The defense for the Dell Rapids Quarriers led the team to a 20-0 win over the Tri-Valley Mustangs on  Friday, September 25th, at home.  The defense held Tri-Valley to under 50 yards of total offense and had two takeaways in the game.

The Quarrier defense played a key role in the first score of the game.  Tri-Valley opened the game on offense, but Austin Henry intercepted a pass, which led to the Quarriers first touchdown.  Coby Maeschen scored on an eight-yard touchdown run with 7:58 to play in the first quarter, about a minute and a half after the Henry interception.  Aiden Boechler made the extra point to give Dell Rapids a 7-0 lead. 

The defenses for both teams kept the offenses off balance for the remainder of the first half.  Neither team was able to get the ball in the endzone, and Dell Rapids held the same 7-0 lead at halftime.

Both teams where held to just three plays before having to punt in their respective opening drives of the second half.  Dell Rapids started their second possession of the third quarter with 6:54 left in the quarter.  They held the ball for the remained of the quarter on a long sustained drive.  The Quarriers put the ball in the endzone for the second time on a four-yard touchdown run by Landon Ruesink with 11:25 to play in the game.  The touchdown ended a 13 play drive of 53 yards that lasted seven and a half minutes.

Tri-Valley then fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and Brayden Gee recovered the fumble for Dell Rapids.  The Quarriers put another quick score on the board with 8:58 remaining on a one-yard touchdown run by Gee to give the Quarriers a 20-0 lead.  That score held until the end of the game.

Dell Rapids finished with 218 yards of total offense, 173 rushing yards and 45 passing yards.  Tri-Valley was held to just 39 yards of total offense, 27 rushing yards and 12 passing yards.  Dell Rapids had 17 first downs compared to just three by the Mustangs.

Henry finished the game 3-7 passing for 45 yards.  Ruesink, Gee, and Victor Knuppe all had a catch of 15 yards.  Ruesink also finished with 17 carries for 84 yards and a touchdown.  Maeschen had 9 carries for 60 yards and a touchdown.  Landon VonHoltum added six carries for 38 yards.

Maeschen anchored the defense with 11 tackles in the game.  Gee and Ruesink both had six tackles.  VonHoltum, Brayden Pankonen and Mitchell Klinkenborg both had three tackles each. 

Dell Rapids (5-0) will travel to North Sioux City to play the Dakota Valley Panthers on Friday, October 2nd.

	1	2	3	4		Final
Tri-Valley	0	0	0	0		0
Dell Rapids	7	0	0	13		20

After recognizing and celebrating the 12 seniors prior to the game, the Dell Rapids Quarriers scored a big win over the Mitchell Kernels on Friday, September 18th.  Both teams entered the game with 3-0 records and at the top of their respective class seed points.   Dell Rapids remained unbeaten with a 23-22 come-from-behind win in a physical, back-and-forth contest.

Dell Rapids delivered the first blow when Landon Ruesink scored on a 60-yard touchdown run with 4:16 to play in the opening quarter.  The Quarriers surprised the Kernels with a fake extra point attempt, and Connor Rentz connected with Ruesink on a pass for the two-point conversion for an 8-0 lead.  The score remained 8-0 at the end of the first quarter.

Mitchell got on the board late in second quarter.  Parker Phillips scored on a 54-yard run with 2:08 to play in the half.  The Kernels attempted a two-point conversion, but failed, and Dell Rapids held an 8-6 lead at halftime.

The Kernels seemed to pick up momentum in the third quarter.  Phillips scored again with 8:19 to play in the quarter on a 60-yard run.  He also scored the two-point conversion to give Mitchell a 14-8 lead.  Mitchell extended the lead with 3:51 to go on an 89-yard run by Tucker Vilhauer.  The two-point conversion was made by Josh Grosdidier to extend the Kernel lead to 22-8.

All momentum seemed to be with Mitchell at that time, but on the very first play of the Quarriers’ next offensive possession, Landon VonHoltum had a 65-yard run to give Dell Rapids a spark.  The run by VonHoltum set up seven-yard run by Ruesink with 2:28 to go in the quarter.  Victor Knuppe made the extra point, and Dell Rapids trailed 22-15 at the end of the third quarter.

The Quarrier defense held Mitchell and got the ball back to start the fourth quarter.  They put together a long drive that lasted nearly six minutes.  Coby Maeschen scored on a seven-yard run with 6:48 to play in the game pulling the Quarriers within a point at 22-21.  Instead going for the tie, Dell Rapids elected to go for the two point conversion.  Ruesink found the endzone, and the Quarriers went ahead 23-22.

Mitchell had one last drive late in the game to try for the win.  They were able to drive the ball to the Dell Rapids 20-yard line with just :07 to play in the game.  The Kernels attempted a 30-yard game winning field goal, but the snap was too low to be handled, and the Quarriers recovered the ball for the win.

Dell Rapids finished with 393 yards of total offense, 296 rushing yards and 97 passing yards.  Mitchell had 388 yards of total offense, 368 rushing yards and 20 passing yards.

Austin Henry was 7-17 passing for 97 yards and an interception.  Ruesink had four catches for 67 yards.  Knuppe had two catches for 17 yards.  Ruesink had 17 carries for 133 yards and two touchdowns.  VonHoltum had three carries for 70 yards, and Maeschen had 13 carries for 63 yards and a touchdown.  Maeschen led the defense with 17 tackles.  Brayden Gee had seven tackles.  Henry, Connor Rentz, VonHoltum, and Knuppe all had six tackles each.

Dell Rapids (4-0) will host the Tri-Valley Mustangs on Friday, September 25th.  The game can be seen on Big Sioux Media.

This year’s seniors for the Dell Rapids Quarrier football team are Connor Rentz, Colin Rentz, Avery Boechler, Carter Nelson, Coby Maeschen, Brayden Gee, Jakob Letsche, Mitchell Klinkenborg, Cody Schultz, Kyle Cavigielli, Zach Schreier, and Ian Hackett.

	1	2	3	4		Final
Mitchell	0	6	16	0		22
Dell Rapids	8	0	7	8		23