Aberdeen Roncalli found multiple ways to get the ball into the end zone on Friday night.

The Cavaliers used both offense and defense to pull away from Dakota Hills for a 50-0 non-conference football homecoming win at Dacotah Bank Stadium.

Roncalli’s offense led the charge from the start, and coach Billy Young attributed the offensive success to new plays installed earlier in the week.

“We put some new stuff in this week and we were able to execute that well,” Young said. “Aside from a couple of turnovers and some penalties, we did a pretty good job of moving the ball up and down the field.”

Brody Weinmeister got the scoring started for the Cavaliers, as the junior running back dashed 85 yards down the Roncalli sideline for the opening score in the first quarter. Later, quarterback Zane Backous connected with junior wideout Aiden Fisher for a 37-yard touchdown pass, giving the Cavaliers a 14-0 advantage after the opening quarter.

It was just the start of things to come for Fisher, who had a pair of receiving touchdowns on the evening.

“It was great play calling by my coach, offensive coordinator, good blocking by my O-linemen, and good passing by my quarterback,” Fisher said.

The Roncalli defense got involved in the scoring to open the second quarter as linebacker Brad Harms recovered a Grizzlies fumble in the end zone, extending the Cavalier lead to 21-0. Cade Young would add a touchdown run before Backous would recover yet another fumble in the end zone for a second defensive touchdown.

Coach Young was pleased to see his defense perform well, while also getting into the scoring act.

“It was good to see that,” Young said. “Anytime you can hold somebody scoreless and get 50 points, that’s a good night.”

Dakota Hills coach Jason McNamara gave credit to Roncalli for being physical at the point of attack.

“They ran what we saw they ran. We just did not fill holes tonight,” McNamara said. “They double teamed our guys and we didn’t have the linebackers that came up and hit. We didn’t have corners that came up and hit, either, tonight.”

Weinmeister added a second rushing touchdown to give the Cavaliers a 42-0 lead at halftime. In the third quarter, Fisher put the finishing touches on homecoming night with a 21-yard touchdown reception from Backous, ending the game due to the mercy rule.

Fisher noted that it was a memorable night for the team.

“I think it’s going be a good memory,” Fisher said. “50’d the team by third quarter and nothing (more) you could really ask for.”

Fisher finished with 77 yards rushing, while adding 58 receiving yards and two touchdown receptions. Weinmeister led the Cavaliers with 108 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns.

Dakota Hills finished with 40 total yards. McNamara said the team must keep improving moving forward into next week’s game at Webster.

“Just keep getting better. Our season’s not going as well right now,” McNamara said. “We’re 0-4 now, but we’re getting better. We’re better than last year, but we’ve just got to keep doing it. Just keep working on our normal stuff and just get better day by day.”

Despite the win, Young knows there are things that his team needs to work heading into next Friday’s contest at Mobridge-Pollock, including limiting turnovers and penalties.

“We’ve got to start protecting the ball better. It’s something we take a lot of pride in, something we work hard on in practice, and we’re just going to have to keep chipping away at it because we’re putting the ball on the ground too much,” Young said. “For a team that only fumbled once last year, we’re averaging about two (fumbles) a game right now. That’s something going into the second half of the season we’ve got to get better at.”

Dakota Hills (0-4) 0 0 0 – 0

Aberdeen Roncalli (3-1) 14 28 8 – 50

First Quarter

AR – Brody Weinmeister 85 run (kick failed), 7:05

AR – Aiden Fisher 37 pass from Zane Backous (Weinmeister run), 2:20

Second Quarter

AR – Brad Harms fumble recovery (kick good), 11:49

AR – Cade Young 1 run (kick good), 9:45

AR – Backous fumble recovery (kick good), 8:23

AR – Weinmeister 5 run (kick good), 6:14

Third Quarter

AR – Fisher 21 pass from Backous (Weinmeister run), 4:25

OFFENSE: Dakota Hills rushing 21-40 (Dylan Rumpza 10-27), passing 0-7-1 for 0; Aberdeen Roncalli rushing 26-302 (Brody Weinmeister 3-108, Aiden Fisher 4-77, Cade Young 6-30, Kaden Larson 5-25), passing 2-3 for 58 (Zane Backous 2-3 for 58), receiving (Aiden Fisher 2-58).

DEFENSE: Dakota Hills, Newton Campbell fumble recovery, Tyler Heinje fumble recovery; Aberdeen Roncalli, Brad Harms fumble recovery, Carter Samson fumble recovery, Zane Backous fumble recovery, Jean Anthony Thomas interception.