McKenzie County Farmer - Sports

Titus Stenberg
Farmer Sports Writer

No. 4 Alexander defeated No. 5 Divide County 40-20 in a matchup of undefeated 9-Man teams in Alexander last Friday night.

Both teams have had dominant rushing offenses throughout their seasons, but Alexander’s passing attack was the story of this game. The Comets defense complemented their offense with two timely takeaways in goal-to-go situations for Divide County. “Going into the game we had the mindset of having a ‘bend but don’t break’ mentality,” said Alexander head coach, Trey Jacobson. “Divide County is a physical team that runs a tough offense and are coached well so we knew it was going to be a challenge on the defensive side of the ball. I was proud of the guys, they took some blows but kept grinding out drives and we were fortunate to create some big stops and a couple turnovers, which in big games are critical.” 

Alexander jumped out early, scoring twice in the first quarter on drives of 64 and 68 yards to take a 14–0 lead. Jullian Gant scored the first touchdown for the Comets with a 30-yard run. The second score came on a 23-yard pass from Eithen Gillespie to Jadon Champion, which would become a familiar connection throughout the game. Divide County answered with an extended, 17-play drive that took nearly nine minutes off the clock. Stockton Nelson got the Maroons on the scoreboard with a three-yard touchdown surge. The teams then traded passing touchdowns when Gillespie connected with Champion for a 41-yard touchdown that put Alexander ahead 20-6. Trayven Head hit Cole Artman for an 18-yard touchdown score to cut the Maroons deficit to 20-12 with 43 seconds left in the first half. One of the most dramatic moments came on the last play of the first half when Gillespie found Gant for a 32-yard touchdown pass as the clock hit 0:00.

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