Rangers score big at home

The Hill City Ranger football team gave its fans something to cheer about Friday night. The Rangers put together their highest scoring performance of the season while defeating the Lead-Deadwood Golddiggers 45-35 at home and punched their ticket to the first round of postseason play.

“I think the game on Friday was much more indicative of the team that we actually are,” said head coach Brett Eckert.

The evening kicked off with parents night for the senior football players and cheerleaders followed by a special tribute to the memory of senior Barret Bush, who the community lost earlier this summer.

Hill City held the first possession of the game but quickly threw the ball into the hands of the Golddiggers, who converted the interception into a touchdown on the next play, kicking a field goal to put the Rangers down by seven.

The Rangers next possession was on their own 39-yard line, where quarterback Colt Eckert completed a 31-yard pass to Brodi Moriarty, who was down at Lead’s 30-yard line. Alan Harvey ran the ball up the left side, breaking a tackle to get into the end zone. Kicker Logan Street made the field goal to tie up the game despite taking a hard hit. Lead-Deadwood was penalized for roughing the kicker.

The Rangers were up as much as 38-13 before opening the door for Lead to get back in it, with back-to-back scores from the Goldiggers.

“They fought back,” said Eckert. “Even though offensively for us, we still felt like we were able to move the ball. We just had a couple turnovers that were not ideal.”

With just a three-point game and eight minutes left to play, “We said we have to get a drive. We have to put it in the end zone, and we need to do it now,” said Eckert. “And the boys responded.”

“We took the ball straight down the field and ended up scoring,” added Eckert.

Hill City finished the game on top with a final score of 45-35 to round out its regular season. 

Hill City saved one of its best performances for just the right time as the victory advanced the team to the first round of the South Dakota 9AA football playoffs.

“Right now, we have a good handful of guys who are making plays. So, what does that mean for this week? We’ll see,” said Eckert. 

“I’ve been saying all season, we’ve been injury plagued,” he said. “Everybody’s back, everybody’s healthy, and we get to travel to Parkston on Thursday.”

Hill City will travel to Parkston Thursday to take on the undefeated Trojans on their home field. Parkston enters the post season with an 8-0 record, making Thursdays contest a true challenge for the Rangers. The two teams previously met to start the season Aug. 21, where Parkston came away with a 54-24 victory. The Rangers look to carry Friday night’s momentum into the matchup.