MARCUS, Iowa — Friday’s clash of top-ranked Class A teams started out looking like it would be a high-scoring, back-and-forth affair.
It turned out to be anything but that as Class A No. 1 MMCRU outlasted No. 4 West Sioux by way of 14-7 final at MMCRU High School in Marcus on Friday in Class A District 1 play in Week 7 of the prep football slate.
“To say we’re proud of our guys is an understatement,” said MMCRU head coach Kyle Oswald. “Obviously, we’re glad to get the win. But to fight through the adversity we’ve been through together, it’s just awesome.
“We give West Sioux a ton of credit, they’re a very good football team and battled until the end. These are the types of games that make district football what it’s all about.”
The Royals forced six turnovers, the last of which sealed the victory when defensive back Kamden Bork hauled in the team’s fifth interception of the game in the senior’s first defensive start.
“This was actually my first game playing defense,” Bork said. “We had a guy go down, so I just tried to step in and step up at a new position. I was just trying to do my job (on the interception) and cover my guy. I followed him running an out route, but I turned around and saw one of my teammates make a play on the ball and popped it up.”
After it was tipped, the ball hung up in the air for a split second before Bork snagged it for the dagger, leaving MMCRU a Week 8 win against one-win Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn away from a district title to itself.
“When I saw the ball in the air, I knew that if I got it and went down, all we’d have to do is kneel down and we had the game won,” Bork said.
Senior Wyatt Alesch had two. Bork, Blake Barinsky and Michael Schmillen had one apiece. Bork also recovered a fumble on a muffed punt return by the Falcons.
Bork’s pick came with under a minute left in the fourth as West Sioux looked to put together a last-minute scoring drive, but the interception sealed the Falcons’ fate.
MMCRU (7-0, 5-0 Class A-1) took a 7-0 lead in the opening seconds of the game after senior running Brayson Mulder took the first play of the game 80 yards for a touchdown.
From there, though, each side only managed one more score each.
West Sioux (6-1, 4-1 Class A-1) was forced into a three-and-out on its first possession of the game but evened the contest at seven on the Falcon offense’s second series.
The Falcons’ 10-play, 85-yard scoring drive was capped off by a four-yard touchdown run by senior quarterback Blake Wiggins.
MMCRU took the lead back for good when junior quarterback Eli Harpenau threw a pass to senior Gage Johnson from the West Sioux 24-yard line to about the 10.
After Johnson made the catch, he pitched to the senior Barinsky, who was wheeling around the the edge to accept the pitch and dart down the MMCRU sideline for the score to put the Royals up 14-7 one minute into the second quarter.
“It means a lot to have the seniors that we do around here,” said Harpenau. “They’ve really helped me develop as a player and a person. The people we have and coaches we’ve put trust in leave it on the field every night and really make this a special program.”
From there, the defenses took over as the MMCRU hook and ladder proved to provide the final points of the game.
Mulder ended with a game-high 136 rushing yards on 17 attempts plus the score. Alesch led the MMCRU defense with eight total tackles and Mulder had six.
“I think the guys learned what they’re capable of tonight,” Oswald said. “They don’t need anything extra. These are the wins and the platforms that we need to galvanize the team. This can’t be our mountain top.”
Harpenau finished 7 of 15 passing for 106 yards with one touchdown and interception each.
“This game really showed us what we can do,” Harpenau said. “This set us up to win the district. Credit to our defense, five interceptions isn’t something to see every day.
“West Sioux was strong and physical, they matched our energy up front for pretty much the whole game.”
Wiggins was 19 of 29 passing for 264 yards and had 29 rushing yards on 19 carries with a TD but he was picked off five times in the air by the ball-hawking MMCRU secondary.
With seven wins on the season with one regular season game left plus the postseason, MMCRU matched its win total in each of the past two seasons. Prior to that, the program won just seven games over seven seasons from 2016 through the end of the 2021 campaign.
“We’ve worked for this moment,” Bork said. “We’ve wanted this since we started playing as freshmen. We still feel like we haven’t done what we’ve wanted to in the postseason the past couple of seasons, so we want our time to be now. We’ve got 21 seniors on this team. It’s our time to shine.”
“I’ve got a great coaching staff and great kids,” Oswald said. “They deserve all the credit.”
PHOTOS: West Sioux at MMCRU, Class 3A-1 football
High school football: West Sioux at MMCRU
MMCRU’s Brayson Mulder runs the ball behind the Royals’ offensive line during a Class A District 1 game against West Sioux at MMCRU High Schoo…
High school football: West Sioux at MMCRU
The MMCRU varsity football team huddles during a Class A District 1 game against West Sioux at MMCRU High School on Friday, Oct. 10.
High school football: West Sioux at MMCRU
MMCRU’s Blake Barinsky walks to the sideline for a timeout during a Class A District 1 game against West Sioux at MMCRU High School on Friday,…
High school football: West Sioux at MMCRU
MMCRU’s Kamden Bork checks with a referee as he lines up at the line of scrimmage during a Class A District 1 game against West Sioux at MMCRU…
High school football: West Sioux at MMCRU
MMCRU’s Michael Schmillen lines up prior to the snap of the ball during a game against West Sioux at MMCRU High School on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025.
High school football: West Sioux at MMCRU
West Sioux’s Braylon Lopez runs the ball up the middle against MMCRU during a Class A District 1 game at MMCRU High School on Friday, Oct. 10.
High school football: West Sioux at MMCRU
High school football: West Sioux at MMCRU
MMCRU’s Kamden Bork (4) intercepts a West Sioux pass attempts in the final minute of the Class A District game at MMCRU High School to seal th…
High school football: West Sioux at MMCRU
MMRCRU’s Kamden Bork celebrates a win over West Sioux after the game went final at MMCRU High School on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025.
High school football: West Sioux at MMCRU
High school football: West Sioux at MMCRU
West Sioux’s Blake Wiggins runs for a four-yard touchdown during a Class A District 1 game at MMCRU High School against the Royals on Friday, …
High school football: West Sioux at MMCRU
High school football: West Sioux at MMCRU
High school football: West Sioux at MMCRU
High school football: West Sioux at MMCRU
High school football: West Sioux at MMCRU
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