Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
UPDATED September 16, 2023
Full stats added
On rare occasions, a seemingly impossible challenge can reveal the greatness within a team.
After a 3-0 start to their season, most already knew the New Rockford-Sheyenne/Maddock Rockets were a good squad. But as they prepared to take on the No. 1 ranked North Prairie Cougars on Friday, Sept. 8, many believed the Rockets' undefeated run would soon be over.
By game's end, however, everyone would understand just how great this year's Rockets truly are.
Taking place on a beautiful evening in Rolette, N.D., the battle of the undefeated teams began firmly in the Rockets' favor.
After stuffing the Cougars on defense to start the game, the Rockets' offense needed just two plays to fly downfield – courtesy of a 65-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Easton Simon to his trusty wide receiver, Easton Benz.
The two-play drive set the tone for how Rockets' Head Coach Elliott Belquist wanted to move the ball against North Prairie. And for the rest of the night, Simon dropped back more than he had all season.
Many of Simon's passes hit their mark, as the Rockets' second touchdown drive was almost exclusively through the air, and would have been but for Connor Knatterud's rushing touchdown to end the drive.
However, some of those passing plays also went awry. Particularly damaging were a pair of red-zone interceptions that gave North Prairie time to strike back, and they did so with perhaps the most predictable offense in football.
To say the Cougars were a one-trick pony during Friday's game would be an understatement.
Their trick of choice? The designed quarterback keeper.
If the Cougars were snapping the ball on offense, their quarterback Blake Mattson would soon be running it. However, Mattson wasn't the Cougars' starting quarterback – actually starting the game under center for North Prairie was Jeffry Rosinski.
Rosinski played for the first couple of drives on Friday, which were unsuccessful, but left with an injury early in the game. It was later revealed that he'd fractured his leg.
So, Mattson took over at quarterback, and that's when the North Prairie offense came to life.
Like the Rockets, North Prairie also scored two touchdowns in the first half of Friday's game, but they did so using Mattson's legs.
The Rockets ultimately entered halftime with a 15-14 lead, but the wind was undoubtedly in North Prairie's sails by then, and that slim advantage would soon disappear.
More turnovers and numerous costly penalties in the second half brought the Rockets to a screeching halt offensively, and suddenly the Cougars could do no wrong.
Mattson's prowess running the ball gave his team two additional touchdowns, bringing the score to 15-28 with only a handful of minutes left in regulation. Suddenly, all appeared lost for the Rockets.
Crucially, however, as the Rockets began a late-game drive deep inside their own territory, wide receiver Macyn Olson flew past his sole defender, and Simon rewarded him with a perfectly thrown ball that arrived in stride, allowing Olson to sprint untouched into the end zone.
The score brought the Rockets to within 6, and breathed new life into their worn-down defense.
The Cougars' one-dimensional attack suddenly appeared beatable, and a pair of necessary stops were made by the Rockets' defense in the closing minutes – one of which came after a devastating sack-fumble that set the Cougars up well within Rockets' territory.
Those decisive stops gave NR-S/M enough time for one last drive.
Starting at their own 32-yard line, a pair of short passes from Simon earned a quick first down, but an 11-yard sack erased that progress just as fast.
Then, Logan Maddock was the first of two Rockets to show up big when it mattered most.
On second-and-21, an accurate throw over the middle reached Maddock short of the sticks, before a quick pivot towards the sideline allowed him to run for a first down and a little more.
The next play from scrimmage was a quick screen pass to Connor Knatterud, and he had blockers out front.
Knatterud quickly turned up field and weaved his way through the defense, sprinting 40 yards into the end zone and tying the game at 28-28.
Less than a minute was remaining in regulation, and only an extra-point was needed to take the lead. But of course, as if it was scripted, Knatterud's kick was blocked and the game entered overtime shortly after.
In high school football overtime, each team starts on the 10-yard line in a first-and-goal situation. The teams get one opportunity each, and the team that scores the most points wins.
The Rockets won the coin toss so they were up first, and on third-and-5 a quick toss to the outside was caught by Easton Benz, who promptly dove into the end zone for the score. Simon then threw a beautiful pass to Benz for the two-point conversion as well, bringing the score to 36-28.
The Cougars responded with a 1-yard TD run on fourth down, but a two-point conversion was still necessary if they were to tie the game and force another round of overtime.
Everyone knew what was coming: the ball would be snapped to Mattson and he would charge forward, needing only a few yards for the conversion.
Rockets' senior Cole Knudson knew this too.
When the ball was snapped, Knudson flew around the right tackle virtually untouched and soon latched onto Mattson from behind, at which point he ripped the quarterback to the ground short of the goal line.
Thrown into raptures, Rocket players were soon mobbing each other on the field, visibly ecstatic at what they'd just accomplished.
The stunning victory kept NR-S/M undefeated on the season at 4-0, and with plenty of good vibes heading into their bye week.
Friday's battle of the undefeated teams was supposed to prove why North Prairie was ranked No. 1 in North Dakota, and why NR-S/M wasn't even top 5.
But when the dust finally settled on Friday's game, it was the Rockets that emerged as state-championship contenders.
High-quality pictures from the game, as well as all the Rockets' games this season, are available for purchase at transcript.smugmug.com.
9-Man
Region 2 Football
NR-S/M 36, NP 34
Friday, Sept. 8
at Rollette
First Quarter:
NR-S/M: Benz 64-yard pass from Simon (extra-point good)
Second Quarter:
NP: 26-yard run (two-point conversion good)
NR-S/M: Knatterud 30-yard run (two-point conversion good)
NP: 2-yard run (failed two-point conversion)
Third quarter:
NP: 20-yard run (failed two-point conversion)
Fourth quarter:
NP: 5-yard run (two-point conversion good)
NR-S/M: Macyn Olson 72-yard pass from Simon (extra-point good)
NR-S/M: Knatterud 40-yard pass from Simon (kick no good)
Overtime:
NR-S/M: Benz 2-yard pass from Simon (two-point conversion good)
NP: 1-yard run (failed two-point conversion)
NR-S/M Stats:
Passing: Simon 23-of-34, 384 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT.
Rushing: Knatterud 7 attempts, 53 yards, 1 TD; Logan Maddock 2 attempts, 4 yards.
Receiving: Benz, 7 receptions, 121 yards, 2 TD; Maddock, 7 receptions, 95 yards; Olson, 4 receptions, 77 yards, 1 TD; Knattrerud, 2 receptions, 49 yards, 1 TD; Fossen, 3 receptions, 42 yards.
Tackles: (unassisted-assisted): Kage Walford (5-1); Maddock (2-3); Olson (2-1); Collier (0-4); Fossen (4-2), 1 TFL; Cole Knudson (2-2); Benz (8-0), 2 TFL; DJ Mudgett (3-1), 1 TFL; Brody Weisenburger (2-2), 1 TFL; Knatterud (5-0); Engebretson (7-2), 1 TFL; Kailer Jacobson (1-4).
