Rockets advance to Dakota Bowl

After a dominant 64-28 victory in the playoff semifinals, the New Rockford-Sheyenne/Maddock Rockets are bound for the Dakota Bowl.

On Saturday, Nov. 9, the Rockets hosted the Westhope/Newburg/Glenburn Sioux in a highly anticipated matchup between two 9-man football heavyweights.

Both squads were also semifinal teams last year that fell short of the championship game, and a season later they now found themselves in New Rockford to decide which will find redemption and finally advance to the Fargodome.

The first half of Saturday afternoon's game was largely controlled by the Rockets, who scored touchdowns on each of their first four offensive possessions. The Sioux, meanwhile, were only able to score three first-half touchdowns in total.

Perhaps the play of the game came late in the second quarter, when NR-S senior Kage Walford tipped a pass from Sioux quarterback Walker Braaten and came down with the interception deep in Sioux territory.

He then sprinted towards the sideline and followed his blockers into the end zone for a critical 20-yard pick six.

After the game, Walford said his big defensive play came precisely when he wanted it.

"I just sat in the middle and waited for that ball to come," he said. "And before the play I was praying to god for a pick six, and he gave it to me."

The Rockets had the ball back on offense soon after, and were able to convert an incredible drive to end the first half – one that saw Walford come up clutch yet again.

Starting at their own 42-yard line with just 40 seconds remaining, quarterback Easton Simon led his team on a four-play, 58-yard touchdown drive.

Simon showed his brilliance on the drive's final play, as he scrambled around in the backfield avoiding would-be sacks, and tossed up a jump ball to the back of the end zone where only Walford could grab it.

Walford made the catch with zero seconds on the clock, and the Rockets went into halftime with a comfortable 42-20 advantage.

But the Rockets weren't about to rest on their laurels in the second half.

The Sioux began the third quarter with possession and drove into Rockets territory, but NR-S senior Bradyn Collier came up with yet another pick six on Braaten. Collier had jumped the route of his receiver and returned the ball over 60 yards for the touchdown.

The score was suddenly was 50-20, and with a 30-point advantage the running-clock rule went into effect.

The Sioux tried their best to mount a comeback, but with the time ticking down they ultimately came up short and NR-S/M sealed the victory with a few more late-game touchdowns.

The win advances the Rockets to the Dakota Bowl in Fargo for the first time since 2012, when they won their most recent 9-man football championship.

Rockets' head coach Elliott Belquist, who coached that 2012 championship team, said he couldn't be more proud of this year's Rockets.

"If I wrote down every time these kids talked about last year's loss and the feeling it left behind, I'd probably have a really large book," said Belquist after the win. "These guys dreamt and thought about this 24/7 for a little over a year, and I'm just so proud of them and the way they come to work every day. It's an unbelievable feeling."

Walford, arguably the player of the game, said his team's work ethic and effort fuel one another to play at their highest level.

"It's just so awesome to see everybody put everything they have on the field every play, and when you know that everyone around you is giving it their all, it's easy to give it your all yourself," he said.

However, the this year's Rockets still have their toughest challenge yet ahead of them.

Waiting for them next week in Fargo will be the undefeated LaMoure-Litchville/Marion Loboes, who took care of Linton/HMB in their semifinal game 52-16.

The Rockets and Loboes have been the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked teams for much of the regular and postseason this year, and they'll battle it out for a championship in Fargo on Friday, Nov. 15. The game will begin 20 minutes after the conclusion of the Class A 11-man football championship, which begins at 9:10 a.m.