For the second year in a row, the Dell Rapids Quarrier football team had their season come to an end at the hands of the West Central Trojans in the quarterfinals of the 11A playoffs.  Dell Rapids traveled to Hartford to play the Trojans on Thursday, October 29th, and West Central advanced to the semifinals with a 16-14 victory over the Quarriers.

West Central started the game with a fury.  After receiving the kickoff, the Trojans scored in two plays taking a total of 38 seconds and covering 68  yards.  Justin Zirpel had a run of 49 yards, and Ryan Healy scored on a 19-yard run to give West Central a 7-0 lead.  The Dell Rapids defense was able  to contain the  Trojans after that opening drive.

The Quarriers got on the board late in the second quarter.  The Quarriers had an eight-play, 47-yard drive that ended with a one-yard touchdown run by Coby Maeschen.  Aiden Boechler kicked the extra point to tie the game 7-7 with 3:03 to play in the first half.  The Trojans were able to get one more score on the board before halftime.  Derek Eidsness made a 20-yard field goal with :09 to play in the second quarter for a 10-7 lead heading into halftime.

Dell Rapids put together an impressive drive to start the third quarter.  After receiving the kickoff and starting on their own 20-yard line, the Quarriers marched down the field 80 yards on 13 plays taking almost seven minutes off the clock.  Maeschen found the endzone again, this time on a 15-yard run with 5:02 to play in third quarter.  Another extra point by Boechler gave the Quarriers a 14-10 lead.  Both defenses continued to play strong, and the score remained 14-10 in favor of Dell Rapids at the end of the third quarter.

The Quarriers seemed to be gaining momentum.  The defense forced a punt, and the offense took over on their own 33-yard line with 9:36 to go in the game.  Landon Ruesink had a 27-yard run on the first play of the drive to the Trojan 40-yard line.  The Quarriers were then faced with a fourth down and two yards to go on the West Central 32-yard line, and the Trojan defense was able to stop the Quarriers and take over the ball with 7:24 to play.

That defensive stop seemed to give West Central momentum.  They put together a 10 play, 66-yard drive that took five minutes and 35 seconds.  Zirpel scored on a quarterback sneak from the one-yard line with 1:49 to play in the game.  The extra point was no good, but the Trojans took a 16-14 lead.  The Quarriers were able to get the ball to their own 39 yard line with just over a minute to play, but the drive stopped there and the Trojans held on for the win.

The Quarriers finished with 227 yards of total offense, 143 rushing yards and 84 passing yards.  West Central had 231 yards of total offense,  all of those  rushing yards.  Both teams had a total of 11 first downs, and each team committed three penalties and punted four times.

Austin Henry finished the game 3-10 passing for 66 yards.  Colin Rentz was 1-1 passing for 18 yards.  Ruesink had two catches for 52 yards, Henry had a catch for 18 yards, and Rentz had a catch for 14 yards.  Ruesink also had 12 carries for 47 yards.  Maeschen finished with 12 carries for 37 yards and two touchdowns.  Brayden Gee had seven carries for 30 yards, and Henry had four carries for 25 yards.  Ruesink led the team with nine tackles in the game.  Gee had eight tackles.  Maeschen and Landon VonHoltum both had seven tackles each, and Carter Nelson and Victory Knuppe both had six tackles each.

Dell Rapids has their 2020 season come to an end with an overall record of 5-4.

	1	2	3	4		Final
Dell Rapids	0	7	7	0		14
West Central	7	3	0	6		16

The Dell Rapids Quarrier football team played in their final regular season game in Tea on Thursday, October 22nd . The Quarriers and Titans put on a show for the fans who braved the cold and wind.  The two teams went to double overtime with the Titans getting the 26-20 win.

The Quarriers scored first after taking advantage of a fumble and punt.  Landon Von Holtum scored on a one-yard run with 1:44 to go in the quarter.  The extra point was good by Aiden Boechler to give Dell Rapids a 7-0 lead.  Neither team scored the remainder of the first half, and the Quarriers maintained a 7-0 lead at halftime.

The Titans scored on their first possession of the first half to tie the game.  Austin Lake threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Kade Schentzel with 8:28 to play in the third quarter.  Tea then scored on their second possession to take the lead.  Garret Kolbeck scored on a 14-yard run with 11:52 to play in the fourth quarter for a 14-7 lead.

Dell Rapids responded with a six-play scoring drive that lasted 3:35.  Austin Henry connected with Landon Ruesink on a 30-yard pass with 8:17 to play in the game to tie the game 14-14. 

Tea’s next drive lasted just over seven minutes on 11 plays, but the drive ended in an interception inside the  10-yard line with 1:09 to play in the game.  The Quarriers’ drive ended in a punt after four plays following the interception.  The Titans also had one more possession in regulation, but did not score.

Each time had an opportunity on offense in the overtime period.  Dell Rapids scored on their first possession.  Henry scored on a one-yard quarterback sneak.  The extra point was no good, and the Quarriers led 20-14.  Tea also scored on their overtime possession when Lake also scored on a quarterback sneak.  Tea’s extra point to win the game was also missed, leaving the game tied at 20-20.  The Titans got the ball first in the second overtime, and Kaden Johnson scored on a one-yard touchdown run.  The extra point was missed again, and the Titans led 26-20.  Dell Rapids’ second overtime possession ended on a turnover on downs, giving the Titans a the 26-20 victory.

Dell Rapids finished the game with 198 yards of total offense, 133 rushing yards and 65 passing yards.  The Titans had 290 yards of offense, 211 rushing yards and 79 passing yards. 

Ruesink finished with 16 carries for 44 yards.  Ruesink also had three catches for 65 yard and a touchdown.  Von Holtum had 10 carries for 36 yards and a touchdown.  Brayden Gee had eight carries for 36 yards, and Henry had five carries for 17 yards and a touchdown.  Henry was also 3-14 passing with one touchdown and one interception.  Gee, Ruesink, and Coby Maeschen all finished with eight tackles each.  Cody Schultz finished with six tackles, and Victor Knuppe had five tackles.  Colin Rentz and Ruesink had fumble recoveries.

Dell Rapids finishes the regular season with a 5-3 record.  The Quarriers will be the #6 seed in the 11A playoffs and will travel to Hartford to play the #3 West Central Trojans on Thursday, October 29th.  The game can be seen on Big Sioux Media.

	1	2	3	4	OT1	OT2		Final
Dell Rapids	7	0	0	7	6	0		20
Tea Area	0	0	7	7	6	6		26

The Dell Rapids Quarriers not only had their homecoming game on Friday, October 16th, but it was their final home game of the regular season.  The Quarriers hosted the West Central Trojans, but the Trojans spoiled the homecoming game with a 34-0 victory.

West Central had every aspect of their game working against the Quarriers.  The Trojans held the ball for 22:26 of the clock, while racking up 17 first downs.  They had a total of 391 yards of offense, all of them on the ground.  Dell Rapids was held to just seven first downs in the game on 154 yards of total offense.  The Quarriers had just 43 rushing yards and 111 passing yards.

The Trojans scored two rushing touchdowns in the first quarter for a 14-0 lead.  They added another touchdown and a field goal before halftime for a 24-0 lead.  The Trojans added 10 more points in the second half on another field goal in the third quarter and a rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Landon VonHoltum had five carries for 22 yards in the game.  Brayden Gee had five carries for 20 yards, and Ian Mason had three carries for 11 yards.  Austin Henry was 10-16 passing for 111 yards.  Brayden Pankonen had two catches for 54 yards.  Victory Knuppe had two catches for 26 yards, and Carter Nelson had two catches for 20 yards.  Colin Rentz, Avery Boechler, Coby Maeschen, and Gee also had catches.

The defense was led by Maeschen who had 14 tackles in the game.  Cody Schultz finished with six tackles.  Knuppe and VonHoltum had five tackles each.  Gee and Henry both finished with four tackles.

Dell Rapids (5-2) will travel to Tea to play the #1 ranked Tea Area Titans on Thursday, October 22nd to end the regular season.

	1	2	3	4		Final
West Central	14	10	3	7		34
Dell Rapids	0	0	0	0		0