James Jackson/MDN Divide County senior fullback Wyatt Caraballo rushed for three touchdowns on the night to lead the undefeated Maroons to their fourth win of the season and third of Region 8 play.

Attempting to make a statement in their first Class B Region 8 football game of the 2022-2023 season, the Surrey Mustangs forged a united front to battle the undefeated Divide County Maroons on homecoming night at Surrey High School before coming up short in a 38-6 loss.

Coming in to week 4 of the season with a perfect overall and regional record thus far, Divide County (4-0 overall, 3-0 Region 8) has terrorized each of their opponents with an absolute onslaught of offensive firepower.

In games against Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood and Region 8 rivals Alexander High School and Parshall High School, the Maroons have outscored their adversaries by just over 700%, calculated off of a scoring differential of 100-14 in favor of Divide County.

Not just defined by their relentless scoring potential, the Maroons have allowed only 14 points total in three games, with their last two victories coming in the form of shutouts.

For the Surrey Mustangs (1-2 overall, 0-1 Region 8), the early season has witnessed a pair of games with notable highs and lows.

After an impressive dismantling of the TGU Titans 68-6 on the road to start the new year, the Mustangs would fall 28-44 in their home opener the following week to Westhope/Newburg/Glenburn.

Unlike most teams throughout North Dakota that have already entered into regional play, Friday’s match-up against Divide County will operate as Surrey’s Region 8 opener.

Historically, Divide County has dominated head-to-head contests against the Mustangs, winning 10 out of their 13 total meetings for a .769 winning percentage.

Nevertheless, Surrey entered Friday’s game with measured confidence after winning last year’s Region 8 battle against the Maroons 42-20.

Tapping into the residual energy of last year’s victory, the Mustangs would waste no time getting on the board, taking to the air as they put together a string of completions that would culminate in a strike from within the red zone from senior QB Rylan Schieg to senior wide receiver Ethan Hanson to put Surrey ahead 6-0 after a failed 2-point conversion attempt.

Unbeknownst at the time to the Mustangs and the fans in attendance, this would ultimately be the first and last score of the contest for Surrey.

The lead would be short-lived, as Divide County engineered a scoring rebuttal of their own that was fueled by a smash-mouth style of running game that centered on heavy doses of QB options and jet sweeps.

Operating as the primary cogs in the Maroons ground attack from the first whistle were senior quarterback Easton Eriksmoen and senior fullback Wyatt Caraballo.

Serving as the Maroons resident workhorse, Caraballo could have easily been mistaken for Tampa Bay Buccaneers legend Mike Alstott, as he emphasized the importance of an oft forgotten position through his game-changing performance on the gridiron Friday night.

Working in tandem with Caraballo was Eriksmoen, who was called upon to impact the tempo of the game more so with his legs than his arm as he helmed the offense from beneath center.

Grinding down a gritty Mustangs defense throughout the first half, the undefeated Maroons would find the end zone on three separate occasions via the ground and finish these scoring drives 2-of-3 on 2-point conversions.

Accounting for two of the three rushing touchdowns was Caraballo, as Eriksmoen would convert a QB option into a touchdown of his own to extend the Divide County lead at the half to 22-6.

Continuing to work both inside and outside of the tackles at the onset of the third quarter, Carabello would once again find pay dirt, crossing the goal line at the 5:41 mark for his third touchdown of the game to inflate the Divide County lead to 30-6.

Yet, despite the optics of the score, the Surrey defense did produce a number of highlight-worthy plays throughout the second half.

Mirroring Odell Beckham Jr.’s iconic one-handed catch, senior linebacker Jesse Dalby made an incredible grab of his own to bring a premature end to one of Divide County’s promising possessions.

Eventually putting the last points of the game on the board for the Maroons would be the familiar face of Eriksmoen, whose quarterback keeper in the fourth quarter would take the Divide County lead to its final stop and put the period on their 38-6 victory.

Next Friday at 7 p.m., Divide County will take on Westhope/Newburg/Glenburn at home, while Surrey will travel to Tioga High School for their second Region 8 contest of the season.