In a game that featured two top five and unbeaten teams in Class 9B, the Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinals dominated the Alcester-Hudson Cubs in Alcester on Friday, September 13th. The Cardinals posted a 66-22 win over the Cubs.
St Mary scored early and often in the first half. Eli Longville got the Cardinals on the board with a short touchdown run, and then added the two-point conversion for an 8-0 lead. The Cubs scored on their first drive, but the two-point conversion was no good, and the Cardinals kept an 8-6 lead. Peyton Park scored on a 42-yard run on the next Cardinal possession. The made two-point conversion pushed the lead to 16-6 for St Mary. That’s where the scored ended after the first quarter.
Connor Libis scored the first touchdown of the second quarter with 5:02 to play on a five-yard run. Libis also scored the two point conversion for a 24-6 lead. Alcester-Hudson cut the lead to 10 points at 24-14 after a touchdown and made two-point conversion with 1:50 to play in the half.
That’s when the St Mary offense went into overdrive. Libis scored on a 13-yard run with :44 to play in the quarter. Longville intercepted a pass on the Cubs’ next play giving the ball back to St Mary. Libis then connected with Longville with a 15-yard pass. Libis made the two-point conversion for a 38-14 lead. St Mary recovered an onside kick. Libis then threw a 36-yard touchdown pass to Weston Geraets on the next play with :15 to go in the half for a 44-14 lead. The Cardinals again recovered the onside kick. Libis and Longville connected again, this time from 13-yards away, right before halftime. The two-point conversion was good, and the Cardinals led 52-14 at the break.
The Cardinals got a rushing touchdown from Longville and a rushing touchdown from Gabriel Lindeman in the second half in the win.
St Mary finished the game with 502 total yards, 124 passing yards and 378 rushing yards. The Cubs had 289 yards of total offense, 148 rushing yards and 141 passing yards.
Libis finished the game 5-8 passing for 124 yards and three touchdowns. Geraets had two catches for 71 yards and a touchdown. Longville had three catches for 53 yards and two touchdowns. Lindeman had four carries for 74 yards and a touchdown. Libis had 11 carries for 66 yards and two touchdowns. Longville added seven carries for 65 yards and two rushing touchdowns. Longville also had six tackles and an interception. Hunter Griffin had six tackles. Geraets had five tackles, and Lindeman finished with 4.5 tackles and a fumble recovery.
Head coach Ross Flemmer said, “The boys played well tonight. They really turned it on before half and showed what they are capable of.”
The Cardinals (4-0) are scheduled to play Avon at home on Friday, September 20th. Stay tuned to Big Sioux Media for any changes to the game due to the flooding in Dell Rapids.