Defensive Slugfest- West Central vs. Dell Rapids

Thursday night was a battle of two teams who fought till the very end, plenty of momentum swings and great defenses on both sides. Both offenses ran a double wing offensive set, so there are always a couple big plays that spark out of them, which was the case for both teams here, leading to all of the scores. Here’s a scoring recap: 1st Quarter: WC- Ryan Healy Ryan Healy 5'10" | 180 lbs | RB West Central | 2021 State 20 yard rush, PAT Good, 7-0 WC. 2nd Quarter: DR- Coby Maeschen 1 yard rush, PAT Good, 7-7. WC- Derek Eidsness Derek Eidsness 6'2" | 190 lbs | WR West Central | 2021 State 17 yard FG, 10-7 WC. 3rd Quarter: DR- Coby Maeschen 15 yard rush, PAT Good, 14-10 DR. 4th Quarter: WC- Justin Zirpel 1 yard rush, PAT No Good, 16-14 WC. Players Highlighted from West Central: QB- Justin Zirpel ran the option offense like a pro, knew when to give and keep and resulted in a lot of big plays. FB/DB- Ryan Healy Ryan Healy 5'10" | 180 lbs | RB West Central | 2021 State ran the ball hard and had good bursts of speed for a lot of big runs. Defensively, made a lot of tackles for short gains. WR/DB- Derek Eidsness Derek Eidsness 6'2" | 190 lbs | WR West Central | 2021 State was a good target to throw at when they threw, and was really good on pass coverage with PBU’s and tackles. DL- Brayden Traub-Jensen controlled the line of scrimmage and got into the backfield frequently, causing a lot of trouble for the opposing offense. OL/DL- Carter Sanholm was a good down blocker to open up seams for his pullers and backs. Defensively got into the backfield and was good at running plays down from behind. Players Highlighted from Dell Rapids: DB/RB- Landon Ruesink Landon Ruesink ATH Dell Rapids | 2022 State played phenomenal defense, made a lot of tackles, some for loss, and was good in pass coverage. On offense he had some nice runs as well. LB/RB- Brayden Gee carried the load in the run game with some strong runs. Defensively, he flew around and made a lot of tackles. LB/RB- Coby Maeschen was the red zone back with his TD bursts, but primarily led the defense with tackling. RB/LB- Landon Vonholtum played a great game on the defensive side, flying in to help out on gang tackles and just getting to the ball carrier to help slow the run game. QB/DB- Austin Henry Austin Henry 6'5" | 190 lbs | QB Dell Rapids | 2022 State did a good job in the option offense and throwing the ball, but also did a good job in the secondary making tackles and in coverage.