Cross County's Carter Seim (10) leaps over teammate Cory Hollinger (22) on a first-quarter run against Tri County on Tuesday in the Class D-1 quarterfinals in Stromsburg.
FRANCIS GARDLER, JOURNAL STAR
Cross County's Cael Lundstrom stiff-arms Tri County's Brandon Seibolt in the second quarter Tuesday in a Class D-1 quarterfinal in Stromsburg.
STROMSBURG — Carter Seim says he doesn’t like cold weather, but you might have trouble convincing Tri County of that.
The Cross County sophomore running back rushed for 263 yards and four touchdowns and added an interception on defense to lead the Cougars to a 36-12 win over Tri County in the quarterfinals of the Class D-1 state football playoffs Tuesday night.
Cross County (7-4) advances to a Monday semifinal against neighboring Osceola/High Plains, which knocked off No. 1 Howells-Dodge in its quarterfinal.
“I really don’t like it,†the 6-foot, 175-pound Seim said about the 13-degree wind chill. After the backups finished the final 5 minutes of the game, Seim assumed a spot right in front of the sideline heater.
“The cold weather really wasn’t a big deal,†he added. “Once we were able to get the momentum back there late in the first half, we finally got rolling in the third quarter.â€
With Tri County leading 12-0 late in the half, Seim scored on a 32-yard run with 18.3 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to four and start Cross County’s 36-point run to end the game.
The Cougars dominated the second half. Running out of the wildcat, Seim broke runs of 33 and 27 yards in the third quarter. After Landen Berck scored on a 15-yard run with 10:37 left in the game, Seim finished his night with a 13-yard scoring jaunt around left end.
“Carter is a special kid, and it happened for him because of those guys on the offensive line,†Cross County coach Hayden DeLano said. “They (Tri County) shut down our I-formation, so we went to the wildcat and got some other things to work.â€
Quarterback Cole Siems scored on a 4-yard TD run on Tri County’s first possession of the game and teammate Dominic Smith added a 1-yard scoring plunge with 2:06 left in the first half to give the Trojans (7-4) their 12-0 advantage.
Siems rushed for 50 yards in the first half and was 5-of-8 passing for 66 yards. The junior suffered a knee injury late in the third quarter and did not return.
“We needed a stop there at the end of the first half, and it seemed like the game changed once they busted that first one,†Tri County coach Brett Scheiding said. “It seemed like every time we loaded up and stopped something, they’d hit us somewhere else.â€
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Cross County's Carter Seim (10) leaps over teammate Cory Hollinger (22) on a first-quarter run against Tri County on Tuesday in the Class D-1 quarterfinals in Stromsburg.