Tornadoes blow past Rockets

On Friday, Sept. 2, the New Rockford-Sheyenne Rockets took on an old nemesis: the Cavalier Tornadoes.

Though NR-S had just come off an impressive win the week prior, the Rockets undoubtedly faced a tougher challenge against Cavalier, who are pegged as one of the best 9-man football teams in North Dakota and are expected to compete for this year's state title.

To make matters more difficult, Rockets Head Coach Elliott Belquist wasn't on his team's sideline, as he traveled to Nebraska to watch his son, Bo Belquist, and the UND Fighting Hawks take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

Assistant Coach Tyler Cook took over in Belquist's stead, and he had a mighty challenge ahead of him.

But despite all that was stacked against them, the Rocket's played the Tornadoes incredibly close to start Friday's game. Were it not for a pair of costly fumbles, the Rockets may have even built themselves an early lead.

On defense, the Rockets resembled something of a brick wall - unwilling to allow the Tornadoes past and consistently forcing them off the field.

On offense, meanwhile, the Rockets were able to run the ball surprisingly effectively and managed to drive down the field on a couple occasions.

However, fumbles spoiled the Rockets' two best chances of scoring, which, unfortunately for them, would also be some of their last scoring chances.

As the game progressed, the Tornadoes seemed to diagnose the Rockets' run game. Eventually, more often than not, plays that had worked just minutes earlier were suddenly dead before they began.

Soon enough, the flood gates opened.

After a scoreless first quarter for both teams, Cavalier scored 14 points in the second, six more in the third, and another 12 as the fourth.

Meanwhile, the NR-S offense remained stagnant, and were ultimately unable to score a single point, bringing the night's final score to 32-0 in the Tornadoes favor.

With that, the Rockets' overall record dipped to 1-2 on the young season. NR-S had yet to play a regional opponent, however, which changed on Thursday, Sept. 8 as the Rockets traveled to Fort Totten to play the FW/M Indians - their first Region 4 opponents.

9-man varsity

Non-region football

NR-S 0, Cavalier 32

Friday, Sept. 2

at New Rockford

NR-S: 0 0 0 0 = 0

Cavalier: 0 14 6 12 = 32

Second Quarter:

Cavalier: Landon Carter 64-yard run (two-point conversion good)

Cavalier: Landon Carter 62-yard pass from Sterling Enerson (two-point conversion no good)

Third Quarter:

Cavalier: Landon Carter 3-yard run (two-point conversion no good)

Fourth Quarter:

Cavalier: Sterling Enerson 11-yard run (two-point conversion no good)

Cavalier: Landon Carter 14-yard run (two-point conversion no good)

NR-S Stats were not available as of press time.