Stay Connected with YourSeason
Wheeler falls to Bremen
Updated: November 11, 2011 10:54PM
VALPARAISO — At some point, Wheeler was going to have to stop the Bremen offense. The problem was it didn’t happen until it was too late.
In a matchup of unbeaten teams, Bremen methodically picked apart a Wheeler defense that had given up double-digit points just twice this season as the Lions outslugged the Bearcats 35-21 to win a Class 2A regional title on Friday.
“This is the part of the year nobody likes,” Wheeler coach Dan Klimczak said after an emotional postgame chat with his players.
The Bearcats didn’t have an answer for Bremen running back Braxton Miller, who carried 32 times for 208 yards, including a 34-yard touchdown early in the third quarter to give the Lions (13-0) an all-important two-touchdown advantage, 28-14.
On the drive, Miller busted off a run of 35 yards and rushed for all 80 of the Lions’ yards on five plays.
“We knew we’d have to win some individual battles,” Klimczak said. “And he won a lot of them. He’s a great player and made some great plays.”
But it was two touchdown catches by Bremen’s 6-foot-3 receiver Ethan Pike in the corner of the end zone and at crucial times in the game that proved to be back-breakers for Wheeler.
The first came early in the game when quarterback Nate Leeper lobbed a pass to Pike on fourth-and-seven from the Bearcats’ 10-yard line. It gave Bremen an early 7-0 lead.
Then, with the game tied 14-14 just before halftime, Leeper lobbed another one to Pike for an 18-yard touchdown with 3.4 seconds left in the second quarter and a 21-14 Bremen lead at the break.
“Ethan Pike: How big was he tonight?” Lions coach Bob Holmes said.
Asked if the late touchdown broke his team’s spirit, Klimczak thought his team was fine.
“The fact is, three times during game there were jump balls, and we lost all three,” said Klimczak, referring to the two touchdowns and a fourth-quarter interception by Bremen. “They had a height advantage, and they found ways to use it.”
Still, Wheeler (12-1) moved the ball well most of the night. Penalties killed the Bearcats’ opening drive of the game. They managed to tie the score twice in the first half, first on a 3-yard touchdown run by quarterback Nick Naspinski, capping a drive in which he ran for 76 of Wheeler’s 79 yards.
Later, Naspinski found Mitchell Stevenson wide open for a 36-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 14-14. Naspinski added a 3-yard TD run to pull Wheeler within 35-21 with 7:31 left in the fourth quarter, diving into the end zone for the score.
“Nick ran extraordinarily well tonight,” Klimczak said. “He had a great game. I thought we moved the ball well, but we shot ourselves in the foot a couple times.”
After Naspinski pulled Wheeler to within two scores, the Bearcats executed an onside kick with kicker Gavin Voss recovering the ball after it bounced off a Bremen player. It gave the Bearcats life. But it lasted only a moment. Naspinski’s pass to Voss on the next play was intercepted.
“Wheeler gave us a lot of different things to adjust to during the game,” said Holmes, who was Klimczak’s high school coach at South Central in the early 1990s. “Dan did a great job getting his kids ready to play.”
For Klimczak, it was bittersweet going against his old coach.
“It’s an honor to play against him,” Klimczak said. “My hat is off to him. He’s got a great team, and I hope they make it to Indy.”
Bremen plays at Fort Wayne Bishop Luers (11-1), the two-time defending 2A state champion, in next week’s northern semistate.
© 2012 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.
Cell Phone Alerts
Comments Click here to view or make a comment