By Mojo Hill
NEW ROCKFORD — Before taking the field on Saturday, Rockets head coach Elliott Belquist saw something different in his group.
“Today before the game, man, I’ve never seen this team so fired up,” Belquist said. “They wanted to come out and play for someone.”
That someone was teammate Tucker Faul. He tragically lost his life in a car accident earlier this week. New Rockford-Sheyenne/Maddock’s first game action since the tragedy happened to be the first round of the playoffs.
The Rockets blasted off for 52 points in the opening quarter.
They scored 30 points over 26 seconds of game clock at one point, with the help of two onside kicks and a kickoff fumble recovery for a touchdown.
“We know he’s up there watching,” NR-S/M quarterback Easton Simon said. “The rolls we got today, he was a part of that. And the rest of the season’s committed to him. We’re determining it to him. … He’s with us every snap, and we’re going to do what we can for him.”
NR-S/M (10-0) rode to an 80-6 bulldozing of Hatton/Northwood (6-4) on New Rockford-Sheyenne’s football/baseball field. The Rockets, with their 22nd consecutive overall victory, grabbed the first of four wins needed for a state title repeat.
“When we get the time to be on the field, that’s a good time for us to forget about everything,” Belquist said. “And it just felt like our kids locked it in. … We just really played with a whole new focus.”
Simon threw for six touchdowns in the first half — five in the first quarter alone. He threw for 289 yards unofficially by the middle of the third quarter.
Thomas Allmaras scored four times, with two receptions, a rush and a pick-six.
“We flew around. We knew what the game plan was,” Simon said. “We just wanted to start fast, play fast, like we always do. And we were able to come out and chuck the ball around a little bit.”
The first two touchdowns were receptions of 35 and 26 yards, respectively, by Easton Benz and Allmaras. The Rockets, up 14-0, forced a three-and-out on each of the Thunder’s first two possessions.
After a 20-yard carry by Jackson Schumacher, a one-yard touchdown rush by Allmaras and a two-point conversion from Koy Zieman, NR-S/M led 22-0.
That’s when the madness kicked in. The Rockets, who had executed a crucial onside kick in last week’s game against Four Winds, made another one to get the ball back at midfield.
Simon threw it downfield to Grant Engebretson, who ran all the way for a 50-yard score.
The Rockets kicked it off into the corner by the right sideline. The ball ricocheted off multiple hands, the teams playing a little hot potato before Jaxon Simon — Easton’s younger brother — recovered it in the end zone.
Laughs of disbelief echoed around the sideline.
“That’s big,” E. Simon said. “I know that’ll make him pretty proud this week. So that was good, and it’s good to see those young guys flying around out there and getting in the end zone like that.”
But the Rockets weren’t done. They recovered another short kick to regain possession of the ball again. And, as if on instant replay from the previous drive, Simon completed a 48-yard touchdown reception to Zieman.
From the 4:08 mark to the 3:42 mark in the second quarter, NR-S/M ballooned the score from 14-0 to 44-0.
“Special teams was massive today,” Simon said. “We got some good bounces, some good rolls.”
H/N responded with its first first-down of the game. But it still eventually punted it back.
A 30-yard carry by Schumacher fueled another efficient drive for the Rockets. Schumacher caught a one-yard pass from Simon to run it up to 52-0 by the end of the first quarter.
Alex Weisenburger had two sacks in the quarter to lead the defense.
“We knew we had to send some pressure, and couldn’t let them sit back and throw it up,” Belquist said. “They like to do stuff similar to us and get the ball into their playmakers. We knew we had to get after them a little bit, and our front five did a nice job today.”
The Thunder scored their lone touchdown on the opening drive of the second quarter. After the Rockets got the ball back, Simon looked human for a moment as he was picked off.
NR-S/M still squeezed two more touchdowns into the first half. Allmaras caught a pass, broke a tackle and ran in for a 12-yard score. On the following possession, Engebretson carried the ball 37 yards over three plays — capped by a five-yard touchdown run.
The Rockets led 64-6 at the half.
“When you get up by a few touchdowns, you can take a few more gambles,” Belquist said. “So that’s what we did today. And the guys made some nice plays. Easton made some beautiful throws. And guys made some great catches.”
Allmaras opened the second half with a pick-six. The two-point conversion was no good, but a play later, Malaki Kukowski made a tackle in the end zone for a safety to make it 72-6.
Schumacher ran for a 24-yard touchdown to put a cap on the scoring at 80 points.
The Rockets recovered their own kickoff again — seemingly accidentally.
“I don’t know if we can keep kicking them like that when we’re not trying to. But we’ll take them,” Belquist said. “We haven’t done a lot of it the last few years. … It’s a game changer when something like that happens.”
The Rockets got the ball down to the four-yard line before the end of the third quarter. But not wanting to run up the score any higher, they took a knee.
It was a complete drubbing against a Thunder team that had a solid season.
And it was one that should fuel this squad’s confidence as it looks to get back to the Fargodome for another Dakota Bowl.
“Playoffs is tough,” Belquist said. “There’s lots of ups and downs, lots of highs and lows in playoff football. We talk about, ‘You gotta maintain those highs as long as you can, and get out of those lows as quick as you can.’ Each week’s a new challenge and new opponent and new schemes. We’ve gotta lock it in now, come Monday, and get ready for whoever it is next.”
NR-S/M will host Grant County/Flasher in the quarterfinals for the second straight year. Last time around, the Rockets beat the Storm 54-18. The game will be held in New Rockford next Saturday.
