Cardinals go for win over rival Wildcats
When it comes to rivalry games, records can oftentimes be tossed out.
New Bremen (4-2) and Minster (0-5) will duke it out this week in Midwest Athletic Conference action.
“I told them there’s been years where it was kind of the role reversal where we went into those games with not a very good record and Minster had a good record. I know from our perspective we played some of the best that we could play in that year given that the opponent was Minster,” said Cardinals coach Christ Schmidt.
New Bremen shut Minster out last year with a 20-0 win during Week 1 of the COVID-shortened season.
New Bremen fell last Friday for the second time in two weeks, losing to Versailles 24-19, and Minster lost 5329 to Parkway, so both teams are hungry for a win.
The Wildcats have been banged up for most of the season and the Cardinals aren’t at 100% either.
“We came out of last week’s game [and] I don’t think we had any new injuries,” said Schmidt. “There’s still some lingering effects of the last few weeks. Certainly if you have some depth, that helps.”
Schmidt said the nice weather has helped with preparation this week.
“Being a rivalry game, I think that always helps with the preparation because kids tend to be — you always want them to be in tune — but I think it kind of heightens the awareness,” he said.
In New Bremen’s loss to Versailles, the Tigers were able to keep the Cardinals run game in check as they ran the ball 26 times for 21 yards.
The passing game thrived however as Dave Homan went 13-for-18, 228 yards and a touchdown through the air.
“It was good to see,” Schmidt said about the passing game. “Obviously we would have liked to been able to run the ball more effectively, but it was good to see our receivers and quarterback step up and be able to make plays in the passing game to kind of counter the fact that we couldn’t really get anything going on the ground. That obviously helped us stay within striking distance. That was good to see. That’s showing that we’re making some progress in the passing game and hopefully we continue to make strides there.”
Trevor Bergman and Nick Alig came up big on Friday, recording five catches for 104 yards and five catches for 91 yards, respectively.
“He’s [Alig] really done a nice job of stepping up here recently and just kind of embracing that role of being one of our main targets and he’s had good practices too,” said Schmidt. “I knew he was a little bit frustrated in the first half where he wasn’t quite being able to get the ball as much as he would have like to but one of the things we said to him is now that he’s becoming a recognizable player for other teams, they’re going to try and do some things to take him away. When you establish yourself as a good player, teams are going to do things to try and keep you from getting the ball. Then in the second half he was able to get in position and make some big catches and plays for us.
“It was good to see a lot of kids step up in the passing game and we continue to develop that and be as versatile as possible.”
For Minster, Brogan Stephey returned last week at the quarterback position and went 15for-26 for 227 yards and two touchdowns.
Chase Couse had a big game, catching six passes for 122 yards and a touchdown.
Regardless of record, traditionally the New Bremen vs. Minster game is a battle and Friday isn’t expected to be any different.
“We kind of expect the same thing that it’s one of those where you throw out the records and you gotta go out there and play,” said Schmidt.
The Cardinals and Wildcats will kickoff at 7 p.m. on Friday at Memorial Field.