The Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinals finished their regular season with a Dakota Valley Conference game win over the Oldham-Ramona/Rutland Raiders on Friday, October 18th in Ramona. The Cardinals defeated the Raiders 44-20.
The two teams were locked in a battle in the first quarter. The score remained tied at 0-0 after the first quarter of play. The Cardinals finally got on the board with 3:17 to play in the second quarter on a rushing touchdown by Connor Libis. After a defensive stop, St Mary was able to score again before the half on a touchdown pass from Libis to Eli Longville. The Cardinals led 16-0 at halftime.
St Mary scored first in the third quarter on a rushing touchdown by Longville. Moments later Libis intercepted a Raider pass and returned it for a touchdown to push the Cardinal lead to 30-0. The offense put another score on the board on a four-yard run by Weston Geraets to extend the lead to 36-0. The Raiders were able to get a score before the end of the third quarter to make the score 36-6. Longville scored another touchdown on the very first play of the fourth quarter. The two-point conversion was made, and St Mary lead 44-6. The Raiders were able to get a couple of touchdowns to close out the game.
The Cardinals finished with a total of 327 yards of offense, 212 rushing yards and 115 passing yards. The Raiders ended the night with 323 yards of offense, 268 rushing yards and 55 passing yards.
Libis finished 4-6 passing for 115 yards and a touchdown. Libis also had seven carries for 49 yards and a touchdown. Longville had three catches for 80 yards and a touchdown along with seven carries for 66 yards and two rushing touchdowns. Geraets had one catch for 35 yards and eight carries for 75 yards and a touchdown. Longville also led the defense with 10 tackles and interception. Geraets hat 8.5 tackles and two interceptions. Gabriel Lindeman had 5.5 tackles, and Libis finished with 2.5 tackles and an interception.
Head coach Ross Flemmer said, “We played well in spurts tonight. We will have to find a way to start faster and finish stronger in the playoffs. I’m proud of how hard we played and the fact that we overcame some adversity tonight.”
St Mary finishes their regular season with a 7-1 record. They will host the Alcester-Hudson Cubs on Thursday, October 24th. The game can be seen on Big Sioux Media.