Waitsburg Drops North-South Crossover Football Game

WAITSBURG — Waitsburg High School’s football season came to an end with a loss at Cusick on Friday, November 6, in a North-South crossover game; 54-30.

Cusick got on the scoreboard quickly in the first quarter after recovering an on-side kick.  The Cardinals’ opening drive started well but ended with Cusick intercepting the football. Then the Cardinals forced a Cusick turnover on their own 13-yard line. The Cardinals strung together a few plays but were stopped at their 25-yard line. Cusick scored again at the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Cusick scored four touchdowns and three conversions, leading Waitsburg 46-0 at half.

“The turnovers made the biggest difference in the game. Cusick kicked two successful on-side kicks; we threw two interceptions and fumbled the ball once on an attempted option. It is difficult to win a game with that many turnovers. JJ Gleason found a rhythm toward the end of the second quarter as quarterback, running a fifty-six-yard scramble around the end, barely getting caught by the nap of his shoulder pads. Despite the horse-collar penalty, we ran out of time on the half-yard line and remained scoreless in the first half, said coach Gabe Kiefel.

The second half was a much different story, but the running clock played against the Cardinals.

“I truly feel that if we had been able to stop one of the touchdowns in the first half, we would have won this game. We just ran out of time,” said Kiefel.

The Cardinals limited Cusick to eight points in the third quarter and held them scoreless in the fourth quarter.

In the second half, Gleason ran for three touchdowns, one conversion, and threw one touchdown and two conversion passes to Uriah York. 

“Despite finding the right chemistry on offense and defense, we simply ran out of time. I am very happy with how hard the players rallied to make something happen in the second half. It was too late, but I was happy to see the boys put up a fight instead of tucking their tails,” said Kiefel.

Kiefel said this season had its ups and downs. The team had moments of greatness and moments of madness and mayhem; they played disciplined, and they played sloppy. 

“In the end, our low turnout and lack of upperclassmen played a bigger role than I was hoping. Small towns like Waitsburg depend on everyone turning out. A lack of a local youth program until recently, families fearing their sons getting injured or a concussion and the long-term effects of concussions, and the myriad of attractive alternatives can make it difficult to get players to turn out for football. However, I would argue that football is the best simulation of the physical and mental challenges men will face in life. Although I care about the win-loss record every season, the most valuable part of playing on a football team is much more than the stats. Learning to work with others in a stressful environment, learning to be selfless for your team and playing your role as best you can, learning and sharpening complicated physical and mental skills, learning how to still do something you really don’t feel like doing when the going gets tough. All of these and many others make this game so good for young men,” said Kiefel.

Waitsburg will be losing two outstanding seniors, Gleason and Landen Henry. Kiefel hopes he will have slightly better numbers over the next couple of years. The future looks good, and he is excited to see what the players and the team can do.