FARGO – Abraham Roehrich rushed for 227 yards and two touchdowns as he led the Stanley-Powers Lake Blue Jays to a 42-6 victory over Linton-HMB in the Division A state championship Friday at the Fargodome.
The Blue Jays dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, ending the game with 358 rushing yards and holding Linton to just 48 yards on the ground.
“That was all the offensive line, it was me or (Landon Smith) running and we just followed them. They did all the work,” Abraham said.
Linton, which was missing its starting quarterback Tanner Purintun to injury, struggled on offense all game, racking up just 150 total yards of offense.
The Blue Jays closed the first half out strong to build at insurmountable 28-6 lead at the break. After Linton cut Stanley’s 7-0 lead to 7-6 late in the first quarter on a Cody Sehn touchdown run, Stanley-Powers Lake unleashed a barrage of big plays to finish the half.
Roehrich ripped off a 62-yard touchdown run just 24 seconds after Linton’s touchdown. With 5:36 left in the second quarter, Stanley quarterback Sam Footh hit Seth Leupp for a 40-yard touchdown, giving the Blue Jays a 21-6 lead. And just 19 seconds later, Smith picked up a Linton fumble and returned it 34 yards for a touchdown and a 28-6 lead.
Stanley didn’t let up in the third quarter, taking the kickoff and marching methodically down the field with a strong running game. Roehrich’s 8-yard touchdown run capped off the drive with 8:24 left in the third quarter, and gave Stanley-Powers Lake 249 rushing yards in less than two and a half quarters.
Stanley’s defense forced four turnovers, picking off three Linton passes and scoring a touchdown on Smith’s fumble return.
The Blue Jays finish the season with a perfect 12-0 record. Linton finishes at 10-2, with Friday’s loss their only loss to a North Dakota team.
Smith had 100 yards rushing and two touchdowns behind Stanley’s dominating offensive line performance.
“I’m just happy right now that we won state,” said a grinning Smith after the game. “I think it will sink in in a little bit.”
Stanley-Powers Lake 42, Linton-HMB 6
SP 14 14 7 7 – 42
LIN 6 0 0 0 – 6
Scoring summary
1: SP – Smith 2 yd run (Salgado kick)
1: LIN – Sehn 3 yd run (pass failed)
1: SP – Roehrich 62 yd run (Salgado kick)
2: SP – Footh 40 yds to Leupp (Salgado kick)
2: SP – Smith 34 yd fumble return (Salgado kick)
3: SP – Roehrich 8 yd run (Salgado kick)
4: SP – Smith 19 yd run (Salgado kick)
Individual leaders
Rushing (att/yds/td): SP – Roehrich 20/227/2; Smith 13/100/2. LIN – Oien 6/20/0; Sehn 12/14/1.
Passing (comp/att/yds/td/int): SP – 4/12/60/1/2; LIN – Gross 8/19/99/0/2.
Receiving (rec/yds/td): SP – Enget 3/20/0; Leupp 1/40/1. LIN – Sehn 3/41/0; Doolittle 2/31/0; Nagel 2/24/0.