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.

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.

In a battle of the top two teams in class 9B, the #1 Colman-Egan Hawks defeated the #2 Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinals 44-26 on Friday, October 11th in Colman on a cold and windy night.  The Hawks scored the first two touchdowns of the game and never trailed.

After forcing the Cardinals to punt on their opening drive, Colman-Egan scored on their first possession on a four-yard run by Nate Tolley.  The two-point conversion was no good.  The Hawks took advantage of an interception and scored again on a Tolley run with just over 5:00 to play in the first quarter.  Eli Bowen scored the two-point conversion for a 14-0 lead.  St Mary cut into the lead with just :33 left in the quarter on a great catch by Weston Geraets in the back of the end zone.  The two-point conversion was no good, and the Cardinals trailed 14-6 after the first quarter.

Tolley scored again for Colman-Egan on a one-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter.  The two-point conversion was also made by Tolley to give the Hawks a 22-6 lead.  Connor Libis pulled the Cardinals within a score after a 19-yard touchdown run.  Libis scored the two-point conversion to make the score 22-14 with 1:12 to play in the half.  Tolley had a big run to set the Hawks up in Cardinal territory with :55 to play.  Colman-Egan was able to finish the drive in the end zone as Tolley scored again on a one-yard run and also scored the two-point conversion.  Colman-Egan led 30-14 at halftime.

St Mary had to kickoff to start the 3rd quarter, and Noah Dennis sent a high kick straight into the wind.  The wind held the ball up in the air, and that turned into a break for St Mary.  The ball fell to the ground, and the Cardinals fell on the ball for an impromptu onside kick recovery.  St Mary took advantage of the break and scored on a four-yard pass from Libis to Eli Longville to cut the lead to 30-20.  The St Mary defense recovered a fumble in Hawk territory giving the Cardinals a chance to cut the lead even more on the ensuing Hawk possession.  However, Colman-Egan’s defense kept the Cardinals out of the end zone and ran out the third quarter leading 30-20.

Chase Hemmer scored for Colman-Egan early in the fourth quarter on a seven-yard run, and Tolley connected with Dalton Voelker for the two-point conversion to push the lead to 38-20.  Libis scored on a two-yard run with 7:22 to play in the game to cut the lead to 38-26.  Colman-Egan, though, scored on a 12-yard run by Tolley with 2:19 to play in the game to seal the victory.

St Mary finished with 241 yards of total offense, 144 rushing yards and 97 passing yards.  Colman-Egan had 305 yards of total offense, 285 rushing yards and 20 passing yards.

Libis had 23 carries for 96 yards and two touchdowns and also went 10-19 passing for 97 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.  Geraets had six catches for 69 yards and a touchdown.  Longville had four catches for 29 yards and a touchdown.

Head coach Ross Flemmer said, “The kids played hard tonight.  I’m proud of their effort.  We will learn from our mistakes and get better heading into the playoffs.”

The Cardinals (6-1) will play the Oldham-Ramona/Rutland Raiders in Ramona on Friday, October 18th.