STORY BY VINNIE RUPPELL

MADDOCK (NewsDakota)- And the beat goes on for the defending champs.

The Rockets’ first play of offense didn’t start as well as they hoped when Easton Simon was sacked for twelve yards. But Simon, doing what he does, managed to scramble around on the next play and hit Koy Zieman on a 66-yard pass for the first of multiple touchdowns in the game. Nelson County immediately answered with a strong offensive drive that ended in a 44-yard touchdown pass. 

After Nelson County’s opening drive for a touchdown, senior quarterback Easton Simon threw back-to-back-to-back touchdown passes to receivers Easton Benz (two touchdowns) and Thomas Allmaras (one touchdown). The first score of the second quarter came from junior punt returner Thomas Allmaras, who made several defenders miss on his 66-yard punt return touchdown. The Chargers answered back with a couple of scores of their own, coming on a two-yard touchdown rush and a 66-yard touchdown on the ground by their senior quarterback Brody Rainsberry. Those back-to-back scores made the halftime score 38-20 NRSM. 

In the second half of this matchup, the NRSM Rockets pulled away with three scores in the third quarter, and they managed to pitch a second half shutout on defense. Senior QB Easton Simon was 15-22 for 357 yards and 6 touchdowns. The leading receiver for the Rockets was senior Easton Benz, who accounted for five receptions, 121 yards receiving, and three touchdown catches. Defensively, Senior DL Alex Weisenburger had a great night, leading the defense with seven tackles and a sack, along with two tackles for loss. 

The NRSM Rockets continue their winning streak, which stands at 19, as they are 7-0 in the region. They will travel to North Star on Friday night to play a JV game against North Star, which has forfeited its varsity season and transitioned to a JV schedule to complete the season. Nelson County, sitting at 4-3 in the region, will host North Border in a crucial matchup for the Chargers.