A Cuban Crisis

The last time I heard the words “Cuban Crisis” was in 1962, when I and my fellow elementary school classmates were being taught to dive under our desks. The intent, we were told, was to somehow mitigate the disaster should the Russians fire their nuclear missiles from Cuban soil. (This would be a good time for the younger reader to google “Cuban Missile Crisis - 1962”). I didn’t see any missiles in Cuba City this evening but there were a lot of Cubans and it was a “disaster”, as the much heralded NGM offense gave up 10 turnovers. No, that is not a misprint! Credit the defense with its 107 tackles, 2 interceptions and 2 forced fumbles for holding the Cubans to 28 points.
The first two NGM offensive series ended with lost fumbles and the two series that followed ended with interceptions. That would qualify as a bad start in just about anybody’s book. NGM would start the second quarter giving up another interception. The Cuba City offense, directed by junior quarterback Beau Kopp, took advantage of their good fortune by scoring twice and jumped to a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter.
NGM was in desperate need of a spark and senior Nathan Streiff obliged with some deft cutback running, taking the Cuban kickoff all the way to the Cuban’s 10-yard line.
Senior running back Cade Femrite punched it home from 3 yards out and senior Jaylynn Benson’s extra point kick was good to bring the score to a very manageable 14-7.
Cuba City marched methodically down the field with their next possession as Kopp hit his wide receiver, Mason Reese, for an apparent touchdown. A holding penalty nullified the score. Here again Nathan Streiff rose to the occasion with an interception on the NGM 7-yard line with 1:34 to play in the half. The NGM offense promptly fumbled on their own 9, gifting the Cubans an opportunity with 0:59 to play. Quarterback Kopp would try twice himself with runs, each time being stopped short. His second try was stopped on the 2-yard line with a solo hit by junior linebacker Eli Zimmerman. The third down try was an incomplete pass. With fourth down and 0:15 to play, the Cubans flooded the right half of the end zone with multiple receivers only to have NGM’s Rudy Wicker make an incredibly athletic play as he “climbed the ladder”, went high and batted away Kopp’s pass, preventing a touchdown and giving NGM some much needed momentum as they headed for the locker room. (In truth, NGM was fortunate to escape the first half down only 14-7. Credit the defense for their solid, stingy play.)
Halftime entertainment was provided by a lone farmer working his field immediately adjacent to the gridiron. Ya gotta love small town sports in Wisconsin. A reminder, perhaps, that we should never forget our roots.
The third quarter would determine the fate of this game, and there would be some fireworks early. NGM’s defense came out strong and produced a quick 3-and-out. Generous to a fault, the NGM offense gave the ball right back with another interception on its first possession. Four plays later Nathan Streiff would collect his second interception of the night on the goal line, and advance the ball to the NGM 14. Now, that NGM Air Raid offense started to click. Several plays later, senior quarterback Darris Schuett called his own number and bolted 52 yards through multiple defenders for a score. Jaylynn Benson’s kick was blocked, leaving the score 14-13 at the 6:18 mark in the third. And just like that, NGM was very much in this game!
But the Cubans had other ideas. Riding the arm of the 6’2” Kopp, they would score quickly on a perfect strike, this time to wide receiver Chayse Barth from 33 yards out. NGM would, once again, turn the ball over on yet another interception with 3:13 left in the third. Kopp would direct his Cubans to another score when he kept on a well-designed quarterback draw play up the center. J. Garcia’s fourth extra point kick of the night was good. At the 2:09 mark, Cuba City now had a 28-13 lead.
Scoring was now of the essence as NGM started the fourth quarter. The Air Raid offense again showed promise as it mixed runs and short passes, that is until another fumble (turnover #8 if you’re counting) gave the Cubans the ball on their own 26-yard line. On their first play from scrimmage, Chayse Barth sprinted for what looked to be a sure touchdown run of 74 yards with nothing but green grass in front of him. Not so fast, Mr. Barth! Like a missile out of nowhere, Nathan Streiff caught Barth from behind and punched the ball loose into the end zone where junior Jackson Parman was there to claim it for a touchback.
NGM would now have the ball on their own 20-yard line and would be allowed two more offensive possessions with 5:07 to play in the game. Incredulously, each drive would end in an interception, the final nail in the coffin coming at the 3:05 mark. The Cubans would run out the clock and up their record to 4-1, with a 28-13 victory.
Through it all, Darris Schuett still managed 160 yards passing and 113 yards rushing, never once showing any quit. That’s what a leader does! Nathan Streiff caught 10 passes for 95 yards and with his aforementioned heroics no doubt impressed his soon-to-be college coach from Carleton, who was in attendance.
The bottom line for this game is simple to state: it’s hard, if not impossible, to win any game with 10 turnovers. (In fairness I should point out that a number of those interceptions were off of tipped/deflected hands.) We all have moments like this where, despite our best efforts, we remain flummoxed, and nothing seems to have gone right. It happens.
NOTE THE SCHEDULE CHANGE. This coming Friday, NGM will host Columbus in a home game. Columbus is a solid 4-1 team, coming off a last second field goal loss to Lodi. Fans can expect a challenging game. Given the fluid nature of games and attendance, fans are encouraged to check all necessary information the day of the game.