Rutland Thunder vs South Delta Sun Devils

In a defensive battle between physical AAA teams, The South Delta Sun Devils leaned on their superstar running back on their way to a 30-8 victory over the Rutland Thunder.

The Thunder gave South Delta all they could handle, and this contest was much closer than the final score indicated. In playoff games that are tight and are as hard-fought as this one, teams often tend to turn to their star players to make big plays to put them over the top.

The Sun Devils did just that and turned to superstar running back Damian Dumas, who rewarded them greatly with two game-breaking runs that helped propel his team to victory.

Damian, who started the season playing quarterback due to his brother's broken wrist, has shown he's truly a versatile weapon all season. After excelling at the quarterback position for a couple of weeks. Since his brother's return, the grade 11 standout has jumped back to his natural position of running back and hasn't looked back.

Damian can be seen weekly using his excellent vision to find slivers in opposing defenses before exploding into the open field and using his track star speed to finish long touchdown runs. With the lights shining as bright as they have all year, Damian didn't shy away from the big stage. If anything, he upped his game with 19 carries for 180 yards and two scores, along with four catches for 50 yards.

Both teams felt each other out early. With only a few first downs for either side, both offenses struggled to sustain drives. With the Sun Devils needing a big play, it was time for the Western Conference Offensive MVP to make a play.

Damian showcased his explosion on a 60-yard touchdown run and left Thunder defenders in his dust to open the scoring for South Delta.

The Sun Devils defense deserves a ton of credit as well. The Thunder play a physical style, boasting one of the biggest Offensive lines in AAA football and a great passing game led by quarterback Carter Cook.

South Delta's defensive unit rose to the occasion. Matching Rutland's physicality, they held the Thunder to 50 yards rushing on 30 attempts. The team's defensive line registered five sacks, making life for Cook vastly uncomfortable in the pocket while trying to throw the ball all night.  

Rutland drove the ball deep into South Delta territory late in the second quarter. The Sun Devils' defense once again stepped up big time, forcing and recovering a fumble at their own 10-yard line to keep the Thunder off the scoreboard and held on to their 7-0 lead at the half.

The defensive battle continued into the third quarter, where neither team managed to find the endzone as both teams continued to play suffocating defense.

Here's the thing: sometimes, it doesn't matter how good you're playing on defense because, as the Thunder unfortunately found out, Damian Dumas is inevitable.

Damian struck again on a pitch play to the outside following great blocking. He found a seam wide and cut back across the field, making a Thunder defender miss, and no one was gonna track him down after that.

That 50-yard scoring run put the Sun Devils up 14-0 early in the 4th. Rutland refused to quit, and after a punt that pushed the Devils deep into their own territory, they forced the Devils to take a safety and kickoff from the 20-yard line.

Rutland then put together their only scoring drive of the game to push the score to 14-8 with just over three minutes to go. With the ball back late, the Sun Devils put the ball in Dominic Dumas's hands to finish off the Thunder for good.

The eldest Dumas brother showed why he, too, is a star. Showing incredible poise at a pivotal point in the game, he leads the Sun Devils all the way downfield.

On a 3rd and goal from the 15-yard line, Dominic threw a strike to receiver Anthony de Albuquerque for the put-away score. With the successful two-point play, the Devils gave themselves some breathing room at 22-8 with a minute 20 left in the game.

With Rutland in desperation mode, a late heave was picked by Dominic Dumas, who showed off his dual-threat ability and ran the ball all the way back for another touchdown. Despite the score being 14-8, with just 3 minutes to go, the scoreboard read 30-8 Sun Devils at the final horn.

The strong Sun Devil's defensive performance was led by Hudson Wight's 11 tackles. The linebacker has worked his tail off to come back from a broken leg and is an emotional leader for the team. Only returning two weeks ago to South Delta's lineup, Wights has given the Sun Devils a tremendous boost for the postseason.

Gage Spargo and Dominic added to the unit's strong performance with eight tackles each, while Damian contributed with seven of his own.

Sun Devils Head Coach Ray Moon praised his opponents and his team postgame.

"No doubt we were in a battle tonight, and full credit to Rutland and their team. They played hard and physical," said Moon.

"Ultimately, in a tight game like this, a few plays win you the game. Our offense made a couple, and our defense made a couple, and we kept Rutland from making those explosive plays that we had seen so often on film."

The Sun Devils now advance to the AAA Semi-Finals, where they'll play the W.J. Mouat Hawks.