The Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinal football team fell to the Herreid/Selby Area Wolverines in the quarter final round of the 9B playoffs on Thursday, October 31st.  The Wolverines edged the Cardinals 48-38 to advance to the semifinals.

St Mary got on the board first after a touchdown run by Connor Libis and the two-point conversion by Weston Geraets on the first drive of the game.  The Wolverines pulled within two points with 3:41 to play in the opening quarter after a touchdown run by Wade Begeman.  The first quarter ended with St Mary leading 8-6.

On the first play of the second quarter, Libis connected with Geraets on a three-yard touchdown pass.  Libis and Geraets connected for the two-point conversion to give the Cardinals a 16-6 lead with 11:55 to play in the second quarter.  Trey Sayler scored a rushing touchdown for the Wolverines on their next possession, and the two-point conversion was good to pull Herreid/Selby Area within two points at 16-14.   The Wolverines took the lead later in the second quarter on a nine-yard run by Sayler.  Two two-point conversion was no good, but Herreid/Selby Area took the lead 20-16.  That’s where the score remained at halftime.

The Wolverines struck first in the third quarter on a 57-yard pass play giving Herreid/Selby Area a 26-16 lead early in the third quarter.  Libis found Geraets in the end zone on a five-yard pass with 7:55 to play in the third quarter.  The two-point conversion was good, and St Mary pulled within two points at 26-24.  Herreid/Selby Area answered right back on their next drive with a rushing touchdown.  Two two-point conversion failed, and the Wolverines led 32-24.  The score held at 32-24 heading into the final quarter.

Libis scored on a five-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter.  Libis then scored the two-point conversion to tie the game 32-32 with 11:53 to play.  The Wolverines regained the lead with a touchdown run by Clayton Randall with 8:13 to play.  The two-point conversion was good to make the score 40-32 in favor of the Wolverines.  Libis scored on a 34-yard run on the Cardinals’ next possession.  However, the two-point conversion was no good, and the Wolverines held a 40-38 lead.  Randall scored final big touchdown for Herreid/Selby Area with 1:47 to play.  The two-conversion was good to make it a two-score game at 48-38.

The Cardinals finished the game with 364 yards of total offense, 250 rushing yards and 114 passing yards.  Eli Longville had 18 carries for 153 yards.  Libis had 14 carries for 80 yards and three touchdowns.  Libis was also 11-18 passing for 114 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.  Longville had six catches for 98 yards.  Geraets had three catches for 16 yards and two touchdowns.  Geraets led the defense with 14 tackles.  Longville had 11 tackles, and Libis finished with nine tackles.

Head coach Ross Flemmer said, “The boys played hard Thursday night.  Herreid/Selby Area is a good team.  We had to overcome a lot of adversity early in the game and did.  We hung until the very end.  This was not just a great group of football players, but a great group of young men.  I’m proud to say I got the opportunity to coach them.”

St Mary’s 2019 season comes to an end with an overall record of 8-2.

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.

The Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinal football team has not allowed flood damage to their home field slow them this season.  St Mary had to find a different venue to play their homecoming game on Friday, October 4th.  That place was McEnaney Field, home to the O’Gorman Knights.

The Cardinals hosted the Centerville Tornadoes for their homecoming game and cruised to a 52-0 win by halftime to improve to 6-0 on the season.

St Mary opened the game receiving the kickoff, and they scored early.  Three plays into the game Connor Libis connected with Weston Geraets on a 58-yard pass, which Geraets ripped out of the hands of the defender, for an early 6-0 lead.  After the St Mary defense forced and recovered a fumble, Eli Longville scored on an 18-yard run four plays later.  Libis scored the two-point conversion, and the Cardinals led 14-0 about 10 plays into the game. Centerville took the ball to the Cardinal five yard line on their next drive, but the St Mary defense made a goal line stand and forced a turnover on downs.  The Cardinals marched 95 yard down the field, and Libis scored on a four-yard run.  Libis then hit Ty Brown on the two-point conversion to put St Mary ahead 22-0 with just seconds to play in the quarter.

The Tornadoes drove to the St Mary 20 yard line on their first drive of the second quarter, but Geraets intercepted a pass and returned the ball 89 yards for a Cardinal touchdown.  Libis scored the two-point conversion again to push the St Mary lead to 30-0.  St Mary forced another Centerville turnover on the Tornadoes’ next drive, this time an interception by Libis.  Libis then scored on the next offensive play on a 10-yard run.  Longville scored the two-point conversion to push the lead to 38-0.  The St Mary Cardinals got two more scores on runs by Libis in the quarter for the 52-0 win.

St Mary finished with 247 yards of total offense, 163 rushing yards and 84 passing yards.  Libis had 10 carries for 68 yards and three touchdowns.  Longville had seven carries for 60 yards and a touchdown.  Libis was also 4-7 passing for 84 yards and a touchdown. Geraets had 2 catches for 78 yards and a touchdown.  Longville finished with six tackles.  Libis had five tackles and an interception.  Geraets added 4.5 tackles, an interception and return for touchdown, as well as a forced fumble.

Head coach Ross Flemmer said, “Our offensive and defensive line played well tonight controlling the line of scrimmage.  The boys played hard and came away with a big win.”

The Cardinals (6-0) will travel to Colman to play the #1 ranked Colman-Egan Hawks in a showdown between # and #2 in 9B football.  The game can be seen on Big Sioux Media.

 

The scoring started with the first play going for a 69-yard touchdown and continued you from there for the Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinals.  The Cardinals cruised to a 56-0 win over the Avon Pirates that ended at halftime on Friday, September 20th at Dell Rapids High School.  The game was moved from Rickeman Field to Dell Rapids High School due to the flooding of the Big Sioux River.

Connor Libis connected with Eli Longville on a 69-yard touchdown pass to open up the game, and the Cardinals kept rolling from there.  The Cardinals scored 22 points in the first quarter, and then added 34 more points in the second quarter to end the game at halftime.  The defense was also fantastic in the game.  St Mary allowed just 26 total yards to Avon, 20 rushing yards and six passing yards.

Libis finished the game 3-7 passing for 109 yards and a touchdown.  Longville had all three catches in the game.  Payton Park led the ground attack with six carries for 85 yards and two touchdowns.  Weston Geraets had three carries for 73 yards.  Gabriel Lindeman, CJ Smith, Longville, Libis, and Ryan Eining all had rushing touchdowns in the game.

Longville led the team with five tackles.  Eining added 4.5 tackles.  Lindeman finished with three tackles and a forced fumble.

“Our offensive and defensive lines played a great game.  We had a lot of guys set up tonight and play very well,” said head coach Ross Flemmer.

The Cardinals (5-0) will have their bye week on September 27th.  St Mary will be back in action on Friday, October 4th for homecoming when they host Centerville.  The game can be seen on Big Sioux Media.

In a game that featured two top five and unbeaten teams in Class 9B, the Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinals dominated the Alcester-Hudson Cubs in Alcester on Friday, September 13th.  The Cardinals posted a 66-22 win over the Cubs.

St Mary scored early and often in the first half.  Eli Longville got the Cardinals on the board with a short touchdown run, and then added the two-point conversion for an 8-0 lead.  The Cubs scored on their first drive, but the two-point conversion was no good, and the Cardinals kept an 8-6 lead.  Peyton Park scored on a 42-yard run on the next Cardinal possession.  The made two-point conversion pushed the lead to 16-6 for St Mary.  That’s where the scored ended after the first quarter.

Connor Libis scored the first touchdown of the second quarter with 5:02 to play on a five-yard run.  Libis also scored the two point conversion for a 24-6 lead.  Alcester-Hudson cut the lead to 10 points at 24-14 after a touchdown and made two-point conversion with 1:50 to play in the half.

That’s when the St Mary offense went into overdrive.  Libis scored on a 13-yard run with :44 to play in the quarter.  Longville intercepted a pass on the Cubs’ next play giving the ball back to St Mary.  Libis then connected with Longville with a 15-yard pass.  Libis made the two-point conversion for a 38-14 lead.  St Mary recovered an onside kick.  Libis then threw a 36-yard touchdown pass to Weston Geraets on the next play with :15 to go in the half for a 44-14 lead.  The Cardinals again recovered the onside kick.  Libis and Longville connected again, this time from 13-yards away, right before halftime.  The two-point conversion was good, and the Cardinals led 52-14 at the break.

The Cardinals got a rushing touchdown from Longville and a rushing touchdown from Gabriel Lindeman in the second half in the win.

St Mary finished the game with 502 total yards, 124 passing yards and 378 rushing yards.  The Cubs had 289 yards of total offense, 148 rushing yards and 141 passing yards.

Libis finished the game 5-8 passing for 124 yards and three touchdowns.  Geraets had two catches for 71 yards and a touchdown.  Longville had three catches for 53 yards and two touchdowns.  Lindeman had four carries for 74 yards and a touchdown.  Libis had 11 carries for 66 yards and two touchdowns.  Longville added seven carries for 65 yards and two rushing touchdowns.  Longville also had six tackles and an interception.  Hunter Griffin had six tackles.  Geraets had five tackles, and Lindeman finished with 4.5 tackles and a fumble recovery.

Head coach Ross Flemmer said, “The boys played well tonight.  They really turned it on before half and showed what they are capable of.”

The Cardinals (4-0) are scheduled to play Avon at home on Friday, September 20th.  Stay tuned to Big Sioux Media for any changes to the game due to the flooding in Dell Rapids.

The Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinal offense used big plays and the defense held strong for a 28-0 win over the De Smet Bulldogs on Friday, September 6th in De Smet. This was the first road game for the Cardinals on the season.

Both defenses came to battle on the night. Neither team could really get much of a ground game going, but the Cardinals were able to connect on big plays to break through on the scoreboard.

Facing a fourth down, Weston Geraets scored on a 31-yard run with 2:25 to play in the first quarter. The two-point conversion was no good, but the Cardinals took the early 6-0 lead. On a more sustained drive, Geraets found the endzone again with 8:13 to go in the second quarter. Geraets scored on a six-yard run. Again the two-point conversion failed, and the Cardinals led 12-0. St Mary scored one more time before halftime. Another another fourth down play, Connor Libis threw a 50 yard touchdown pass to Geraets with :34 to go in the half. The two-point conversion was good on a pass from Libis to Eli Longville for a 20-0 lead heading into halftime.

The only score of the second half came with 2:51 to play in the third quarter. Libis connected with Max Herber on a 23-yard pass for a touchdown. Longville scored on the two-point conversion to extend the Cardinal lead to 28-0. The St Mary defense held strong again in the second half to keep the De Smet Bulldogs off the scoreboard in the shutout win.

St Mary had 250 total yards of offense, 131 rushing yards and 119 passing yards. De Smet was held to just 56 yards of total offense by the Cardinal defense.

Geraets had four carries for 49 yards and two touchdowns. Libis had 10 carries for 40 yards. Libis was also 6-16 passing for 119 yards and two touchdowns. Geraets had one catch for 50 yards for a touchdown. Herber had two catches for 50 yards and a touchdown. Longville had 19 receiving yards. Longville led the team on defense with 10 tackles. Gabriel Lindeman had seven tackles and a sack. Geraets had six tackles and three interceptions.

Head coach Ross Flemmer said, “The guys did a great job of overcoming a slow start and getting things rolling. I thought our defensive line played very well tonight.”

The Cardinals (3-0) will be on the road again on Friday, September 13th. St Mary will travel to Alcester to play the Alcester-Hudson Cubs. The game can be seen on Big Sioux Media.

Trailing 7-0 after the first quarter of play, the Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinals scored xxx unanswered points in the second quarter and kept rolling to a 44-27 win over the Castlewood Warriors on Friday, August 30th.  The was was the second straight for the Cardinals at home to start the season.

Castlewood scored late in the first quarter after stopping St Mary on fourth down on the Cardinal 10 yard line.  One play later the Warriors were in the end zone for the early lead.  The score remained 7-0 until the 9:17 mark of the second quarter.  Connor Libis scored on a one-yard run and the two-point conversion was successful on a pass from Libis to Max Herber to take an 8-7 lead.  The Cardinals scored again with 4:04 to play in the half on a two-yard run by Eli Longville.  The two-point conversion was again successful for a 16-7 lead.  Libis connected with Weston Geraets on a deep strike with 1:59 to play for the final score of the first half to give the Cardinals a 24-7 halftime lead.

Longville scored the first touchdown of the third quarter for the Cardinals.  The two-point conversion failed, but St Mary led 30-7.  That score was enough for the Cardinals.  Castlewood scored three times in the fourth quarter, but St Mary added two more scores themselves for the win.

St Mary (2-0) will travel De Smet on Friday, September 6th for their next game, which can be seen on Big Sioux Media.

The Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinals scored 54 unanswered points on their way to a 60-18 season-opening win against the Estelline/Hendricks Redhawks on Friday, August 23rd at Rickemen Field in Dell Rapids.

The Redhawks scored on the opening drive of the game for an early 6-0 lead.  St Mary also scored on their opening drive in the first quarter to tie the game at 6-6 with just over four minutes to play in the quarter.  Estelline/Hendricks scored again with just one second left in the quarter to take a 12-6 lead after one quarter of play.

Connor Libis connected with Weston Geraets for a 50-year touchdown pass on the very first play of the second quarter, and then the Cardinals scored the two-point conversion for a 14-12 lead ten seconds into the second quarter.  St Mary went on to score 18 more points which was capped off by a 52-yard screen pass from Libis to Eli Longville to close out the second quarter for a 32-12 halftime lead.

The offense continued to roll for St Mary into the second half.  The Cardinals scored 18 more unanswered points and led 60-12 with 6:30 to play in the game.  Estelline/Hendricks got a late score to finish the game.

The Cardinals will be at home again on Friday, August 30th when they host the Castlewood Warriors at Rickeman Field.