ORIGINALLY WRITTEN TOM STOPPEL
What began as a competitive first quarter turned into a runaway victory for the Sioux Falls Cougars over Tabor College on Saturday as the No. 1 ranked team in the nation defeated the Bluejays 72-11.
Sioux Falls scored on its first possession of the game to grab a 7-0 lead with 11:42 to play in the quarter.
But Tabor answered the Cougars with an eight play, 87 yard drive that lead to a Marcus Manny field goal to slice the lead to 7-3 at the 9:09 mark.
Tabor’s defense then stopped Sioux Falls on its next drive and momentum seemed to favor the No. 15 Bluejays as the quarter ended with Tabor trailing by just four points.
But a 14 play, 77 yard drive early in the second quarter followed by two Ricky Ishida interceptions and Sioux Falls jumped to a 37-3 lead at halftime.
Any chances of a comeback by Tabor were dashed early as Sioux Falls took the second half kickoff and drove 64 yards in 11 plays to lead 44-3.
Things went from bad to worse when Tabor fumbled the next two Cougar kickoffs, and Sioux Falls converted them both into touchdowns and Tabor trailed 58-3 before running an offensive play in the third quarter.
Tabor did manage to score a touchdown early in the fourth quarter as reserve quarterback Ben Schmidt, subbing for an injured Ishida, connected with Mike Beach for a five yard touchdown to cap a 14 play, 63 yard drive.
Joe Fenske hit Steven Chisholm for the two point conversion and Tabor had 11 points on the board.
Sioux Falls eventually rolled up 32 first downs and 655 yards of total offense in the 72-11 win while Tabor managed 14 first downs and 264 yards of offense.
Tabor was lead in rushing by Roger Butler who toted the ball 15 times for 78 yards while Ishida was six of 16 passing for 73 yards and two interceptions and Schmidt completed seven of 11 for 57 yards.
Jake Schenk lead the Tabor defense with nine solo stops and one assist while C.J. Hill, playing his last game in a Tabor uniform, contributed eight solo stops and two assists.
With the win, Sioux Falls moves on to next weeks action with an 11-0 record while Tabor closes out its story book season at 9-2 and a Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference championship.
Bluejay’s season ends in South Dakota
