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Cuba City's Guy Kopp named Packers Coach of the Week

10/24/2018, 11:45am CDT
By WFCA

The Green Bay Packers have announced that Guy Kopp of Cuba City High School in Cuba City, Wis., has been named the Packers High School Coach of the Week. The program is presented by Jack Link’s Protein Snacks.

Kopp, in his 11th year as the head coach of Cuba City, led the Cubans to a thrilling 35-34 overtime victory over the previously unbeaten Wauzeka-Steuben/Seneca Blue-Golds on Friday, Oct. 19. The Cubans entered the Division 6 WIAA State Football Tournament as a No. 5 seed with a 5-4 regular season record. In overtime of their round one matchup, the Blue-Golds left the door open following a failed extra point attempt. The Cubans answered with a touchdown of their own, and turned to their sophomore kicker for the game-winning extra point attempt.

Kopp explained the exciting final seconds of the game.

“I talked to (our kicker) right before he went out there. I said, ‘Well, what are you feeling?’ He said, ‘I’ll make it Coach, not a problem.’ We went in and kicked it, it went through the uprights and I couldn’t believe it,” Kopp said. “It was the first time I ever won a game like that in all the years I’ve been coaching. It was a great feeling not only for me, but the fans and the kids. They just went crazy. You almost thought that you won the state title. But they know the severity of winning a game in the playoffs. They get to move on, and we get to play Fennimore this week.”

Kopp and his team are on the road again for round two of the playoffs to take on the No. 1-seeded Fennimore Golden Eagles, at Fennimore High School on Friday, Oct. 26.

Kopp grew up in Milwaukee, Wis., and graduated from Casimir Pulaski High School in 1987. Throughout high school, he participated in football, swimming and track & field. Kopp played tight end and defensive end under Wisconsin Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame Coach, Gregg Dufek. He then went on to play inside linebacker and long snapper for Coach Rich Lawrence at UW-Stout. Kopp graduated from UW-Stout in 1992.

Kopp’s coaching career began as a graduate assistant coach at UW-Stout in 1991. In 1992, Kopp transitioned to defensive coordinator for Cuba City High School, a position he held until 1999, when he took the role as an assistant coach for Prairie du Chien High School. Kopp was then named the head coach at Prairie du Chien in 2001, where he remained until returning to Cuba City as the defensive coordinator in 2006. In 2008, Kopp accepted his current position as the head coach of the Cuba City football program.

Kopp sees the Coach of the Week Award as a reward for the whole program.

“It means a lot just knowing that hard work, winning a close game and believing in yourself can reward not only me as the coach, but the kids as well,” Kopp said. “They can see hard work pays off. This award brought a little tear to my eye, just because it’s not my coaching, it’s the kids believing in themselves and a little bit, believing in me. This is very humbling to our program being 5-4 this year, and it just gives us another lift to go to the next level.”

Kopp gives a lot of the credit to his staff, as they oversee a program of 64 players, with 50 suiting up for the playoffs. His assistant staff includes Mitch McNett, Shaun Reuter, Derek Schambow, Steve Graber, Mike Hill, Peter Murphy, Mark Johnston, Kyle Bass, John Sturtz and Matt Clendenen.

In addition to coaching football, Kopp is also a technology education teacher and track & field coach at Cuba City High School. Kopp and his wife, Tanya, have three daughters, Preston, Payton and Parker, and a son, Beau.

About the Green Bay Packers High School Coach of the Week Program:

The Packers will recognize one outstanding high school coach as their ‘Coach of the Week’ winner during the 2018 high school football season. Winners are awarded several items and privileges, including a $2,000 donation to the school’s football program from the Green Bay Packers, Jack Link’s Protein Snacks and the NFL Foundation, as well as recognition of the award on Packers.com, Wissports.net and Wifca.org.

Winning coaches will also take part in the Jack Link’s High School Coach of the Week Game Ball Delivery where they will hand the game ball over to a member of the Packers staff or referee prior to a regular season home game.

Nominations for Coach of the Week should be submitted by 10 a.m. every Monday to Ryan Fencl, Football Outreach Specialist, at coachoftheweek@packers.com. Please include the nominee’s name, address, school, phone number and reason he/she is deserving of the award.

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