone as Dicke hit Rogan Muether in stride on a wheel route for a 28-yard touchdown.

St. Henry countered with a 32-yard completion to Jared Nietfeld and then a fourth-down conversion pass from Charlie Werling to Jack Huelsman. St. Henry's quarterback capped the series with a one-yard score - his 17th rushing touchdown of the season.

The Redskins avoided disaster late in the half after an option pitch went haywire on a third-and-short to give New Bremen the ball at the 35. New Bremen missed a 46-yard field goal attempt after not gaining a first down on three plays. New Bremen was in St. Henry territory again early in the second half after a 26-yard run by Muether. But Danny Stammen recovered a fumble at the 19 to end the threat. St. Henry fumbled, however, and gave New Bremen the ball 36 yards from paydirt. The Cardinals ran three plays for zero yards before booting a punt minus-four yards.

The fifth punt of the half pinned New Bremen at its own 34-yard line midway through the fourth quarter. New Bremen got the ball inside St. Henry territory, benefitting from the third Redskin personal foul penalty and a third-down conversion scramble by Dicke. But a holding penalty set New Bremen behind the sticks and then Charlie Werling sacked Dicke on a third-and-long to force a punt. New Bremen had the ball one final time but could get nothing going in late-game desperation mode.

"The first game it felt like there were a few plays here and there that we just missed out on," New Bremen coach Chris Schmidt said. "It was the same way tonight. Give a lot of credit to St. Henry's coaching staff and kids. We had opportunities offensively, and they did a good job of mixing it up. We couldn't find the right combination to get that second half touchdown that we needed."