Outscoring the Belle Fourche Broncs 21-8 in the second half, the Dell Rapids Quarriers erased a 17-point deficit and earned their second win of the season with a 41-38 victory on Friday, September 7th.
Dell Rapids looked a little sluggish to start the game after the six-hour bus ride across the state. Kelby Olson took the opening kickoff 82 yards to the endzone for a quick 6-0 lead just twelve seconds into the game. After forcing a turnover on downs, Belle Fourche scored again with 6:33 to play in the first quarter on a 35-yard run by Morgan Garrett. Olson scored on the two-point play, and the Broncs led 14-0. The Quarriers fumbled the ensuing kickoff during the return, and 1:13 later, Jackson Tyndall connected on a 27-yard field goal to give Belle Fourche a 17-0 lead just seven minutes into the game. The Quarriers got on the board with 2:55 to play in the first quarter when Eddie Price connected with Logan Ellingson on a 74-yard touchdown pass on a free play. Hunter Garry made the extra point to make the score 17-7.
The Quarriers got the ball back and scored on their next drive. With 11:00 to play in the second quarter, Nick Boever scored on a six-yard run. The extra point was no good, and the Quarriers cut the lead to 17-13. Belle Fourche answered on their next drive when Colby Nowowiejski threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Tyndall with 8:01 to play in the half. The extra point was no good making the score 23-13. The Broncs scored two minutes later after recovering a fumble, this time on a six-yard run by Olson. The extra point was good, and the Broncs extended their lead back to 17 points at 30-13. Dell Rapids was able to get one last score before the half. On fourth down, Price connected with Boever for 30 yards with :25 remaining in the half to cut the lead to 30-20 by halftime.
Having won the coin toss to start the game, Dell Rapids elected to receive the ball to start the second half. The Quarrier scored in their opening drive of the second half when Boever ran into the endzone from six yards away with 9:38 to play in the third quarter. The extra point made cut the lead to 30-27. Belle Fourche held on to the ball for nearly six minutes, but their drive ended when Ellingson intercepted a pass near the Quarrier five yard line. A few plays later, Boever broke loose for an 87 yard touchdown run, and the Quarriers took the lead for the first time at 34-30 with 1:19 to play in the third quarter.
After a Belle Fourche punt early in the fourth quarter, Dell Rapids scored their fourth touchdown in a row when Boever ran in from 18 yards. Garry made the extra point to extend the Quarrier lead to 41-30 with 9:15 to play. The Broncs cut the lead to 41-38 with 2:25 to play after a 31-yard touchdown pass from Tate Hostetter to Olson and a two point conversion by Garrett. The Broncs got the ball back one more time, but their last effort drive ended in an interception by Ty Wood with just under :30 to play in the game. The Quarriers were able to kneel the ball to hang on for the win.
Price finished the game 5-9 passing for 138 yards and two touchdowns. Ellingson had three catches for 98 yards and a touchdown. Logan Stone had a catch for 10 yards, and Boever had a catch for 30 yards and a touchdown. Boever led the rushing attack with 20 carries for 226 yards and four rushing touchdowns, five overall in the game. Stone had 9 carries for 54 yards. Coby Maeschen had eight tackles in the game defensively. Tate Kolbeck had six tackles. Tayte Gleason had 4.5 tackles, and Boever and Alex Kringen both had four tackles. Ellingson ended the game with three interceptions. Wood had an interception, and Drew Van Regenmorter had a fumble recovery.
Dell Rapids (2-1) will travel to Hartford to play the West Central Trojans on Friday, September 14th. The game can be seen on Big Sioux Media.