Strasser took the saying, “Look good, play good” to a whole new meaning against the Silver Eagles, recovering four fumbles — the final two putting the nail in the coffin.
“He’s all over the field,” Linde said. “We put him in a position where he’s usually clean, so he can make plays and do what he does best. It’s a testament to the box getting pressure and spilling the ball out on the perimeter.”
Strasser’s second-to-last recovery came when Beaver Dam was down 18-13. Two plays into a Monona Grove drive, running back Fabian Jackson’s fumble was covered up by Strasser at the Beaver Dam 49-yard line with 6:49 left to play.
“They were huge,” Strasser said of his final two fumble recoveries. “Everybody was on me. I was getting pinched in the pile by the other team and I’m like, ‘Who cares, I’ve got the ball.’”
This pass to Nate Abel goes for 22 yards at MG 4 on 4th and 5. Sets up a 4 yard TD pass to Soto to take a 19-18 lead after two point conversion failed. On kickoff, MG fumbles and Strasser recovers it at MG 35. 4:27 left.
The Golden Beavers were seemingly stopped five plays into their drive. On a fourth-and-5 play at the Monona Grove 26, receiver Nate Abel made a diving catch for 24 yards and a first down at the 4. Quarterback Carter Riesen found receiver Alex Soto on an out pattern for a 4-yard touchdown pass to take a 19-18 lead with 4:32 remaining.
The wildness didn’t stop there.
On the kickoff, Beaver Dam’s Truman Liesses forced a fumble, and the ball stuck in Strasser’s iron grasp at the Monona Grove 35.