Orab Football Team Opens Season With 42-32 Win

Date posted - August 25, 2012

The Sheldon Orab football Team opened the season on the road at Albert City Friday night as they posted a 42-32 non district win over Sioux Central.

After a scoreless first quarter the Orabs  got on the board first when they went on a 72 yard drive capped by a 4 yard Hunter McDonald touchdown run. The extra point was no good and Sheldon had the early 6-0 lead with 11:54 to go in the second quarter.

The Rebels answered with a 66 yard drive. Parker Habben tossed a 40 yard touchdown pass to Dallas Heuton. The 2 point attempt was no good and the score was tied at 6-6 with 7:21 to go in the first half.

Sheldon got on the board again on a 68 yard drive as quarterback Chris Balster found Tom Brown for an 11 yard touchdown completion. It was Balster to McDonald for the 2 point conversion and Sheldon was up 14-6 with 3:44 to go in the half.

The Rebels would answer again taking advantage of a 35 yard field after their defense held Sheldon deep in Orab territory on third down. Devin Tripp scored on a 1 yard run. The 2 point attempt was no good and the Sheldon lead was cut to 14-12 with: 27 seconds to go in the second quarter and that would be the halftime score.

Sheldon got the ball to start the second half and scored on a quick two play drive. A 41 yard run by Hunter McDonald got the Orabs to the 22 yard line. From there Balster found Tom Brown for a 22 yard touchdown pass. The 2 point attempt was no good and the Sheldon lead was 22-12 with 10:35 left in the third quarter.

Sioux Central answered with a 60 yard drive capped when Tripp went in from a yard out. Habben scored the 2 point conversion with a quarterback keeper to tie the score at 20-20 with 7:09 left in the third and that was the way the quarter ended.

Early in the fourth quarter Balster found Nate Oostra on a 70 yard touchdown strike. It was Balster to Matt Dykstra for two and Sheldon was back in front 28-20 with 10:42 left in the game.

On the ensuing kick off the Rebels Nathan Leer brought the ball back 70 yards plus to set up a 4 yard touchdown run by Tripp. The 2 point attempt was no good and the Orab lead was 28-26 with 10:21 to play.

On their next possession Chris Balster broke free on a 65 yard touchdown run. The 2 point attempt was no good and the Sheldon lead was up to 34-26.

The game finally swung completely the Orabs way when a Clayton Scheibler hit caused a fumble that Sheldon recovered at their own 44 yard line. Balster quickly turned it into points when he weaved his way through traffic and won a footrace to the end zone 56 yards later. Matt Dykstra scored on the 2 point attempt and the Sheldon lead was 42-26 with 8:40 to play.

The Rebels ended the scoring with a 74 yard drive that took the clock down to 2:12 as Leer went in from 6 yards out. The 2 point attempt was no good and the final score would be 42-32 as the Orabs ran out the clock on their final possession.

The Orabs home opener with come on Friday when they host the Spencer Tigers at Orab Field in another non district game.