RAPID CITY, SD — The St. Thomas More Cavaliers used two big plays late in the fourth quarter to beat the Sturgis Scoopers, 20-10 at Dutton Field on Homecoming night.
The Scoopers struck first and took a 3-0 lead with 4:05 left in the first quarter on a 25-yd field goal by Sully Jost.
The Cavaliers answered with 3:09 before halftime on a 1-yd touchdown plunge by Matt Larson. The JD Green kick split the uprights and STM took a 7-3 lead into halftime.
Sturgis forced a Cavalier punt on their first series of the second half. The Scoopers then put together a methodical 70-yd drive, culminating in a 21-yd touchdown pass from Owen Cass to Tyan Buus. The extra point kick was good and Sturgis led 10-7 with 6:31 left in the third quarter.
An attempted 45-yd JD Green field goal sailed wide left to start the fourth quarter and the score remained 10-7. Both offenses struggled to move the ball throughout the fourth until Cavalier quarterback JonPaul Sullivan found Larson down the middle with a perfectly thrown ball. Larson hauled it in and sprinted 55 yards for an STM score with 3:17 left. The extra point snap was fumbled and the Scooper defense tackled Green to keep the score 13-10.
The Scoopers got the ball back with just over a minute left at the Cavalier 44-yd line, hoping to put together a scoring drive to spoil homecoming. Easton Ogle had other ideas, as he picked off an Owen Cass throw, returning it 56 yards for a Cavalier touchdown. Green’s kick was good and STM sealed the victory by a score of 20-10.
STM (4-1) finished the game with 214 yards of offense. The Cavs carried the ball 28 times for 54 yards and were 13 of 21 passing for 160 yards. STM had six penalties for 55 yards and no turnovers.
Sturgis (2-3) had 248 yards of offense, 91 on the ground and 157 through the air. The Scoopers had seven penalties for 70 yards and one interception.
The Scoopers travel to Tea Area next Friday to take on the undefeated Titans.
