BV defense wreaks havoc for RC

Mason VanWesten and the Lynx defense proved to be a nightmare for Rapid City Stevens in Friday night’s cross-state clash at O’Harra Stadium. The defensive back registered a blocked punt and picked off the Raiders’ quarterback Teigen Heckel on a trio of occasions to put Brandon Valley in the driver’s seat of the 30-14 outcome.

“Mason had a great night defensively and it was nice to have his leadership in the backfield,” Lynx head coach Chad Garrow said of the senior. 

VanWesten wasn’t Heckel’s only nightmare, as the BV defense plagued the Raider offense with two more interceptions. The other bad news for Stevens was the Lynx offense, highlighted by a trio of Braiden Petersen touchdowns. 

BV made their presence known early on, and Stevens didn’t help themselves either, opening with a penalty, a QB sack and two incomplete passes to set the stage for their next miscue, a blocked punt, which stationed BV at the Stevens 3-yard line. Three plays later Petersen charged into the end zone to give the Lynx the early 7-0 lead.

“We got the wind right away in the first quarter and were inside their 5-yard line, and that field position paid off for us right away,” Garrow said.

The Lynx took advantage of a VanWesten’s pick of a tipped Raider pass, which led to a 20-yard field goal from Jorey Sorenson. VanWesten disrupted another Stevens drive that was capped off by a 15-yard TD run by Petersen to give BV a 17-0 lead. 

The Raiders took advantage of a BV turnover deep in their own territory just before the half for a 17-7 game at the half. 

VanWesten’s third pick of the night came in the fourth quarter, and resulted in a 12-yard Ty McCann pass to Adam Niessink. The Raiders answered that score a minute later on a Heckel to Jamin Wurtz, who zig-zagged 78 yards for the score.

Petersen showcased his speed again, this time on a 34-yard scamper around the right side with 4:40 to play. The Lynx also put a stop on a fourth-quarter Stevens drive that ended on an interception by Jesse Steffel and closed out the victory with their fifth – and final – interception of the defensive show.

“For the most part, our front line got a lot of pressure on their quarterback,” Garrow said. “That’s where all the interceptions came from. He tried to avoid the sack so he threw the ball up a lot.”

McCann, filling in for the injured Thomas Scholten, played well, Garrow said.

“He did what we asked him to do. He didn’t force a lot of things and took care of the ball,” Garrow said. “And getting Braiden the ball, that was the key thing.”

It’s anticipated Scholten’s wrist injury sustained in the Roosevelt game will sideline him another week. This Friday, BV hosts Watertown (3-3), which Garrow anticipates will bring a comparable defensive game plan to the field.

“Offensively, they’re pretty good,” he said. “Defensively, they play a sound four-front and will blitz a little bit, a lot similar to our defense, so it doesn’t change much from last week for us.”