Sports

Storm blows through Sioux

By Matthew Semisch

10/28/2014

WESTHOPE - Grant County-Flasher (GC-F) doesn’t have what anyone would call a big football team. There aren’t many players in the group, and none of them stand above 6-foot-1.

However, against Westhope-Newburg-Glenburn (W-N-G) on Saturday in the first round of the state nine-man playoffs, the 16-member Storm played like giants en route to a 48-26 win.

W-N-G came into its first home playoff game in two years in fine form, having finished the regular season 8-1. The Sioux also had playoff pedigree, too, having reached the 11-man and nine-man state title games in 2012 and last year, respectively.

That string of marches to the Dakota Bowl came to an end on Saturday in Westhope.

W-N-G opened the scoring in its first-round game against the Storm. Just inside the final 90 seconds of the first quarter, Sioux quarterback Reese Schell linked up with wide  receiver Trent Marquart on a 37-yard touchdown pass.

GC-F answered four seconds into the second quarter when running back Andrew Schafer ran 14 yards into the end zone. That touchdown ended up being one of three on the day for the junior tailback.

Senior W-N-G linebacker Chance Kitzman then put the Sioux back ahead with 2:07 left in the first half. After picking off at the W-N-G one-yard line a pass from GC-F quarterback Peyton Gabrielson, Kitzman returned the ball 99 yards for a score.

Gabrielson quickly bounced back by throwing a 49-yard touchdown pass to Storm wideout Tanner Marion with 1:24 left in the half. GC-F never trailed again after that and scored another 32 points in the second half.

The Storm held possession of the football for nearly three-quarters of the game. Methodically moving down the field, GC-F scored each of its 48 points in the final three quarters.

“It just wasn’t our day,” Sioux head coach Tom Nesvold said. “Some of the things we thought would work didn’t quite bounce our way, and we just had some difficulty getting into some rhythm.

“We played a lot of defense, and I think Grant County probably had three-fourths of the possession of the ball, and you try and make up for that and end up pushing and pressing on offense, and then you’re on defense again when that doesn’t work.”

GC-F will face Shiloh Christian in the state quarterfinals.
Seven W-N-G seniors played their final game for the Sioux on Saturday.