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For the third straight year, the Dell Rapids Quarriers and West Central Trojans played one another in the opening round of the 11A playoffs. The Trojans had won the last two meetings, but the Quarriers won this battle 19-15 at home on Thursday, October 28th.
Dell Rapids got on the board first with a touchdown on their opening drive. They had 15-play, 80-yard drive that lasted 7:28. Austin Henry threw a seven-yard touchdown pass to Braden Fersdahl to give the Quarriers a 6-0 lead. That was the only score of the half, and Dell Rapids led 6-0 at halftime.
After forcing Dell Rapids into a punt just 1:30 into the third quarter, West Central had a three-play, 33-yard drive that took only 1:03 for the tying score. Gavin Koch threw a 40-yard pass to Mason Berens with 9:24 to go in the third quarter. The extra point was good to give the Trojans a 7-6 lead. The score remained 7-6 in favor of West Central heading into the final quarter.
Dell Rapids got the lead back with 6:48 to go in the game on a 29-yard touchdown pass from Henry to Brayden Pankonen. The two-point conversion failed, but Dell Rapids led 12-7. The Trojans responded with a score just a minute and 28 seconds later when Koch found Owen Heath for a 33-yard touchdown pass. The two-point conversion pass from Koch to Logan Maras was good to give West Central a 15-12 lead.
The Quarriers would put together one more drive. Dell Rapids went 65 yards in six plays. Henry threw his second touchdown pass to Fersdahl, this time from eight yards away with 1:52 to go in the game. Aiden Boechler made the extra point to make the score 19-15 in favor of Dell Rapids. West Central got the ball to the Dell Rapids 37-yard line, but a holding penalty sent them back to midfield. The Trojans had four chances from there to score, but turned the ball over on downs with just five seconds left in the game.
The Trojans had 219 yards of total offense, 185 passing yards and 34 rushing yards. The Quarriers finished with 230 yards of offense, 146 passing yards and 84 rushing yards. West Central finished with 11 first downs and were also 4-12 on third down conversions. Dell Rapids had a total of 13 first downs and were 4-12 on third down conversions.
Koch was 14-26 for 185 yards and two touchdowns. Braden Diericks had six catches for 57 yards. Heath had three catches for 64 yards and a touchdown. Berens had a catch for 40 yards for a touchdown. Jacob Krempges had three receptions for 14 yards. Koch had six carries for 10 yards. Berens finished with 10 rushes for nine yards. Heath also had a carry for nine yards. Logan Maras had a game-high 12 tackles. Dylan Stromer finished with seven tackles. Tommy Berg had six tackles, and Zach Madsen and Caden Hall both had five tackles. Hall also had an interception.
West Central finishes the 2021 season with a 4-6 overall record.