FARGO — Even before this historic run, Elliott Belquist had had a really impressive coaching career.
A state championship in 2012. An all-time winning percentage above .600. His son, Bo, turned into a star wide receiver for UND.
But now his program has won 25 straight games. The New Rockford-Sheyenne/Maddock Rockets are the fourth repeat champion in the history of North Dakota nine-man football.
“Never in my wildest dream I would have thought that,” Belquist said. “Give credit to the kids. They believe in what we’re doing, and they work their butts off.”
The kids battled through an unimaginable tragedy to get here. Their teammate, senior Tucker Faul, died in a car accident right around the start of the playoff run.
“Once that happened, we knew we were playing for him,” senior quarterback Easton Simon said. “To able to get it done, that means the world. And I’m sure he’s up there, smiling.”
Three years ago, the two-time state champion seniors were a group of young, inexperienced freshmen. They went 4-5 and allowed more points than they scored. It was just the fourth losing season in Belquist’s 17-year tenure, which includes a shortened 2020 season.
In 2023, they won their first 10 games. They rolled to the quarterfinals before losing 32-28 in the semis.
Nov. 3, 2023 is the most recent day this program lost a game. It’s a streak that will stay alive until at least August 2026.
“It’s been quite the run for them,” Belquist said.
Last year, it almost came too easily. Not only did the Rockets go 12-0 — they never won a game by fewer than 36 points. It was about as dominant of a football season as one gets.
This year, they had the challenge of replacing numerous key pieces, including most of their wide receivers, their running back and their strongest lineman. Their defense was relatively spotty compared to last year.
But they fended off a mid-game comeback attempt by LaMoure-Litchville/Marion on Friday to complete a 13-0 season. Their last game, a 38-22 victory in a rematch against the Loboes, had their lowest margin of victory throughout the winning streak.
“It just means so much,” Simon said. “This group of guys, we’ve gone through so much this season, so much adversity, and just to be able get back here and do it for Tucker up watching us, it means the world.”
Their run, which had already been special in its own right, took on a new meaning when the news about Faul broke. It became about playing for Tucker.
Multiple communities rallied around Faul, from his family, to his friends, to the surrounding towns.
“It was a tough couple weeks in our program, and to see these kids bounce back is pretty darn special,” Belquist said. “Words can’t express what [the Faul family] are going through and all that. All we could do is try to play for him and remember him, and just think about him looking down on us and helping us out.”
When the Rockets posed for their team photo after the game, Simon held the trophy while Jackson Schumacher held the champion sign.
In between them, in the front row of the middle of the photo, Grant Engebretson and Alex Weisenburger held an honorary No. 57 jersey for Faul.
“That was such a tragedy,” wide receiver Thomas Allmaras said. “I never would have thought that would happen to one of my teammates. And it was awful. But I know he was up there the whole time, watching us.”
After a slow first quarter, the Rockets found a way to cause explosions in their offense. Simon threw for more than 400 yards to finish with over 3,600 for the season. He totaled more than 6,500 passing yards throughout the 25-game winning streak.
“Unbelievable career he had,” Belquist said. “He makes all the right decisions out there. Understands the game. Smart kid. Just a heck of a leader, and it’s gonna be a kid that’s gonna be hard to replace.”
So how do the Rockets replace Simon? Not to mention seniors like Schumacher, Engebretson, Weisenburger and Easton Benz.
It starts with the participation numbers, Belquist explained.
“Get the kids to come out. Keep coming out,” Belquist said. “Keep in the weight room, and keep working hard. We stress playing all sports. We want our athletes to be good athletes, and get out and play everything. Just keep being high school kids and having fun and working hard. And we feel like we can turn you into a good football player if you come to us in good shape and physically stronger.”
The Rockets’ success starts at the top with Belquist. But his mentorship includes more than just coaching them on the football field — he molds them into good athletes, people and competitors.
Belquist also coaches girls’ basketball in the winter and track and field in the spring. That’s on top of his duties as athletic director for New Rockford-Sheyenne Public School. Outside of school, he runs the Belquist Speed and Acceleration program to help train athletes throughout the year.
Something about the competitive nature of sports keeps him going.
“Things like this help,” Belquist said, moments after his team won its second consecutive state title. “Seeing the kids have these moments in their life. And I just love kids competing. It means a lot to me when kids are out there competing and having fun and working hard and earning this stuff. That’s the best thing. The best thing you can see is when a kid puts all the time into it, and then gets good results from it.”
