The West Central Trojans defeated the Dell Rapids Quarriers on their homecoming game Friday, September 14th at West Central High School. The Trojans won by a score of 42-14.
Dell Rapids scored first after Logan Ellingson got a strip fumble and returned it 60 yards for a touchdown with 8:52 to go in the first quarter. The extra point by Hunter Garry gave Dell Rapids a short lived 7-0 lead. West Central tied the game with 3:39 to play in the first quarter after a three-yard touchdown run by Broc Haldeman and an extra point made by Derek Eidsness.
The Trojans used two groups of big plays to take the lead they would never lose. With 9:45 to go in the second quarter, Dylan Waxdahl scored on a five-yard run. About a minute later, Aaron Johnson had a 50-yard interception return for a touchdown. With 8:34 to play in the half, West Central led 21-7. Neither team scored until the 1:01 mark. A high snap over the head of Eddie Price resulted in a safety and two more points for West Central. Sixteen seconds later they found the endzone again. Haldeman scored on a 45-yard run to put the Trojans ahead 30-7 at halftime.
The Quarriers were able to score first in the second half. Ellingson had a 53-yard punt return for a touchdown with 7:23 to go in the third quarter. That play cut the lead to 30-14, but that was as close as the Quarriers would get. The Trojans scored again with 2:41 to go in the third quarter on a 37-yard touchdown run by Haldeman. The final score came with 10:22 to play in the game on a nine-yard touchdown run by Cooper Maras.
Dell Rapids was held to just 89 total yards of offense, 48 passing yards and 31 rushing yards. The Quarriers were 2-9 on third down and o-1 on fourth down. West Central finished with 391 total yards of offense, 51 passing yards and 340 rushing yards. The Trojans were 7-11 on third down and 1-1 on fourth down attempts.
Price finished the game 3-10 passing for 48 yards and an interception. Logan Stone had one catch for 36 yards. Ellingson had one catch for nine yards, and Nick Boever had one catch for three yards. Price also led the team in rushing with six carries for 19 yards. Boever had eight carries for 16 yards, and Stone had seven carries for 10 yards. Coby Maeschen led the team with 10 tackles. Price and Boever both had seven tackles each. Kenyon Shellum had five tackles, and Brandon Geraets and Tayte Gleason both had four tackles each.
Dell Rapids (2-2) will host Tri-Valley for their homecoming game on Friday, September 21st. The game can be seen on Big Sioux Media.