A strong defensive effort, timely big plays, and a missed extra point proved to be the difference for the fifth-ranked Dell Rapids Quarriers in a 14-13 win over the second-ranked Madison Bulldogs on Friday, September 13th.  Dell Rapids never trailed in the game.

The Quarriers started the game on offense and promptly scored on their opening drive.  After a couple of third down plays that resulted in first downs to keep the drive alive, Logan Stone scored on a 16-yard run with 5:53 to go in the quarter.  The drive lasted nine plays for 76 yards.  Aiden Boechler made the extra point giving Dell Rapids a 7-0 lead.  The score would remain 7-0 at the end of the first quarter.

Madison scored early in the second quarter.  Tyler Tappe connected with Jacob Unterbrunner on a 32-yard touchdown pass with 11:21 to go in the half capping an eight play, 64-yard drive.  Trey Smith made the extra point to tie the game at 7-7.  Dell Rapids didn’t waste any time regaining the lead.  The Quarriers scored two minutes later when Colin Rentz hit Mason Goeken for with a 63-yard touchdown pass with 9:19 to play in the second quarter.  Boechler again made the extra point to put the Quarriers back in front at 14-7.  The quick strikes kept coming as Madison scored less then two minutes after Dell Rapids.  Mason Avery scored on a 10-yard run with 7:25 to play, but this time Smith missed the extra point keeping Dell Rapids in front at 14-13.  The Dell Rapids defense forced a Bulldog punt late in the second quarter giving the Quarrier offense the ball back on their own 18 yard line with :36 to play in the half.  Two plays later after catches by Logan Ellingson and Tyler Wood, Dell Rapids was at the Madison 35-yard line.  The drive would end in an interception, but Dell Rapids held a 14-13 lead at halftime.

The Bulldogs started the second half with the ball, and after a three minute drive to the Dell Rapids 26-yard line, the Quarrier defense held on a fourth down for a turnover on downs with 8:57 to play in the third quarter.  The Quarriers’ first drive of the second half ended in a punt, and the Bulldogs got the ball back with 4:28 to go in the quarter.  Madison drove the ball down the field and looked as if they were going to take the lead after a completed pass to Unterbrunner in the endzone with :26 to go, but a holding penalty negated the touchdown, and the third quarter ended with Dell Rapids still leading 14-13.

Madison’s drive continued with the first play of the fourth quarter, which was a fourth down play at the Dell Rapids 24-yard line.  Again the Quarrier defense held tough and forced a turnover on downs.  Dell Rapids drove the ball to the Madison 30-yard line, but were faced with a fourth down and 14 yards to go.  A pass to the endzone fell incomplete, but the Bulldogs were called for a pass interference penalty to keep the Quarrier drive alive.  Dell Rapids was once again faced with a fourth down, this time a completed pass to Ellingson resulted in a first down to the Bulldog three-yard line with 4:52 to play in the game.  Madison was able to keep Dell Rapids out of the endzone on a fourth and goal though, and got the ball back with 3:02 to play.  Madison had the ball at their own 30-yard line when Connor Rentz intercepted a Tappe pass at the Bulldog 35-yard line with 1:40 to play.  The Quarriers were able to kneel out the clock for the win.

The Quarriers finished the game with 288 yards of offense, 52 rushing yards ant 236 passing yards.  Dell Rapids had 15 first downs and was 5-13 on third down and 2-3 on fourth down.  Madison had 341 yards of offense, 218 rushing yards and 123 passing yards.  The Bulldogs were also 5-13 on third down, but 3-6 on fourth down attempts.

Colin Rentz finished 9-15 passing for 236 yards with one touchdown and one interception.  Ellingson had six catches for 131 yards.  Goeken had a 63-yard touchdown catch.  Wood had two catches for 42 yards.  Wood led the team with five rushes for 27 yards.  Coby Maeschen had nine carries for 20 yards, and Stone had 15 carries for 17 yards and a touchdown.  Carter Rentz led the team with 11 tackles in the game.  Maeschen finished the night with 10 tackles.  Brayden Gee had nine tackles and a sack.  Trevon Cross added seven tackles.

Dell Rapids (3-0) will travel to Mitchell for their next game on Friday, September 20th.

After a scoreless first quarter, the Dell Rapids Quarriers scored 28 points in the second quarter on their way to a 42-0 over the Flandreau Fliers on Friday, September 6th in their home opener of the 2019 season.

Logan Stone scored the first touchdown on a 44-yard run.  The extra point was no good, and the Quarriers led 6-0.  Colin Rentz connected with Logan Ellingson on a 58-yard strike down the left sideline with 5:14 to play in the half.  The two-point conversion was good on a run by Tyler Wood to make it a 14-0 lead.  After a Drew VanRegenmorter interception, Rentz and Ellingson connected again, this time on a 28-yard pass.  The extra point was good by Aiden Boechler, and Dell Rapids led 21-0.  The Quarriers were not done.  The Dell Rapids defense forced a Flandreau punt to give the Quarriers the ball with 1:28 to play in the half.  Dell Rapids marched down the field, and Stone scored on an 11-yard run with :34 to play in the second quarter.  The extra point put the Quarriers out in front 28-0 by halftime.

Dell Rapids added two more scores in the fourth quarter.  Carter Rentz scored on a five-yard run, and Landon VonHoltum scored on a four-yard run to close out the win.

The Quarriers finished the game with 439 yards of offense, 180 passing yards and 259 rushing yards.  Flandreau was held to just 89 total yards of offense, 61 passing yards and 28 rushing yards.  The Fliers had just seven first downs compared to 21 first downs for Dell Rapids.

Colin Rentz finished the game going 10-15 passing for 180 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception.  Ellingson had three catches for 95 yards and two tochdowns.  Coby Maeschen had a catch for 53 yards, and Wood had a catch for 33 yards.  Stone finished the game with 13 carries for 126 yards and two scores.  Trevon Cross led the defense with six tackles and a sack.  VanRegenmorter had five tackles and an interception. Logan Ruesink and Thane Hilmoe each had a fumble recovery.

Dell Rapids (2-0) will host the Madison Bulldogs on Friday, September 13th.  The game can be seen on Big Sioux Media.

A touchdown with :28 to go in the game and a made extra point gave the Dell Rapids Quarriers a 7-6 over the Lennox Orioles on Friday, August 30th in Lennox to open the 2019 season.  Coby Maeschen reached the ball across the goal line on a four-yard run on third down, and Aiden Boechler kicked the game-winning extra point for the win.

The game featured plenty of excitement including big defensive stops, drive altering penalties, momentum changing turnovers, and a last second score. 

Lennox took the opening kickoff and put together a well-scripted opening drive.  The Orioles marched down the field 65 yards and scored on the first drive of the game.  Haden Mendel scored on a one-yard touchdown run with 8:18 to play in the first quarter.  The two point conversion failed, and Lennox led 6-0.  Dell Rapids drove the ball into Oriole territory on their opening drive, but had their drive stop on a fourth down for a turnover on downs.  The two teams went back and forth throughout the first half getting the ball into each other’s side of the field only to have the defenses hold tough. 

The Quarriers looked as if they were going to tie the game on their first drive of the third quarter.  They held the ball for seven minutes and drove to the Lennox four yard line.  A fumbled snap was recovered by the Orioles, and the Quarriers were kept off the board.  Lennox then held the ball for nearly seven minutes on their first drive of the second half, which took the game into the fourth quarter, only to have their drive end in a punt.  Dell Rapids’ second drive also ended in a punt, but Colin Rentz was able to pin Lennox back to their own 10 yard line.  The Quarrier defense came out strong and held Lennox to just two yards forcing the Orioles to punt deep in their own territory.  Landon Ruesink made a fair catch on the Lennox 45 yard line with about 4:30 to go in the game.

The game-winning drive did feature some drama.  The Quarriers converted on a fourth down, Rentz made two great scrambles to avoid sacks as well as connect on a couple of passes, and then Maeschen pushed his way into the endzone on a third and short after a measurement which preserved a timeout for Dell Rapids.  The Quarriers then used the timeout to talk about the strategy for the extra point, and it was decided to send Boechler out to attempt the kick.  Boechler responded by putting the football through the middle of the uprights to give the Quarriers the lead.

Lennox’s last drive was also full of tension.  The drive started on their own 30 yard line.  The first play was a 19-yard pass to the Lennox 49, and the Orioles called a timeout.  The second play was a completed pass to the Dell Rapids 39 yard line.  The third play was a nine-yard gain to the Dell Rapids 30.  Lennox called back-to-back timeouts with :05 to play to put together their last second play.  Josh Arlt heaved the ball to the goal line looking for Will Daugherty, but Ruesink jumped in front of Daugherty and knocked the ball away to seal the victory for Dell Rapids.

The Quarriers finished the game with 220 total yards of offense, 101 passing yards and 119 rushing yards.  Dell Rapids had 18 first downs and turned the ball over two times.  Rentz was 10-18 passing for 101 yards and an interception.  Maeschen had five catches for 56 yards, Tyler Wood had three catches for 29 yards, and Logan Ellingson had two catches for 16 yards.  Maeschen also had 13 carries for 48 yards and a touchdown.  Logan Stone had 13 carries for 37 yards.  Drew VanRegenmorter finished with seven tackles and a sack.  Ruesink had six tackles.  Brayden Gee, Connor Rentz, and Maeschen all had five tackles each.  Trevon Cross had four tackles, and Ellingson recorded an interception.

Dell Rapids (1-0) will have their first home game of the season on Friday, September 6th when they host the Flandreau Fliers.  The game can be seen on Big Sioux Media.