By Allison Roorda
Community Post
Friday's night's game between the Minster Wildcats and the Delphos St. John Blue Jays saw the Wildcats rushing to catch the Blue Jays. But the team from Delphos managed to stay ahead of their opponents and chalk up a MAC victory.

Minster started with the kick off, and Delphos St. John returned the ball to the Wildcats' 25 yard line. Quarterback Wes Ulm ran in the last yard for the first touchdown of the game. Jordan Rode's kick was good for the extra point, making the score 7-0 with an early Blue Jay lead.
“Delphos came to play,” commented Minster Coach Eric Belcher. “They were ready. They came down on that first kick off return and set the tone for the game.”
After the opening touchdown, Whitford returned the kick to the 20 yard line, but Minster was unable to score on their possession before A.J. Klausing intercepted a pass by Minster quarterback Austin Baumer at St. John's 10 year line. Ulm completed a pass to Jay Leininger, who ran to the Wildcat 23 yard line. Reid Heitkamp intercepted a pass, ending the first quarter in Minster's possession.
In the second quarter, Delphos St. John took the ball again and ran for two successive first downs to the 15 yard line. Ulm then kept the ball and split Minster's defense for a second touchdown. Rode's kick was good and bumped the score to 14-0.
“I was very pleased with the way we played for the first two quarters and the first half of the third quarter,” Delphos Coach Todd Schulte said. “I thought we executed very well offensively in the first half.”
The Blue Jays' return kick went for a touchback, starting Minster at the 20 yard line. Ty Whitford ran the ball down the field to St. John's 22 yard line before getting tackled. Baumer picked up a first down at the 12 yard line, and Whitford ran the last ten yards for a Minster touchdown. The extra point was good, and the score became 14-7 for St. John with 3:45 left in the half. But the Blue Jays were quick to respond to Minster's score when Leininger took the return kick to the 34 yard line. Ulm's pass found Auster Sheeter for another touchdown, bringing the score to 21-7 going into halftime.
Minster had several possessions in the third quarter, but St. John's defense held them to turnovers, and neither team was able to score. The fourth quarter started out much the same as the first. The Blue Jays started at third and four at the 41 yard line. Ulm kept the ball and blasted through the Wildcats for a run-in touchdown, putting Delphos St. John at 28-7 after only 38 seconds.
“They have a very good quarterback in Wes [Ulm],” Belcher said. “He runs the ball really well and does a good job of reading the options, impressed me when he threw the ball.”
On Minster's next possession, Baumer's pass to Brian Mueller made for an 82-yard touchdown. The extra point was good for 28-14 at 10:11. Minster's return kick was blocked, but the Wildcats recovered the ball at the 50 yard line. Baumer passed to Whitford for a five-yard gain, then Baumer took the ball up the middle for a Wildcat first down. Whitford picked up another first down at the 15 yard line, then ran the ball down the left side to plunge into the endzone. Minster's extra point was blocked by Chris Pohlman, making the score 28-20. St. John's next possession led to nothing, and the Wildcats took the ball again. But Klausing intercepted Baumer's pass and ran in for a touchdown from the 32 yard line.
“That was huge because the wheels were falling off for us,” Schulte said of Klausing's interception. “They were doing a good job moving the ball, and it didn't seem like we were gonna stop anything they were doing. So that was a huge interception and return. Our defense has been pretty consistent getting turnovers, but it was nice to get a turnover and score. It kind of took the winds right out of their sails.”
With 3:52 left to play, the Blue Jays had a 15-point lead over the Wildcats. Mueller returned the kick to the 43 yard line but fumbled the ball when he was tackled. Adam Warnecke recovered the ball for St. John and kept possession long enough to stall the Wildcats. Time ran out on Minster's last possession, and the game ended at 35-20 for Delphos St. John.
“Early in the first half, I don't think we were quite ready to play,” said Belcher. “Our defense let them get the ball a little early in the game, and I feel like that set the tone. I felt like we did pretty good the second half. The defense just wasn't in position that first half. We had opportunities, and we missed tackles. You don't tackle in this league, you're gonna get your clock cleaned every week.”
Minster outran Delphos St. John in rushing yardage, with 289 yards to the Blue Jays' 186. But Delphos was able to complete more passes to score; the Blue Jays had 151 passing yardage to 98 yards for Minster.