Cougars advance to semifinal playoffs

Sandy Creek earns 54-0 win over Shelby-Rising City

On a cold, rainy Friday night on “The Hill,” Sandy Creek advanced to the semifinals with a dominating win over Shelby-Rising City 54-0.

Sandy Creek started off hot in the first quarter with 24 points, followed by another strong second quarter where the Cougars didn’t slow down, earning 22 points.

On the opening kick, fans could tell the rain was going to be a key factor, as Shelby-Rising City couldn’t handle the ball as the Cougars dropped them back on the six-yard line.

Sandy Creek stopped them and took over on their own 21yard line with a punt from the Huskies.

The rain didn’t stop the Cougars’ offensive game as Ethan Shaw took the ball 69 yards on the first play for a touchdown. Shaw found Wes Biltoft for the two-point conversion to make it 8-0 with 8:49 to go in the first.

On the next kickoff, the Huskies couldn’t corral the ball, allowing the Cougars to jump on it for a first and goal at the Huskies’ nine-yard line. In the next couple of plays, Sandy Creek found the end zone with an option pitch from Shaw to Connor Rempe, before Shaw ran it in for the two-point conversion to make it 16-0 with 8:02 in the first.

On the Cougars’ next defensive possession, Rempe came up with an interception at the Shelby-Rising City 30-yard line. Shortly after, Shaw found the end zone from two yards out; he also gained the two-point conversion to make it 24-0, Cougars, with 2:34 to go in the first.

Sandy Creek kept getting defensive stops and scores, with Shaw having a tough run from 17 yards, breaking tackles and running into the end zone for six. He then made the PAT for 32 points over SRC’s zero, with 9:38 to go in the second.

The Cougars started their next offensive drive on the 31yard line and took one play, as Shaw found Biltoft wide open down field. Biltoft ran it in for six from the 49-yard touchdown pass. Shaw then ran it in for the two-point conversion to make it 40-0 with 7:54 in the second quarter.

The Cougars got another stop on defense and started around mid-field, driving it down the field and ending with a touchdown. Shaw found Rempe in the back of the end zone from 10 yards out to make it 46-0 with 1:49 to go in the first half.

In the second half, there wasn’t much scoring but right out of the gate, Rempe returned the opening second-half kick for six from 70 yards. Kamerin Sealey earned the two-point conversion to make it 54-0, and that would be your final score.

THE COUGARS BYTHE NUMBERS

Offensively, the Cougars finished the night with 244 total yards with 125 receiving yards and 119 yards rushing. Shaw went 6-9 with 125 yards passing and two touchdowns.

Leading rusher was Shaw with nine carries for 88 yards and three touchdowns, Rempe had six carries for 24 yards and one touchdown, Wyatt Livgren had five carries for nine yards, and Wyatt Hemberger had one carry for three yards.

Defense stats Sandy Creek had 90 total tackles, 10 tackles for loss, seven sacks, and one interception.

Leading tackler was Rempe with 11, Coen Eitzmann had 10, Shaw and Alston Clark had nine, Alex Watts had eight, Josh Spray had six, Livgren, Jacob Petr, Biltoft, and Hemberger had five, Sealey and Jack Watts had four, Hudson Devlin had three, Jackson Gerdes and Cage Kackmeister had two, and Jonas Amos and Jack Clark had one.

Spray and Alston Clark led in sacks with two each, and Shaw, Devlin, and Watts had one each. Rempe would record the only interception for the Cougars.

THISWEEK

Sandy Creek will host Lourdes Central Catholic on “The Hill” Friday, Nov. 15. The gates will open at 3:30 p.m., with kickoff slated for 5 p.m.

Lourdes Central Catholic comes into Friday’s game after a 32-27 win over Plainview Nov. 8.

Score by Quarters

Sandy Creek............................. 24 22 8 0 -54 Shelby Rising-City.................... 0 0 0 0 -0 SC SRC Rush Att-Yds..................... 23-119 Pass Comp-Att-Yds.......... 6-9-125 Total Offense.......................323 -