<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0mJpxl_0w0YCT9B00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0mJpxl_0w0YCT9B00" width="1680" height="1120" ><figcaption>Dell Rapids' Cole Ruesink walks the sideline during a game against West Central on Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, at Jim Uttecht Field in Hartford. Trent Singer / Sioux Falls Live</figcaption></figure>DELL RAPIDS — It was never going to be an easy task for the Dell Rapids football team to replace what it lost from a year ago.Fourteen seniors graduated, and a new coach was tasked with leading the way. It was pretty much a certainty there would be growing pains for a program that, over the span of two seasons, won 24 straight games, including back-to-back Class 11A state championships.In Week 1, the struggles were evident, as the Quarriers were handed a 22-14 loss against Dakota Valley at home.But a commitment persisted. There was trust in the process. The players began buying into what the coaching staff was selling, and in return, they gained a renewed sense of confidence in their individual roles.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1aseJk_0w0YCT9B00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1aseJk_0w0YCT9B00" width="1680" height="1062" ><figcaption>Dell Rapids players celebrate with Cole Ruesink after he scored a touchdown against West Central on Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, at Jim Uttecht Field in Hartford. Trent Singer / Sioux Falls Live</figcaption></figure>Since then, Dell Rapids has rattled off five consecutive wins, and the championship aura has been rekindled by a group of 19 seniors who are committed to carrying on the program’s recent dominance.One of those seniors is 5-foot-10, 175-pound athlete Cole Ruesink, who has been a three-year defensive starter for the Quarriers but has stepped up the last two seasons as an offensive playmaker as well.“He’s a special, special player and a great kid,” first-year Dell Rapids coach Derek Genzlinger said. “That’s a leader on our team, and he really stepped up in a leadership role to be a vocal leader. He’s not a super vocal kid, so when he talks, our kids know to pay attention. He leads by example there.“He’s phenomenal. I couldn’t ask for anything better.”<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1paznn_0w0YCT9B00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1paznn_0w0YCT9B00" width="1680" height="1084" ><figcaption>Dell Rapids' Cole Ruesink breaks free for a 56-yard touchdown run against West Central on Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, at Jim Uttecht Field in Hartford. Trent Singer / Sioux Falls Live</figcaption></figure>On offense this season, Ruesink has carried the ball 85 times for 734 yards and nine touchdowns, and he also has 11 receptions for 165 yards. Defensively, he has four interceptions, one sack and one touchdown, and on special teams, he has two kickoff returns for a touchdown and one punt return for a score.But perhaps Ruesink’s greatest asset in his final varsity season is an unwavering belief in his new head coach, which appears to be resonating with the rest of the Quarriers’ squad.So far, Ruesink has done a little bit of everything to guide Dell Rapids to a 5-1 record and its current No. 3 ranking in the latest media football poll.“Genzlinger’s definitely got us going in the right direction,” Ruesink said. “We know we can get better. We’re on a hot streak right now, but we all know we can get better.”<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4SOUw8_0w0YCT9B00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4SOUw8_0w0YCT9B00" width="1680" height="1096" ><figcaption>Dell Rapids' Cole Ruesink carries the ball against West Central on Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, at Jim Uttecht Field in Hartford. Trent Singer / Sioux Falls Live</figcaption></figure><h2>Evolving as an athlete</h2>Ruesink started out playing flag football at a young age, but by the time he reached third grade, he threw on the pads and picked up tackle football.It was around that time he fell in love with the sport.“I was a lot faster than a lot of the people out there,” Ruesink said. “It was always fun to just go out and play football, whether I was out playing junior football in Sioux Falls or in my backyard just with my friends.”Ruesink joined the Quarriers as a freshman but got his first chance to start as a sophomore DB in 2022, during which he posted 30 tackles and two interceptions. He also played sparingly on offense, notching seven carries for 75 yards and one TD.Led by former coach Jordan Huska, Dell Rapids was unblemished on its way to the program’s sixth state crown, defeating West Central 24-7 in the final to cap off a 12-0 campaign.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1XpaEL_0w0YCT9B00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1XpaEL_0w0YCT9B00" width="1680" height="1090" ><figcaption>Dell Rapids' Cole Ruesink runs with the ball against West Central on Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, at Jim Uttecht Field in Hartford. Trent Singer / Sioux Falls Live</figcaption></figure>For Ruesink, the success he saw on the field his sophomore year was attributed to a coach who set him up for success.“He kind of got me into it and made sure everything was right for me,” Ruesink said about Huska. “I knew what I was going to do going into every game.“He had me feeling confident, and when I did mess up, he got mad in a good way. I was taught a lot from that.”The following season, despite a target on their backs, the Quarriers laid waste to their opponents and put together a second straight perfect season to capture back-to-back state championships. Dell Rapids outscored the opposition 516-152 during its 12-game slate, which ended with a 42-6 thumping of West Central in the 11A title game.Guys like quarterback Jack Henry, who’s now at South Dakota State, and running back/defensive back Mason Stubbe, who’s now playing safety at Northern State, were at the forefront of that 2023 run, but Ruesink played no small role of his own.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4ToYAZ_0w0YCT9B00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4ToYAZ_0w0YCT9B00" width="1680" height="1074" ><figcaption>Dell Rapids' Cole Ruesink is congratulated by teammate Tad Tjaden after Ruesink scored a touchdown against West Central in the Class 11A state championship Friday, Nov. 10, 2023, at the DakotaDome in Vermillion. Trent Singer / Sioux Falls Live</figcaption></figure>In his first season as an offensive starter, Ruesink led the Quarriers in receiving with 21 catches for 447 yards and six scores. He was also featured heavily on the ground in Dell Rapids’ Wing-T offense, finishing with 717 yards and eight TDs on 67 rushes.On defense, he added 22 tackles, two interceptions and a defensive touchdown, and once again, he was a force on special teams, tallying one punt return TD and one kickoff return TD.“We’re all best friends from that team, so to win it with all of your buddies was a really big deal,” Ruesink said. “It was just a really good time. Going 24-0 doesn’t happen a lot.“Coming into this year, we lost the first game, but now we’re battling back every game and getting better every week.”<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3h1KNv_0w0YCT9B00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3h1KNv_0w0YCT9B00" width="1680" height="1100" ><figcaption>Dell Rapids' Quinn Carr is congratulated by teammate Cole Ruesink after Carr scored a touchdown against West Central on Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, at Jim Uttecht Field in Hartford. Trent Singer / Sioux Falls Live</figcaption></figure><h2>College aspirations</h2>Ruesink fully intends to continue playing at the next level. As of now, he holds offers from the University of Sioux Falls, Northern State, Dakota State and Dakota Wesleyan.However, there’s still some uncertainty about what position he’ll play in college. The Quarriers’ Wing-T offensive scheme doesn’t allow for Ruesink to line up out wide very often, but regardless of how he’s used in college, there’s no doubt about his ability to elevate those around him.“He’s always making me look good,” Dell Rapids senior Quinn Carr said. “He’s just got great lateral movement. I might block left or block right. He goes around it no matter what and just does what he’s got to do when he gets free.”Following last season’s run to a second straight title, Huska went out on top, bringing an end to his six-year reign as coach.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1UO6ek_0w0YCT9B00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1UO6ek_0w0YCT9B00" width="1680" height="1060" ><figcaption>Dell Rapids' Cole Ruesink runs the ball against West Central in the Class 11A state championship Friday, Nov. 10, 2023, at the DakotaDome in Vermillion. Trent Singer / Sioux Falls Live</figcaption></figure>That opened the door for Genzlinger to take the job after serving a couple of seasons as an assistant coach under Huska.An eight-point loss to Dakota Valley signaled hard times could be ahead for the Quarriers, but since then, they’ve scored an average of 36.4 points per game while allowing just 10 ppg.A familiar feeling has returned to the Dell Rapids sideline — the championship aura might be back.Time will tell, but with players like Ruesink leading the charge, anything is possible.“I think in the first game, we kind of put our toes in the water and felt it out, and since then, we’ve just taken off,” Ruesink said. “I feel like we’re getting a lot better every week."Wherever we go, we go, but I think we’re definitely going in the right direction.”</div></body>

Mountain View, CA

NewsBreak

Cole Ruesink's playmaking ability gives Dell Rapids football renewed hope in quest for three-peat

DELL RAPIDS — It was never going to be an easy task for the Dell Rapids football team to replace what it lost from a year ago. Fourteen seniors graduated, and a new coach was tasked with leading the way. It was pretty much a certainty there would be growing pains for a program that, over the span of two seasons, won 24 straight games, including back-to-back Class 11A state championships.

Cole Ruesink's playmaking ability gives Dell Rapids football renewed hope in quest for three-peat

Comments / 0