DELPHOS — Anna may not have earned a first-round home playoff game on Saturday, but it earned something even rarer.
The Rockets earned a share of their first Midwest Athletic Conference title with a 39-14 victory over Delphos St. John’s in a regular-season finale.
Thanks to Saturday’s win and Marion Local’s 26-20 loss to Coldwater on Friday, Anna (8-2) earns a share of the MAC title with a 6-1 league record.
The Rockets lost to Marion Local 44-20 in Week 5 but beat every other league opponent, including Coldwater by one point on Oct. 12. Before Friday, the Flyers (9-1) hadn’t lost a game Week 3 of 2016, when Coldwater beat them by three points.
Anna was ranked No. 4 entering Week 10 play in Division V, Region 28 but drops to No. 5 in the final rankings due to Elyria Catholic’s win over Rocky River on Friday. The top eight teams in each region qualify for the playoffs, while the top four host a first-round game.
Elyria Catholic (8-2) jumps from No. 5 to No. 4 and will host Anna in a playoff game on Saturday.
Anna quickly took control against Delphos St. John’s. Bart Bixler ran for a 62-yard touchdown in the first quarter, and Riley Huelskamp followed with a 1-yard TD run and a 60-yard TD reception from Bixler.
Huelskamp scored on two short touchdown runs in the second quarter to put the Rockets ahead 33-7 at halftime. Anna finished its scoring with a 62-yard touchdown pass from Bixler to Kamren Steward in the fourth quarter.
Anna had 483 yards of offense and 16 first downs, while St. John’s had 316 yards and 17 first downs. The Blue Jays had two interceptions.
Bixler completed 6-of-9 passes for 207 yards and ran for 100 yards on 12 carries. Huelskamp ran for 169 yards on 23 carries, and Brady Hanes led the team with 66 receiving yards on one catch.
Brandon Shannon had eight tackles, while Huelskamp had five tackles and one sack. Huelskamp also had an interception, as did Nolan Emerson.
Minster 25, New Bremen 15
Minster scored the first three touchdowns of a Midwest Athletic Conference game on Friday on their way to a victory over New Bremen at Memorial Stadium. Minster finishes 7-3 overall and 5-3 in MAC, while the Cardinals finish 6-3 and 4-4.
The victory secures a first-round home playoff game for the Wildcats, while the loss knocked New Bremen out of the playoffs. The Cardinals were ranked No. 8 in Div. VII, Region 28 entering Friday’s action, but New Miami has jumped up to the No. 8 spot due to a win over Dayton Christian.
Alex Schmitmeyer scored on touchdown runs of 37 yards and 4 yards in the first quarter and reached the end zone on a 5-yard run in the second quarter to put the Wildcats ahead 19-0 after missed PATs.
Justin Tenkman scored on a 9-yard run with 6:59 left in the third quarter and Mitchell Hays scored a two-point conversion to bring the Cardinals within 19-8, but Broc Miller scored on a 17-yard run early in the fourth quarter to put Minster ahead 25-8 after another missed PAT.
Tenkman closed out the game’s scoring with a 7-yard TD run midway through the fourth.
Schmitmeyer ran for 136 yards while Miller ran for 102. Jacob Niemeyer completed 7-of-12 passes for 84 yards. Jack Heitbrink led Minster’s receivers with three catches for 27 yards and had a team-high 5.5 tackles.
Nolan Bornhorst completed 9-of-20 passes for New Bremen for 58 yards while Tenkman led the team with 42 rushing yards on seven carries.
The Wildcats had 351 yards of offense and 17 first downs while the Cardinals had 160 yards and nine first downs.
Minster is the No. 3 seed in Region 28 and will host No. 6 Riverside in a first-round game on Saturday.
Fort Loramie 42, Tri-County North 0
Fort Loramie closed out a dominating finish to the second half of the season with a big win over Tri-County North in a Cross County Conference game on Friday. The Redskins (9-1, 7-0 CCC) won their last five CCC games by at least 42 points and clinched the conference’s title outright on Friday.
Carter Mescher returned the game’s opening kickoff for a touchdown and later scored two more TDs in the first half to help Fort Loramie build a 42-0 halftime lead.
Fort Loramie, which had clinched the No. 1 seed in Region 28 heading into Friday’s action, will host New Miami in a first-round playoff game next Saturday.
Fort Recovery 33, Versailles 14
Versailles lost its season finale on Friday in Fort Recovery.
Scoring for the Indians (5-5, 3-5 MAC) were Clay Schmitz, who threw three touchdown passes: a 10-yarder to Regan Martin, a combined hook-and-ladder 76-yarder first to Gavin Thobe who pitched to Martin and 40 yards to Jacob Acheson, while Schmitz also caught a 3-yard TD toss from Clayton Pearson.
Ryan Martin completed 11-of-23 passes for 149 yards with two touchdowns for the Tigers and ran for 67 yards on 11 carries. Andrew DeMange had a team-high five receptions for 86 and one touchdown while Evan Hiestand caught four passes for 57 yards with one TD.
Jack Barga led Versailles with nine tackles.
The Tigers finished 2-8 overall and 1-7 in the MAC.
like rain Friday night at Minster.
