The Lennox Oriole defense shut down the Quarriers all night in the 11A semifinals on Friday, November 8th in Dell Rapids. The Quarriers were held to just 156 yards of total offense, and the Lennox defense forced five turnovers in a 35-0 victory.
Both defenses played strong in the opening quarter. Lennox was able to get inside the Quarrier 10-yard line late in the first quarter. Dell Rapids was able to get a goal line stand and force a turnover on downs. After a fumble recovery with about 8:00 left in the second quarter on the Dell Rapids 22 yard line, the Quarriers got another fourth down stop on defense to get the ball back. The Lennox defense got an interception with 3:30 to play in the half, but for the third time in the half, Dell Rapids forced a turnover on downs after another fourth down stop. The Quarriers had a chance for some points before halftime, but a 30-yard field goal attempt was no good.
The Orioles started with the ball in the third quarter. They scored on their opening drive on a 20-yard run with 8:48 left in the third. After forcing Dell Rapids to punt on their first drive, the Lennox offense scored on their second drive. With 5:43 to go in the third, they made the score 14-0 after a 12-yard touchdown run. Lennox got the ball right back, and with 4:34 on the clock, the Orioles scored on a 63-yard pass to extend the lead to 21-0.
The Orioles got another interception that led to a score early in the fourth quarter. With 10:16 to play in the game, Lennox got a 41-yard touchdown run to extend the lead to 28-0. The final score came on defense on a 58-yard interception return for a touchdown with 10:01 to play in the game.
Of the 156 yards of offense for Dell Rapids, 71 of those were passing yards and 85 were rushing yards. Lennox finished with 360 yards of offense, 154 passing yards and 206 rushing yards. Cole Ruesink had 12 carries for 41 yards. Drake Eastman had five carries for 35 yards. Cooper Frost was 10-24 passing for 71 yards and four interceptions. Tad Tjaden had three catches for 26 yards. Devin Lodmell also had three catches for 25 yards. Kenny Swanson had eight tackles. Ryan Stubbe finished with seven tackles, and Ruesink added 6.5 tackles.
The season ends for Dell Rapids with an overall record of 8-3.
