RICHARDTON -- For the past week, defense was the focus for Richardton-Taylor-Hebron, which hosted Towner-Granville-Upham on Tuesday in the first round of the nine-man football playoffs.
The Titans had averaged 43 points per game during the regular season, but when the clock struck zero in Richardton, all that stood under guest on the scoreboard was a big, fat goose egg and a 36-0 RTH victory.
"We practiced all weekend. We even practiced on Sunday," junior running back Jadon Messer said. "It was strictly defense, defense. We broke down film, put it all together and did what we could."
The Raiders provided the offense while their defense posted a shutout to advance to the second round and a Saturday afternoon game in Crosby against Divide County.
"It's big to win that playoff game and get to the next round," RTH coach Travis Olson said. "We don't have much time to get ready for the next team. (Divide County) is a heck of a team.
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"We have no time to go back to the drawing board. We have to hit it right away."
TGU turned the ball over four times, including three times in the first half, which put the Titans in a 20-0 hole. RTH senior quarterback Garrett Zent, who ran in two touchdowns, also returned an interception 52 yards to paydirt in the first half.
"We talked about stepping up," Olson said. "If you want to be a big player, you step up now. Now is the time. They did. Some guys made some big plays."
The real star on defense, however, was senior Robert Messmer. The 6-foot-4, 215 pound defensive lineman picked up three sacks and recovered a fumble as well. Two of his sacks set up fourth-and-long situations for TGU, which resulted in turnovers on downs.
"He really stepped it up tonight and we hope he can continue doing that throughout the playoffs," Messer said. "I'm just amazed at how he did. It was awesome."
Offensively, the Raiders were able to move the ball with ease on the ground. Zent punched in his touchdowns from 1-yard and off a 15-yard bootleg. Senior back Brandon Myran posted the opening score of the game on a 38-yard burst and Messer scored on a 21-yard scamper.
Messer led the Raiders with 126 yards on 15 carries.
"Everybody connected," Messer said. "The line, their blocks were there. We just came together as a team tonight, put up 36 points and won the game."
