New Cards - Same Deck

What is it about Cardinals? Of late this would seem to be a very good mascot to have on your helmet should you be playing football against NGM. This time it was the Cardinals of Columbus, a team that has given NGM much trouble over the past three years, that would keep this “red bird curse” alive.
The first quarter was largely a draw as neither team could establish a sustained offensive drive. But Columbus entered this game with a chip on their shoulder, having just suffered a last second field goal loss the week before at Lodi. They came alive in the second quarter with 14 unanswered points. The early “dagger” came with just 0:30 to play in the half when quarterback William Cotter hit his receiver James Mobry on a 40-yard strike, putting the ball on the NGM 3. The Card’s senior running back Caden Brunell would punch it home for his second touchdown of the quarter (he would rack up 5 TDs on the evening!) and a 14-0 halftime lead. (Note: Mr. Brunell has been such a thorn in NGM’s side the past three years that rumor has it Coach Eichelkraut will personally attend the upcoming Columbus graduation ceremony to ensure he receives his diploma!)
But the half did not end on such a dour note. With but 0:26 to play, NGM put their Air Raid offense on display and moved the ball from their own 28 to the Columbus 10 with a perfect mix of passes, runs and judicious timeouts. Just one more tick-of-the-clock might have made a difference in the score.
It has become a recurrent theme lately that NGM games are decided in the third quarter, and this game would not interrupt the cycle. The Cards would start the second half on their own 15-yard line and march the distance for an apparent touchdown, only to have the play nullified by a holding penalty. NGM’s senior defensive back Peter Gustafson would intercept the next play and NGM would start from their own 12. Here again, that Air Raid offense would shine with its mix of short passes and strong running by senior Holden Latsch. And again it would be Gustafson, now on offense, stepping to the fore as he took a 50-yard strike from senior quarterback Darris Schuett and moved the ball to the Cardinals’ 12. Two plays later, Schuett found senior wide receiver Rudy Wicker on the 9, who, with some very slippery running, found the end zone. Jaylynn Benson’s kick was blocked, and at 6:17 in the third the score was 14-6 Columbus.
Right here, right now, NGM was back in this game(!)....but what appeared to be a mirrored replay of last week at Cuba City the worm, without notice, suddenly turned. The Card’s Brunell would score, NGM would fumble on their next series and compound the problem with a dead ball foul, giving Columbus the ball on the NGM 15. Brunell (who else?) would take the ball to the one and then on his next carry go untouched for his fourth TD of the night. They would score again on a run by Braxton Nachreiner, and at 2:29 in the third, with Columbus up 35-6, it was all over but the shouting.
Not done yet, Caden Brunell would take the first play of the fourth quarter 50 yards to the house on pass from Cotter for his fifth touchdown of the evening. Kicker Corbin Hynes would seal the deal with his sixth extra point of the night. The Columbus juggernaut would finally shut itself down as both teams played their reserves for much of the fourth quarter, Columbus going on to win 42-6 and improving to 5-1 on the season.
Despite the disappointing outcome, we can take solace in the fact that senior quarterback Darris Schuett, a Simpson University recruit, set the all-time career record for passing yardage. With 159 passing yards in this game, he brought his total to 2,816 yards. Do the math ladies and gentlemen, and you will find this is over 1.5 miles! Congrats to Darris with hope and expectation he will add even more yardage this Friday night.
And defensively, there were also some bright spots. Take away the singular performance of the Card’s Caden Brunell and you’ll see that it was largely a defensive effort by committee, with sponsorship by Streiff & Co. and Walter Bros., Inc.
Life’s lessons tell us that “bad luck seems to come in threes”. With the last three losses all coming in the third quarter, and NGM now sitting at 3-3, there is just too much symmetry here to pass up commentary. When this cycle is finally broken it is usually done with much flare. Let us now hope that NGM will pick itself up off the mat and meet the challenge being posed this Friday as the rival of all rivals, the Wildcats of Belleville, bring their 5-1 record to New Glarus for the season finale. Game time is 7:00.