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.
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