Jackson Schumacher (10), Grant Engebretson (0) / Photo courtesy of New Rockford Transcript
NEW ROCKFORD — For the second straight year, the Rockets weathered the Storm in the nine-man state quarterfinals.
Last week, they led 52-0 in the first quarter. This week, it took them all the way to the end of the first half to take a 52-0 lead. Still, New Rockford-Sheyenne/Maddock (11-0) won its 23rd straight game, eliminating the Grant County/Flasher Storm (8-3) in a 60-14 beatdown on Saturday.
GC/F had multiple top players out with injuries.
“So that hurt them,” Rockets head coach Elliott Belquist said. “But yeah, they’re always physical. They’re a well-coached team. They’re up there every year. And we knew our boys had to be locked in today.”
The Rockets got an immediate spark from running back Jackson Schumacher. It took exactly one play of offense to find the end zone, as Schumacher ran for a 57-yard touchdown on NR-S/M’s opening possession.
“I was kind of gassed after that,” Schumacher said. “A little too much adrenaline going. Got really excited for the game, and just kept going.”
After the Rockets forced a three-and-out, they went to Schumacher three more times on the following drive. Schumacher ran for gains of 27 and 15 yards before bursting down the right sideline for a 29-yard touchdown run.
“When we air out the ball, that’s all teams worry about,” Schumacher said. “And they came out in a two-front with a linebacker deep — all I had to do was make one cut, and I was to the house. And that’s just kudos to our amazing passing offense, and our play calling was amazing today.”
It was 16-0 about midway through the first quarter — almost entirely on the legs of Schumacher.
“Our script didn’t say, ‘Give Jackson the ball,’ the first how many plays that we did,” Belquist said. “But we just adjusted to what the defense gave, and he ran hard.”
Schumacher ran for 143 yards unofficially in the first half, adding 13 more in the second half.
“He ran over some people. He ran around people,” Belquist said. “He had a heck of a game.”
Quarterback Easton Simon did eventually get the passing game going. He completed a pass in the red zone to Easton Benz, who avoided a tackle and got past the goal line for a 23-yard reception.
The Rockets’ offense followed with a rare three-and-out, but the defense held strong.
NR-S/M totaled eight tackles for loss in the first half. After the Rockets’ defense allowed 68 points over their final three games of the regular season, they allowed just six last week, then shut out the Storm for the first three quarters on Saturday.
“The defense was amazing,” Belquist said. “They’re just reading things so well. You can just tell they’re putting a lot of time in the film room and really breaking down things. They’re playing their best football at this time of the year, and that’s all you can ask for.”
Malaki Kukowski had a pair of solo tackles for loss in the first half, including a sack to force a turnover on downs.
“That kid just plays so hard every snap,” Belquist said. “I mean, you talk about not taking plays off. … He knows one speed, and that’s full speed.”
After a 17-yard catch by Benz, Thomas Allmaras exploded down the right sideline for a 39-yard touchdown reception — the Rockets’ fourth score. Their two-point conversions were good on all four to make it 32-0.
Allmaras has been the spark plug of the wide receiver group. He also consistently gave the Rockets good field position with his punt returns on Saturday.
“Should have got him in the game a lot more last year,” Belquist joked. “But yeah, he’s electric. He’s one-of-a-kind out there when he makes people miss. And he’s just so good on his feet and changing directions and then accelerating out of his brakes. He can turn any play into a big play.”
A 26-yard rush by Grant Engebretson set up a five-yard touchdown pass to Koy Zieman for the Rockets’ fifth touchdown. They fell short on the two-point conversion attempt for the first time, making it 38-0.
On the Storm’s next drive, Schumacher reacted and grabbed an interception. He returned it all the way downfield, 56 yards, for a pick-six.
“I bobbled it,” Schumacher said with a laugh after the game. “I’ve had a couple troubles with bobbling. But I got it. Just grooving it in practice and reading that, and I just read it perfectly. I’ve seen it probably 20 times this week, so it was ideal.”
NR-S/M got the ball back after another successful onside kick — something the team’s done more often over the last few games. It took three plays to score, with Simon making a 21-yard touchdown pass to Aiden Rodriguez.
Schumacher ran in for the two-point conversion to make it 52-0. Granted, there was 1:51 left in the first half, not the first quarter like last week.
But the Rockets will take it.
“Our overall effort,” Schumacher said of what he liked about Saturday’s performance. “We hustled to the ball. Five hats to the ball every time.”
After Simon threw for 130 yards unofficially, NR-S/M played Jax Demester at quarterback for the entire second half. He made an 18-yard touchdown pass to Benz to cap a 65-yard opening drive.
A running clock limited the Rockets’ opportunities for the rest of the game.
GC/F found the end zone twice in the fourth quarter. The second touchdown was a 50-yard reception with about 1:23 left in the game. The Rockets were playing mostly backups by then.
NR-S/M now goes to a state semifinal game for the third straight year. The Rockets lost in that round in 2023 before going on to win state last year.
“It’s a home game; you can’t ask for anything more than that,” Belquist said. “When you’re in the final four, and you’re still playing football, that’s what you talk about with the kids in what your goals are. You’ve got to prepare and put the time in and get ready. Every team left now is good. So it’s gonna be a battle.”
The No. 1-seeded Rockets will host No. 5-seeded Hankinson on Saturday for a chance to return to the Fargodome.
“I like the matchup,” Schumacher said. “Gives us an opportunity to get back to the ‘dome, and we’re all really excited and pumped up. We talked about it as our main goal at the start of the season, where want to be, and it’s just one more step.”
