The Alcester-Hudson Cubs led 8-0 early in the game, but that lead was short lived. The Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinals cruised to a 70-30 win in the opening round of the 9B playoffs on Thursday, October 24th in Chester due to field conditions at Rickeman Field.
After the Cubs scored first, Connor Libis returned the ensuing kickoff 78 yards to the Cubs one yard line. Two plays later, Libis was in the endzone on a one-yard run. Eli Longville scored the two-point conversion to tie the game at 8-8 with 8:47 to play in the quarter. Moments later, Longville recovered a Cubs fumble and returned it for a touchdown to give St Mary a 14-8 lead. The scored remained 14-8 to end the first quarter.
Libis scored on a 10-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter. Weston Geraets scored the two-point conversion to give the Cardinals a 22-8 lead. Alcester-Hudson scored on their first possession of the second quarter. The two-point conversion was good to pull the Cubs within six points at 22-16. Longville extended the St Mary lead with 3:30 to play in the half on a 20-yard touchdown run. Libis scored the two-point conversion to push the lead to 30-16. The Cardinals were not done in the half. Longville pushed his way into the end zone on a one-yard carry with :28 to go before halftime. Longville also scored the two-point conversion to give the Cardinals a 38-16 lead heading into halftime.
The Cubs scored first in the second half on their second possession. Alcester-Hudson executed a hook-and-ladder for the touchdown. The two-point conversion was also good to cut the lead to 38-24, but that was the last touchdown the Cubs would get until late in the game. The St Mary offense continued to pile up the points scoring 32 more points in the second half. The Cardinals got three touchdown runs from Longville and one from Geraets in the offensive burst. The Cubs did get a late touchdown to end the scoring.
St Mary finished with 484 total yards of offense, 452 rushing yards and 32 passing yards. The Cubs tallied 433 total yards of offense, 318 passing yards and 115 rushing yards. Longville had 21 carries for 214 yards and five touchdowns. Geraets had 11 carries for 129 yards and a touchdown. Libis finished with 17 carries for 98 yards and two touchdowns. Geraets also had two catches for 32 yards. Longville also led the defense with 13 tackles, an interception, and a fumble recovery for a touchdown. Geraets had 11 tackles. Ryan Eining and Libis both finished with 8.5 tackles. Logan Wolles had 8.5 tackles and a sack.
Head coach Ross Flemmer said, “The kids played hard after they got going. They overcame a lot of adversity and didn’t quit, which was great to see. We will have to play better from start to finish to be able to beat Herried/Selby.”
The Cardinals (8-1) will host the Herried/Selby Area Wolverines in the quarterfinals of the 9B playoffs on Thursday, October 31st. The game will be in Chester again and can also be seen on Big Sioux Media.