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ROCKFORD (NewsDakota.com) The New Rockford/Sheyenne Rockets were in action today (Nov. 3rd) against the Cavalier Tornadoes in the semifinal round of the 9-man football playoffs. The Rockets defeated the Tornadoes 32-8. NR/S improves to 11-0, Cavalier drops to 9-2 and ends their season.
The field in New Rockford had about 4-5 inches of snow on it Saturday morning, but a crew of 15-20 people removed all the snow before the start of the game at 2pm. Both teams are from Region two and seen each other earlier in the season. In the middle of September, New Rockford/Sheyenne beat Cavalier 48-42 in overtime in New Rockford. But this time it was all New Rockford/Sheyenne as they controlled the entire game.
The Rockets would score first, Junior quarterback Ethan Haley would take it in from 12 yards out on the keeper, the 2-point conversion was good making it 8-0 Rockets. In the second quarter, the Rockets would score twice. With 2:52 remaining, Senior tailback Alex Perleberg would run 48 yards for the touchdown making it 14-0. Then with under a minute remaining in the first half, Perleberg would get his second touchdown of the game, this time from 12 yards out making it 20-0 at the half.
The Tornadoes would start the third quarter strong, they would score with about three minutes remaining, Sophomore fullback Brock Robbins would take it in from three yards out, the 2-point conversion was good making it 20-8 Rockets. But about one minute later, the Rockets would get that touchdown back, Haley would pass to Seth Gilles for a 60-yard touchdown pass, making it 26-8 at the end of three.
In the fourth, New Rockford/Sheyenne would get another score at the 5:28 mark. This time it was Haley running it in from eight yards out for his second touchdown of the game, making it 32-8 the final.
Next up for the Rockets is the Dakota Bowl in Grand Forks at the Alerus Center on Friday, November 9th. The 9-man football championship will be a clash of No. 1 Divide County against No. 2 New Rockford/Sheyenne. No. 1 Divide County (12-0) beat Towner-G-U 30-14 in Crosby on Saturday.
The 9-man football championship will start 20 minutes after the conclusion of the Class 1A game which starts at 9am. All four games of the Dakota Bowl can be heard live on FM 103.1 The Raven in Jamestown, AM 1600 KDAK in Carrington and AM 1220 KDDR in Oakes starting at 8:30am pregame.
The last time New Rockford/Sheyenne was in the championship was in 2004, they lost to Edgeley-Kulm.