Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Going into Cando on Friday, Sept. 23, the New Rockford-Sheyenne Rockets must have been feeling pretty good about their chances.
The Rockets had just won two straight games and were undefeated in region play, while the North Star Bearcats had just lost three in a row and were winless in Region 4.
However, what occurred that Friday night was disastrous for NR-S.
At first, the game began relatively close, a 93-yard kickoff return by Haydon Meier gave NR-S a 6-point boost to start the game, and by the end of the first quarter the Bearcats had a slim 2-point lead.
The Rockets may have had an outright lead if not for a fumble, which was returned 42 yards the opposite way for a Bearcat touchdown.
The back and forth continued in quarter No. 2, and as each team breaked for halftime, the Bearcats still had a 2-point lead at 28-26.
Up to that point, only two NR-S players had accounted for all 26 of the Rockets' points that evening: Haydon Meier and Connor Knatterud.
By the end of the third quarter, both left the game with serious injuries.
Knatterud suffered a head and neck injury on a kickoff return early in the third quarter, which according to Rockets' Head Coach Elliott Belquist, "kinda took the wind out of the sail."
That forced more reliance on Haydon Meier, he added, right up until he suffered a broken leg later in the same quarter.
Meier will be out for the remainder of the season and Knatterud was unable to play the following week. Belquist said Knatterud's status for next week's game is still unknown.
The loss of any player hits particularly hard in 9-man football, but it hurts even more when they're a team's best players, some of their only upperclassmen, and when they're the primary running backs for a team that relies on the run game.
Needless to say, the Rockets struggled in their absence.
North Star ended up scoring four unanswered touchdowns in the second half as they whittled down the Rockets' starting lineup, giving them a lopsided 56-26 victory.
Moving forward, Belquist acknowledged the challenge his team now faces, but added that he expects his younger players to face that challenge head on.
"It's just next guy up," he said. "Other guys will get opportunities to play some running back and we're really gonna try to hold the ball on offense and use all the clock."
The loss brought the Rockets' overall record down to 3-3 on the season, and to 2-1 in Region 4.
NR-S hosted the North Prairie Cougars on Friday, Sept. 30. The Cougars were undefeated entering the matchup and had dominated nearly every opponent they faced to that point.
That game will be covered in the next edition of the Transcript.
9-man Varsity
Region 4 football
NR-S 26, NS 56
Friday, Sept. 23
at Cando
NR-S: 12 14 0 0 - 26
BC: 14 14 22 6 - 56
First Quarter:
NR-S: Haydon Meier 93-yard Kickoff Return (Failed Two-Point Conversion)
NS: 42 yard Fumble Return (Failed Two-Point Conversion)
NR-S: Connor Knatterud 35 yard Run (Failed Two-Point Conversion)
NS: 15 yard Pass (Two-Point Conversion)
Second Quarter:
NS: 20 yard Pass (Two-Point Conversion)
NR-S: Haydon Meier 58 yard Run (Connor Knatterud Run For Two-Point Conversion)
NS: 3 yard Run (Failed Two-Point Conversion)
NR-S: Connor Knatterud 29 yard Run (Failed Two-Point Conversion)
Third Quarter:
NS: 30-yard pass (Failed Two-Point Conversion)
NS: 12-yard run (Two-Point Conversion)
NS: 55-yard pass (Two-Point Conversion)
Fourth Quarter:
NS: 53-yard run (Kick No Good)
NR-S stats:
Passing: B. Meier 1-for-11 for 14 yards.
Rushing: Knatterud six attempts for 92 yards, two TDs; H. Meier 16 attempts for 127 yards, one TD; Jackson Schumacher three attempts for eight yards; B. Meier 2 attempts for 33 yards; Bradyn Collier five attempts for eight yards; Luke Yri four attempts for four yards.
Receiving: H. Meier one reception for 14 yards.
Tackling (unassisted, assisted): Knatterud (2, 1); H. Meier (4, 6); Brody Weisenburger (2, 1); D.J. Mudgett (0, 3); Cudworth (0, 2); Kailar Jacobson (0, 1); Kage Walford (4, 0), one TFL; Easton Benz (4, 6), one sack, one TFL; Alex Weisenburger (2, 1); Schumacher (0,1); Waldo (1,0); Collier (3,3), one TFL; Vinnie Ruppell (1,0), one TFL.