A reinvigorating season for Cuba High School’s football team that brought two rival sports towns together in Black and Gold ended on Oct. 30, when the Wildcats fell 48-24 in a Class 3 District 5 quarterfinal game to the Buffalo Bison.

Cuba finished the year with a 4-6 record, a two game improvement from last year’s 2-8 team. The biggest storyline heading into the season was Cuba High School’s agreement to co-op with Steelville High School: and by all accounts, the partnership was nothing but positive.

A post from Cuba’s R-2 District Facebook page appeared to confirm that the co-op will continue moving forward. After thanking the seniors and wishing them luck moving forward, the post read, “An additional thank you to the Steelville R-3 School District for partnering with us this year! We are excited to grow this partnership for years to come.”

After enduring a year with limited players, no junior varsity team and a homecoming game cancellation last season, the addition of 12 Steelville players brought energy, depth and excitement to the Wildcats’ football program this year. 

Steelville’s additions weren’t just extra bodies, they were immediate contributors. Cardinal seniors Will Bailey and Max Harmon quickly earned captain’s titles and were impactful starters on both sides of the ball. Steelville’s third senior, Chase Pitts, started on the Wildcats’ offensive line for the majority of the season. Sophomore Trey Gambill started at wide receiver and cornerbacker and fellow sophomores Aiden Greenwalt and Ripken Halbert were the team’s primary kick returners and contributed on both sides of the ball.

Steelville assistant coach Phillip Gambill also seamlessly fit into the Wildcats’ coaching staff and spoke during summer workouts about how he and the Steelville players were immediately embraced by the Cuba community.

“The Cuba coaches, players and community have really embraced our players as if we had been playing football with them all along,” Gambill said. “We are at a place where we view each other as a family. We’re a team that just happens to go to school in different places.”   

After the final whistle against Buffalo, second year Cuba head coach Kaleb Cason credited his senior class of Seth Adderly, Zane Brown, Damion Ferguson, AJ Flores, Judah Folz, Ethan Noltkamper, Jesse Shireman and Blake Pinnell along with the trio of Steelville seniors for laying the foundation of what he wants to grow in the program.

“I told them (the seniors) that they set the foundation for moving forward,” Cason said. “Our word of the year was growth, and they planted that seed and we grew all year long. And they have done their job. Their job with this program is over. And from there, I put it on the younger guys to continue to water that seed and continue to grow the program.”

The Wildcats will lose its two-way star, Noltkamper, who concluded his senior season with 1,089 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns on 150 carries, while finishing second on the team with 80 tackles. Noltkamper compiled over 2,000 rushing yards in his final two seasons, combined, and while statistics weren’t kept by past coaches, he figures to go down among the all-time great running backs from Cuba High School.

Noltkamper spoke following his final game about what those accolades mean to him.

“It means everything to me,” he said. “The biggest thing is the impact I left on Cuba. I just want to make sure that the underclassmen follow my footsteps and lead by example.”

Noltkamper didn’t miss a game his senior season while playing on both sides of the ball, despite being listed at 5-foot-6 and 145 pounds while playing a sport that’s usually controlled by giants.

His message to future running backs who were told they are too small: “Don’t let size determine how hard you play. Just fight hard every play. That’s how I was taught ever since the third grade.”

While Noltkamper shined bright on offense, Bailey and Ferguson wreaked havoc for the Wildcats defense.

Despite only playing high school football in his senior season, Bailey had team-high totals of 84 tackles, 13 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. He is expected to receive post-season recognition for his play, which will be detailed when it’s released.

Ferguson was one of Cuba’s vocal leaders and seemingly never left the field while serving as the team’s starting linebacker, offensive guard and kick-off specialist. He finished his senior campaign with 56 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, four pass break ups and 0.5 sacks.

Other notable contributors to Cuba’s defense were seniors Harmon and Flores along with juniors Kadin Brooks and Luke Whittaker.

Harmon registered 23 tackles, three tackles for loss, two fumble recoveries and one sack, while playing every snap of the season on Cuba’s offensive line. Flores had 22 tackles, four tackles for loss, two fumble recoveries and 0.5 sacks. On offense, he took 13 carries for 53 yards and caught one pass for 18 yards.

Brooks finished with 38 tackles, five tackles for loss and one sack and Whittaker amassed 22 tackles, five tackles for loss, one sack and one fumble recovery.

The Wildcats will also have to replace its senior quarterback, Jesse Shireman. Shireman finished the year with 222 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, 147 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown. He also added 24 tackles, three pass break ups and one interception on defense. 

While the Wildcats will lose a lot of production from its seniors, they will return sophomore stars, Carter Medows and Nicholas Gipson along with junior linemen Cole Kelemen and Whittaker

Medows shined during his sophomore season and first year playing high school football. Despite missing a game due to a family obligation, Meadows compiled 845 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns on 124 carries, tallying 6.8 yards per carry. He also caught three passes for 53 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown. Medows started at linebacker as well, recording 28 tackles, three tackles for loss, three pass break ups and a fumble recovery. Medows’ twin brother, Cooper Medows, who suffered a season-ending injury during the Aug. 21 Sullivan Jamboree, is expected to play next season.

After playing sparingly as a freshman, Gipson asserted himself as the team’s middle linebacker and signal caller of the defense. He recorded 52 tackles, four tackles for loss, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. Gipson also was a part of Cuba’s three-headed rushing attack with Noltkamper and Medows. Despite getting most of his touches early in the season, he ran for 460 yards on 57 carries which was good for a stellar 8.1 yards for carry.

Before he left the field for the last time this season, Cason said that he’s pleased with the culture of his team and optimistic about the future of the program.

“We’re definitely going to have to replace some big shoes, but we do have a good foundation,” Cason said. “And really, I feel like our biggest strength moving forward isn’t even necessarily a skill on the field, but it’s the culture in the locker room that took the biggest step forward this year. The seniors did a great job setting it. It fits the mold, fits the personality of this team, and obviously, we are returning some really good players for next year. So if we can just continue to grow the culture, continue to grow our skill, I think we will continue to grow as a program.”

Oct. 30 vs. Buffalo

The Wildcats received a tough draw against Buffalo in the quarterfinals of the Class 3 District 5 Tournament. During the ninth and final week of the season, It appeared that Cuba would host Salem in the quarterfinals. But a last second touchdown from St. James in their final game versus Pacific gave the Tigers the advantage in the point totals portion of the standings. That allowed St. James to jump Cuba and take the three seed in Districts despite a 2-8 record, because of the Tigers’ win over the Wildcats in the second week of the season. Salem went on to defeat St. James 25-14 in their quarterfinals matchup.

Cuba stayed in the game in the first quarter, before being overpowered throughout the rest of the contest versus an explosive Buffalo Bison team, who recorded 468 yards on 46 plays throughout the evening.

After Buffalo scored a touchdown on the opening drive and took a 7-0 lead, Cuba responded with a strong drive, capped by a three-yard rushing touchdown from Medows. During the extra point attempt, a botched snap led to Whittaker, who was serving as the placeholder, completing a pass to Gambill for the two-point conversion that gave Cuba a 8-7 lead and drew hoots and hollers from the Wildcat faithful. 

Unfortunately for Cuba fans, that would be the first and only lead the team would have, as Buffalo went on to score 27 unanswered points during the rest of the first half and led 34-8 at halftime.

The Bison would extend its lead to 41-8 by the end of the third quarter before the Wildcats would answer. Medows took a handoff for five yards into the endzone and completed the two-point conversion the following play to make it a 41-16 game. Buffalo would add one more score to take a 48-16 lead with 3:31 left in the game.   

Playing until the final whistle, Shireman completed a late 12-yard touchdown pass to Gambill on his last play as Cuba’s quarterback before the Wildcats fell 48-24.

Shireman saved his best statistical game for last, tallying 96 rushing yards, 53 passing yards and one passing touchdown.

Medows led Cuba with 122 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries. He also had five tackles and a tackle for loss at linebacker.

Noltkamper took 12 carries for 43 yards and had a team-high 11 tackles on defense. Gipson had four carries for 17 yards and made three tackles on defense. 

Gambill caught two passes for 53 yards and a touchdown and also had the reception that completed the two-point conversion.

Bailey made nine tackles, Ferguson had seven tackles and tackle for loss and Harmon made five tackles.