STORY BY VINNIE RUPPELL

NEW ROCKFORD (NewsDakota)- The New Rockford/Sheyenne/Maddock Rockets handled business once again for their 23rd straight victory against the Grant County/Flasher Storm. Led by a stellar performance from senior running back Jackson Schumacher with 156-yds rushing with two touchdowns and a 58-yard pick six in a 60-12 Quarterfinal win.

The Rockets got things started early on the first play of offense senior RB Jackson Schumacher ran 57 yards to the end zone. The next offensive possession ended with a 29 yard touchdown to Schumacher on the ground. The running game was dominant for NRSM and the passing game was just as good as senior QB Easton Simon had 141 passing yards with four touchdowns in the first half.  Easton Benz led the receiving core with five catches for 75 yards and two touchdowns.  Receivers Thomas Allmaras (39-yards) and Aiden Rodriguez (21-yards) had a touchdown each as well.

The Rockets defense had arguably one of the best performances of the year. SR Alex Weisenburger and JR Malaki Kukowski both recorded a sack. Kukowski added 3 TFL’s and 3 solo tackles which really sparked the defense. As like most games for NRSM the JV got rotated in gradually from the beginning of the second half. Sophomore Jax Demester led the JV with 9/13 completions with one passing TD and 76 yards through the air. GCF recorded all of their points in the fourth quarter with a two yard rush and a 50-yard TD pass.

The Rockets will now host Hankinson in the semifinal with coverage on KDAK beginning at 1pm on Saturday. GCF ends their season 8-3.