What a game. Friday night's top-10 matchup in Class D1 between Arapahoe and Dundy County Stratton lived up to the hype and then some. It was an absolutely beautiful display of football, fit for the bright lights on a Friday Night. Many regard the Arapahoe Warriors as the #4 team in D1, and Dundy County Stratton as the #6 team. This was an incredible opportunity for one of these teams to get a signature win.
In this matchup within the D1-9 District, it was Arapahoe who came away with the home victory 26-20.
The first half was a street fight. Scoring was hard to come by. The only touchdown was a 57-yard scamper from Will Cacy of Arapahoe at the 3:43 mark in the opening quarter. The two-point conversion was good and the Warriors clung to that lead going to the second and then the third quarter.
Both teams had plenty of nice plays in the opening half including a 45-yard pass from Arapahoe's Trenton Roskop to Grayson Koller and for DCS, some nice receptions and runs. But the defenses refused to break.
It was 8-0 going to halftime.
Once the second got rolling, so did the scoring. DCS came out ready to execute offense. They had a 10-play drive with a nice mix of runs and passes and included some up-tempo stuff. A one-yard touchdown run by Dante Horner capped it off. The conversion was no good and it was 8-6 in favor of Arapahoe with 9:08 in the third.
The Tigers forced a punt on the next defensive possession. DCS took over on their own 22-yard line. DCS made quick work of the next drive and Dante Horner found August Shaw on a 45-yard pass for a touchdown. DCS led 12-8.
Arapahoe began to matriculate the ball downfield but the Warriors coughed it up and DCS took over on their own 34-yard line. The Tigers were unable to do anything with it, and had to punt.
Well, that punt return was taken back 69 yards for a touchdown by Will Cacy off of a reverse handoff from Grayson Koller. The extra point was no good and it was 14-12, Arapahoe in the lead.
DCS did not waiver.
On their first play from scrimmage, Horner threw a short pass to Ethan Latta and he took it the distance from 65 yards out. The conversion was good, making it 20-14.
DCS maintained that lead going to the final stanza.
In the fourth quarter, the drama ramped up even more. On the first play of the fourth, Roskop found Koller on a 28-yard pass to tie things up at 20-20. The Warriors attempted to convert a critical two-point conversion but failed to do so. With 11:55 to go in the game, we were all knotted up.
On the Tigers' next possession, the Warrior defense got tough and made them punt. Arapahoe made the defensive stop count. On the second play of the drive, Cacy scored again, this time from 42 yards away on the ground. The two-point conversion was no good and it was 26-20 with 9:51 remaining in the game.
On the Tigers' next crack at it on offense, they ran eight plays, driving all the way to the Arapahoe 21-yard line before turning it over on downs. Arapahoe took the ball with 5:23 remaining in the ball game.
Arapahoe found a way to milk the clock all the way down to 0:00 with some nice runs from Will Cacy and Trenton Roskop. Eventually, the Warriors used the victory formation to close it out.
Again, what a ball game.
We chatted with Arapahoe's Will Cacy after the win to talk about the run game and the victory. Postgame interviews are brought to you by Acme Printing Company.
Unofficial Stats for Dundy County Stratton
The Tigers had 127 passing yards and 167 yards rushing. A total of 294 yards. They were 4-15 on third downs. They had two sacks and forced one fumble. Brock Bailey and Breck Horner had the sacks for DCS. Ethan Latta led the rushing attack with 143 yards. Dante Horner had four yards and a touchdown. Horner was 12-23 passing with 167 yards passing and two touchdowns. Latta had 65 yards receiving and a touchdown, August Shaw had 45 and a score, Breck Horner had 29 yards, and Kevin Garcia had 28 yards.
Unofficial Stats for Arapahoe
The Warriors ran the ball to a tune of 292 yards on 52 carries. Also, they got the passing game going with 106 yards. With those two figures, the Warriors were at 398 yards of total offense. Arapahoe controlled the ball too which was critical down the stretch. The Warriors were 7-14 on third down. Will Cacy was tough on the ground with 243 yards and two touchdowns. Cacy had a third touchdown on that 69-yard punt return. In the pass game, Trenton Roskop was 4-7 with 79 yards and a touchdown. Grayson Koller had 27 yards passing on a trick play. Koller caught two balls for 73 yards and a touchdown and Kade Fisher had two catches for 33 yards.
DCS is now 4-1 and will have a battle on Thursday at home against another highly rated team in D1, North Platte St. Pat's at 7:00 P.M. CT.
Arapahoe moves to 5-0 and will face Alma on Friday, on the road at 7:00 P.M. CT.
Check out the highlights from the game brought to you by Prairie Girl Candle Company.