Maconaquah Schools

The Maconaquah Braves kept their perfect record intact here Friday night after storming past the Northwestern Tigers, 42-2, in a windy, rain-soaked Three Rivers Conference contest. Coach Michael Fenters' gang is now 6-0 after learning that the game vs Shortridge on August 30 has now been reported to be an official game. It was previously declared "no contest" in the second quarter due to lightning with Maconaquah leading 28-0. The Braves and Rochester are the only unbeaten TRC teams remaining. Both teams have spotless 5-0 league marks and will lock horns at Maconaquah on October 18. The Braves are now off to their best start since 1991 and will travel to Lewis Cass Friday in an all-important TRC battle to stay in the hunt for their first conference crown since 1991. NW is now 5-1 and dropped to 4-1 in the league play. On paper, this game had the makings of a classic. Maconaquah was ranked 16th in the AP media poll, while the Tigers were ranked 15th. The Braves were averaging nearly 42 points per game, while NW was at 41 points per outing. Brock Shank, Northwestern's quarterback, was leading the state with 372 yards passing per game. It was close.... for the first nine minutes. Then AJ Kelly and Marcell Sims took over and propelled MHS to the lopsided win. A Kelly interception halted a Tiger drive at the Maconaquah 35 midway through the first quarter. With sophomore quarterback Nolan Tarrh calling the shots, the Braves methodically moved downfield before Sims scored from 10 yards out with 3:06 on the clock. Max Sachse's PAT kick made it 7-0 and the Braves were off and running. Sims would add another TD run in the second period and then scored on TD runs of one, 16 and 47 yards on three consecutive carries in the final stanza. He would finish with a career-high 218 yards on 29 carries and tied the school record with five rushing touchdowns in a single game. "I was just trying to do my best out there," said Sims after the game. "I've got three teammates out there (that transferred from Northwestern) and I wanted to show them that I love them". His 218-yard night is the 13th best single-game effort in school history. On the night Maconaquah rushed for 279 yards. Offensive line coach Dan Robinson singled out his crew that paved the way for Sims' outstanding performance. Joey Butcher, Darwin Santos, Dakoda Dauenhauer, Jakob Grant, Austin Ringeisen, Christian Rizo and Carsten Hollars were the unsung heroes that drew Robinson's praise. On the other side of the ball, Kelly sparked Mac's suffocating defense with three interceptions, tying the single-game record held by Jim Welsh (1967), Chris Black (2001) and Dan Percival (2006). With his three Tiger thefts, Kelly became Maconaquah's all-time interception leader with 13, surpassing Carter Little's previous mark of 12. Kelly's record-breaking interception came with 5:14 left in the game. Sachse's PAT kick made it 42-2 and the remainder of the game was played with a running clock. Kelly became the only player in Mac's 62-year history to score by returning an interception, fumble, punt and kickoff for touchdowns in a career. "It's crazy," said Kelly in the lockerroom after the game. "I'm very blessed. I could do nothing without our defensive line putting pressure on the opposing quarterbacks. " On now being the Braves all-time interception leader, Kelly joked that "Fuddy Kile will never touch that record! I lock down on Fuddy (Mac's career receiving leader) every day in practice." Maconaquah's defense has now allowed just two touchdowns in its first six games and is giving up a mere 2.2 points per outing. The Braves have trailed only 1:40 this season and have tied a school record with six consecutive wins at home dating back to last year. Brady Dausch, an important cog in Mac's defensive success, was injured in last week's win at Peru and will miss the remainder of the season. The Braves held a 14-0 lead at halftime when Sims scored on another 10-yard burst midway through the second period. He finished with 151 yards in the first half and kept their final drive in the half alive with a determined second-effort nine-yard rush on a critical third-and-eight play at midfield. A Tiger drive at the Maconaquah 25 was halted midway through the third quarter when NW had two incompletions followed by a pair of passes knocked down by Kelly. The Braves hurt themselves on their next possession with four penalties, including three consecutive holding penalties moving the ball back to the four. The Tigers would get their only points, via safety, with 3:32 showing on the clock, 14-2. After Northwestern's final drive in the quarter fizzled out at the 1:39 mark, the Braves took over and then put the game out of reach with a flurry of touchdowns. Leading 14-2 entering the fourth period, Sims scored on runs of one, 16 and 47 yards in less than four minutes. Sachse kicked one PAT and Tarrh added two points on a QB conversion run for a 35-2 lead. Kelly's record-breaking third interception of 31 yards for the pick-six along with another Sachse PAT boot provided the final count, 42-2. Ironically, Mac's average win margin this year is now 40 points, 42-2. Besides Kelly's defensive heroics, Hollars led Mac tacklers with 12 stops that included three tackles for loss. Sims had seven tackles, while Ringeisen added five that included four TFL and two pass break-ups. Landon Morgan had five tackles, while Tarrh and Dauenhauer were each credited with four. Mac grounded Northwestern's highly-touted passing attack to 216 yards thanks to Kelly and his relentless cohorts. The Tigers were held to 10 yards rushing. Maconaquah has now won five consecutive games vs Northwestern and leads the all-time series, 33-24. Kile was named Homecoming King. Lacie Williams was named Homecoming Queen.