Senior, Elijah Wagoner, takes down an Outlaw in Saturdays game,Pioneers move on and will take on Jordan next week.
Senior, Chris Burns runns down the field with the ball during th eRoy/Winifred Game Saturday.
Big Sandy football got over a major hump Saturday in its state quarterfinal win, 60-6 at home against Roy/Winifred.
It is the third consecutive season the Pioneers (10-0) reached the second round of the 6-man football tournament and unlike the last two seasons, these Pioneers are moving beyond it.
Star running back Kade Strutz averaging first-down yardage on each carry, picking up 150 yards and five touchdowns on his 10 rushing attempts, helped Big Sandy to advance. So did Clint Darlington's 2.5 sacks that helped hold the visiting Outlaws (6-4) to a net zero yards on the ground. The Pioneers also got a sixth rushing touchdown on the day from Christopher Burns.
Burns plunged in the end zone from a yard out midway through the first quarter after the senior transfer student helped bring down the Outlaws' Blake Donsbach on a muffed punt snap deep in his own territory.
Burns' role expanded Saturday in light of a knee injury sustained by fullback Brock Proulx in the previous week's win against Richey/Lambert.
"It felt good. I knew how to step up really big because Brock was hurting," Burns said. "Coach (Jappe) told me all week I had to get more aggressive on defense and I had to do the best I can to fill my role."
Jappe said Burns played up to the occasion in precisely the manner he expected of him.
"He did a good job today blocking. I've been telling him all season, he's going to get his chance," he said. "Chris stepped up just where we needed."
Senior Ryan Roth led Big Sandy in yards per carry, running the ball 6 times for 92 yards, including a 53-yard jaunt to set up the first of two second-half touchdowns hauled in through the air by freshman Lance Rutledge. Rutledge caught a 5-yard strike from Kody Strutz in the third quarter and added an 18-yard grab from Braydon Cline to close out the scoring.
Like nearly all of the Pioneers' victories since Week 1, this one came relatively easy and with little question who the victor would be beyond the first quarter. Yet it is the same trickier foe Big Sandy faced in the season opener who awaits them next. Preseason favorites in the state championship race, the Jordan Mustangs left Big Sandy with a 44-28 loss on Labor Day weekend.
The Mustangs (10-1) have not lost a game since, and have racked up a number of impressive victories in the meantime. They are undoubtedly eager to host the rematch at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
"I keep scouting them as much as I can," Jappe said. "I don't think they've changed much."
Jappe said the Mustangs' spread offense is a look his Pioneers have seen from many opponents this year. He also anticipates employing the same smashmouth attack that has carried Big Sandy thus far.
"We're just going to keep doing what we do," he said.
Jordan advanced to the semifinal with a 65-0 thrashing of Bridger. The Mustangs finished second to No. 1 Big Sandy in statewide media polls at the end of the regular season and claimed the top seed from the East Division on the strength of a 47-41 win at Wibaux and 51-16 romp at MonDak.
As the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds from the East, respectively, defending state champion Wibaux and MonDak will meet in the other semifinal Saturday. That means the winner of that contest will travel to whoever wins between Big Sandy and Jordan for a state championship game at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 23.
Wibaux (8-2) made it to the semifinal by blasting South No. 1 Shields Valley (8-2), 41-19. MonDak, representing Westby and Grenora, North Dakota, went to 8-3 by handing West No. 1 Hot Springs (10-1) its only loss of the season at the worst possible time. The Thunder beat the Savage Heat, 48-12, despite needing to travel 800 miles and two and a half days to do so.
The 1-2 matchup of Big Sandy and Jordan will obviously be the premier semifinal matchup. Either team will be favored to beat the Wibaux-MonDak winner in the title game as Big Sandy crushed MonDak, 60-14, on Sept. 13 at Grenora and would love a chance to avenge the loss that ended their season last year.
"(Jordan) has probably had our number all year since we played them," Burns said, recognizing the motivation for the Pioneers' upcoming opponent. "We just gotta go out and play our best ball."
