Rangers steer Longhorns out to pasture

The Hill City High School Rangers are one of the hottest teams in the state right now with another convincing victory over the Faith Longhorns Sept. 20.

The momentum of the game was evident in the opening drive of the team, with Devin Buehler connecting with junior Brensen Veneklasen a mere 13 seconds into the homecoming game.

While the extra point was no good, the 6-0 lead foreshadowed the good things to come for Hill City. 

The  next Longhorns possession resulted  in a fumble which Zane Messick quickly recovered, giving the Rangers another possession with 10:16 left on the clock in the opening quarter of play. 

Buehler pitched the ball to Nick Schroeder, who set the Rangers  up  to within a couple of yards of the end zone. On the next play    Buehler strolled into the end zone making it a 13-0 Rangers lead with 9:48 left on the clock in the first quarter.

Faith struggled to move the ball against the Rangers’ defense and created their own mistakes repeatedly. 

On their second possession a series of false start penalties set the Longhorns  up with a second and 24, forcing a long pass downfield which got intercepted by the Rangers.

In three quick plays the Rangers converted that interception back into another score extending their lead to 20-0.

The Rangers stopped the Longhorns again on their next possession, forcing Faith to punt and giving Hill City possession on the Longhorn 35-yard line.

Buehler once again easily moved the ball down the field, connecting with Messickm who broke free from a tackle to take it in the end zone and giving the Rangers a commanding  27-0 lead in the first quarter. By the end of the first quarter that lead was extended to 32-0. The Rangers went on to beat Faith 53-0.

Hill City Rangers head football coach Brett Eckert credits the Ranger defense for  playing  a solid game. 

“They did their job, trusted their keys, and flew around,” Eckert said. 

“The Rangers racked up three interceptions during their romping of the Longhorns. Big time players make big time plays in big time games.” 

Eckert acknowledges that the team is always working to improve.  

“The week prior we missed a few of those big play opportunities with two dropped interceptions,” he said. “That shows growth from game to game and taking the coaching that they are receiving and using it to help them play even better.”

Eckert understands the struggles Faith has as a team. 

“They are a small school that is struggling with numbers and had a series of unfortunate injuries early in their season,” he said.  “With that happening they are having to start a lot of young kids and that is kind of the reality of having kids step into roles when they are young.”

He says it is a “pretty familiar” feeling  considering the last few seasons of Rangers football have not been as positive as this one is. 

Eckert said the growth of his team and the work the boys have put into the game to set them up for this successful 2024 season. 

“Devin does a great job with understanding our philosophy and executing it on the field,” Eckert said.  “He has been starting at the quarterback position since he was a freshman and he has grown every year with understanding what we think will help us be successful.”

Game after game  Buehler has fired to multiple receivers, making long plays that drive the offense down the field, almost without effort. 

“We emphasize the idea of taking what the defense gives us and to spread the wealth amongst all the weapons we have. We feel that only makes us more difficult to prepare for,” Eckert said. 

The Rangers (4-1) stay at home this week taking on Bennett County (2-3).

“Our strategy is the same as it has been all year,” Eckert said. “Put our best on the field and give our boys the best possible chance to win and let the boys make plays. It is pretty simple really.

“The boys are the ones doing the work and making plays consistently.  We just trust that they will make plays when given the opportunity and in all honesty, for us as coaches just to stay out of their way and let them just play and so far it has worked out pretty well for us.”