Aberdeen Roncalli scored points in a hurry Friday night, but it was the team’s ability to handle a frenetic pace on the other side of the ball that was just as valuable in a 56-6 homecoming win over Mobridge-Pollock.

The Cavaliers were able to thwart the break-neck speed of play when the Tigers had the ball to help fuel the non-conference football victory that ended on the 50-point rule with 6:51 remaining.

“We knew we could probably move the ball against them. What we were worried about is, could we stop them from scoring a lot of points?” said Roncalli coach Billy Young. “Our plan had been to try to hold the ball as long as we could. When we had the ball, take the play-clock down. We were able do that. That gave our defense some rest.”

The Cavaliers set the tone by taking the opening kickoff down the field and scoring on a six-yard quarterback keeper by Jackson Isakson. That’s when the fast-forward button was pushed as Mobridge-Pollock went on offense.

The Tigers snapped the ball as quickly as they could after nearly every single play throughout the game. As soon as the officials spotted the ball, it was snapped for the next play.

“It’s exhausting,” said Roncalli’s Zane Backous who plays on both sides of the ball. “It’s enough just to play the defensive side of the field and then after you’re done with the defense you have to go to the offense. It just gets exhausting.”

The Cavaliers were able to stay discipline on defense and not get caught up in all of the commotion.

“Play your assignment, hit hard. That’s all you have to do,” Backous said of the defensive strategy. “Stay in your gap. If everybody does their job, you can’t go anywhere.”

Roncalli was definitely prepared for the Tigers’ unique offensive method and had practiced all week for the up-tempo style.

“We spent most of our time in practice this week, practicing not necessarily against their plays, but against their tempo,” Young said.

That caused the coaching staff to be pretty creative to come up with enough bodies to replicate the proper scenario.

“When you don’t have a lot of bodies to practice against, you have one group run plays and have your defense line up against trash cans,” Young said. “Just get lined up, run a blitz, and then run down 30 yards and line up against another set of trash cans and then run back. The trick is getting a call and getting lined up.”

Those practice sessions played a key role in the game.

“We maybe went twice as fast as we did out here on the field,” said Roncalli senior Abe Kretchman who led the Cavaliers with six tackles. “Every day for conditioning we did that, so that really prepared us.”

While Roncalli was prepared on defense, they were a machine on offense, rolling up 335 yards on the ground and scoring on nearly every possession.

The Cavaliers featured a multiple-pronged attack as Isakson finished with 103 yards rushing, Maddox May 100 and Andrew Brennan 51. All three players had two touchdowns apiece. Kretchman added 57 yards on the ground.

Roncalli has now exploded for 126 points in its last two games.

“We’ve been running the same offense. People might think they’ll be able to adjust to us, but we just keep pushing forward,” Kretchman said.

A big key is throwing in a few wrinkles.

“We kind of change up our snap count. We do a few other things to keep people guessing,” Kretchman said. “It looks all the same, but that’s what tricks them.”

While Roncalli’s skill position players found the endzone with regularity against the Tigers, Young said it was the offensive line that played a key role in the offensive outburst.

“Our offensive line played outstanding,” Young said. “One thing that worried us is, they blitz so much it creates some chaos in there and sometimes you’re not able to pick everything up, and our offensive line was able to pick up all their blitzing for the most part and everything just seemed to click.”

Roncalli improved to 5-0 on the season and will now get a week off before hosting St. Thomas More on Saturday, Oct. 1.

“We need a break,” Young said. “I think we can handle the break. I don’t think that will be a problem.”

Mobridge-Pollock (3-2) 0 6 0 0 – 6

Aberdeen Roncalli (5-0) 14 21 6 14 – 56

First Quarter

AR – Jackson Isakson 6 run (Isakson kick), 7:48.

AR – Maddox May 7 run (Isakson kick), 2:09.

Second Quarter

AR – Andrew Brennan 26 run (Isakson kick), 10:41.

MP – Simon Fried 10 pass from Jackson Eisemann, 8:17.

AR – Brennan 4 run (Isakson kick), :57.

AR – May 14 run (Isakson kick), :31.

Third Quarter

AR – Isakson 23 run, 9:11.

Fourth Quarter

AR – Keegan Stewart 10 pass from Isakson (Isakson kick), 11:42.

AR – Kaden Larson 10 run (May run), 6:51.

OFFENSE: Mobridge-Pollock rushing 31-96 (Aiden Schoenhard 19-67, Fried 4-43), passing 6-20-1 for 84 (Eisemann 6-19-1 for 84, Dylan Berg 0-1-0 for 0), receiving (Berg 3-74, Fried 1-10), first downs 8; Aberdeen Roncalli rushing 42-335 (Isakson 9-103, May 14-100, Abe Kretchman 9-57, Brennan 4-51), passing 5-9-1 for 54 (Isakson 5-9-1 for 54), receiving (Philip Zens 1-14, Kretchman 1-13, Keegan Stewart 1-10, Jayden Munroe 1-9, Brennan 1-14), first downs 23.

DEFENSE: Mobridge-Pollock, Kobe Johnson-Good Shield 10 tackles, Mark Sandquist 6 tackles, Carter Hinsz 4 tackles; Aberdeen Roncalli, Kretchman 6 tackles, Josh Schaunaman 4 tackles, May 4 tackles.