SHERBURNE – After taking a two-year hiatus from the football field, seniors Keith Rood and Sergio Rapp decided a few weeks ago that they wanted to give football a final shot. Along with their good friend Nathan Backus, the trio began practicing in early September hoping they could give the Sherburne-Earlville Marauders a spark in their season.

While an injury slowed Backus from joining his pals in the S-E starting lineup, the duo of Rood and Rapp certainly gave Sherburne-Earlville the boost it needed as the Marauders rolled to a second straight win, putting away the Indians of West Canada Valley, 34-20 on Saturday.

The Marauders jumped out to a 14-6 lead following the first quarter and held onto the same lead at the half time break as either team was able to add points in the second stanza.

Coming out of the half time, Rood scored the only touchdown of the third quarter as he punched in from one yard out to give Sherburne-Earlville a 20-6 lead.

Both teams scored two touchdowns in the final 12 minutes of play but with their 14 point lead heading in the fourth, the Marauders were able to return home from the first road trip of the season with their second straight win.

Rood led the way for the Sherburne-Earlville offense, rushing for 218 yards and three touchdowns on just 15 touches. His longest rushing score of the game was for 39 yards while Rood also added a touchdown on the defensive side of the ball, intercepting as pass from the arm of Indians’ quarterback Christopher Schultz for 47 yards and the score.

Meanwhile, his counterpart Rapp helped lead a stout S-E run defense that held West Canada Valley to a total 41 yards on the ground. Rapp had 11 tackles on the afternoon, all but one coming within 2 yards of the line of scrimmage, adding a team-best two tackles for a loss to his statline.

Teammate’s Brandon Howard and Cody Beckwith recorded 16 tackles each to aid in the Indians’ limited ground game.