Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Trevor Waldo fends off a Larimore tackler for a big gain.
Alex Weisenburger puts pressure on Polar Bear quarterback Eric Hoffmann on this play, and the pass was intercepted by Brody Weisenburger.
They've done it again.
The New Rockford-Sheyenne Rockets have defied expectations, defeating the Larimore Polar Bears and securing their fourth playoff appearance in five years.
Entering their last game of the regular season on Friday, Oct. 7, the Rockets were down multiple starters due to injury and were coming off back-to-back defeats as a result.
They also entered Larimore knowing that, by the end of the day, they were likely to be in a three-way tie for second place in the region regardless, leaving their playoff hopes largely up to fate.
Nevertheless, the Rockets - who were now almost entirely comprised of underclassmen - fought hard to end their regular season on the right note, and that's exactly what happened.
NR-S completely shut out their opponents in what was easily their best game of the year defensively, something Rockets Head Coach Elliott Belquist attributes to a good week of practice leading up to the game.
"I felt like we had a really good week of practice and took care of some things that were haunting us, and that was tackling," said Belquist. "We spent a little bit each day working on it and it really showed in the game. Kids came up and tackled better, it was a night and day difference."
The Rockets' defense forced three interceptions as well, keeping the Polar Bears' offense off the field in key situations.
Leading the way on defense for NR-S were sophomores Brody Weisenburger and Kailar Jacobson. Weisenburger earned himself one interception as well as 10 combined tackles, while Jacobson amassed 11 combined tackles including one tackle for loss.
Also getting an interception were Trevor Waldo and D.J. Mudgett.
Meanwhile, a few lineup changes on offense helped as well, said Belquist, including moving Bennett Meier to wingback and Easton Simon to quarterback.
Simon, a freshman, went 5-of-10 passing for 83 yards and two touchdowns, including a beautiful 51 yard touchdown pass to sophomore Kage Walford in the fourth quarter.
Walford, by the way, has become a more and more reliable receiver as the season has gone on, and ahead of their playoff game Belquist said they'd be looking to pass more often.
However, most of the Rockets' offensive production came by way of sophomore Bradyn Collier, who gashed the Polar Bears' defense to the tune of 121 rushing yards and a touchdown.
It was impossible not to notice that, across the board, both offensively and defensively, the Rockets' underclassmen were getting the job done in the face of adversity.
Many of their teammates, particularly the starting upperclassman, have been injured. Luke Yri, Easton Benz, Connor Knatterud and Haydon Meier are all done for the year with various injuries, leaving it up to others to pick up the slack.
"It was just huge to see those guys step up to the challenge, and it made us truly proud of these guys and not giving up," said Belquist. "They could have easily just shut down and called it quits."
Instead, they propelled NR-S to a confidence boosting finish to their regular season, which was made all the more important when it was announced that, due to point differential, the Rockets broke a tie with Four Winds/Minnewauken to finish in third place in region 4 and advance to the playoffs.
The Rockets' first round opponents were the North Border Eagles, and they traveled all the way to Pembina on Saturday for the match. That game will be covered on the Transcript's website shortly after the game concludes, as well as in the next edition of the paper.
9-man Varsity
Non-region football
NR-S 20, Larimore 0
Friday, Oct. 7
at Larimore
NR-S: 0 6 6 8 - 20
Larimore: 0 0 0 0 - 0
Second Quarter:
NR-S: Kage Walford 7-yard pass from Easton Simon (Failed two-point conversion)
Third Quarter:
NR-S: Bradyn Collier 2-yard run (Failed two-point conversion)
Fourth Quarter:
NR-S: Kage Walford 51-yard pass from Easton Simon (Trevor Waldo run for two-point conversion)
NR-S stats:
Passing: Simon 5-for-10 for 83 yards, 2 TDs.
Rushing: Collier 20 attempts for 121 yards, 1 TD; B. Meier 4 attempts for 17 yards; Waldo 7 attempts for 28 yards; Simon 2 attempts for 4 yards.
Receiving: Walford 2 receptions for 58 yards, 2 TDs; B. Meier 1 reception for 26 yards.
Tackling (unassisted, assisted): Brody Weisenburger (3, 7); D.J. Mudgett (0, 2); Keaton Cudworth (2, 4); Kailar Jacobson (5, 7), 1 TFL; Walford (1, 4); Easton Benz (4, 6); Alex Weisenburger (3, 3); Waldo (1,1); Collier (1,2); L. Laducer (0,1); B. Meier (1,3).
