Stephen-Argyle Storm Football comeback falls short in loss to Border West

The Stephen-Argyle Storm Football team opens the 2026 season in Wheaton as they take on the Border West Buccaneers at 6:00 p.m. The game can be heard on KROX Radio with the RiverView Health pre-game show at 5:30 p.m.

1st Quarter –
Border West started the game with the ball and had a six play drive that sputtered and they turned it over on downs. Stephen-argyle tried a pass on the third play of their drive and Border West was called for pass interference and the Storm had a fresh set of downs. Kellen Johnson ran the ball twice for six yards and Zaiven Martinez ran for three yards before Ashton Setterholm dropped back to pass and hit a streaking Ryan Swanson down field for a 29 yard touchdown. Reid Rivard kicked the extra point and the Storm led 7-0 with 6:25 left in the quarter.
Border West hurt themselves with an incomplete pass and a penalty before they turned it over on downs. Stephen-Argyle ran five plays before they turned it over on downs

2nd Quarter –
Border West had the ball three minutes into the second quarter with a drive that started at their own 29-yard line. It didn’t take the Buccaneers long to move the ball to midfield before Tryg Olson ran 47 yards for a touchdown, and after the extra point was good, they led 8-7 with 7:32 left in the half.
Stephen-Argyle struggled in the second quarter on the offensive side of the ball. They ran four plays at midfield and turned the ball over on downs. The teams exchanged possessions before Border West had the ball at the Stephen-Argyle 44-yard line with 2:29 left in the half. They had a gain of 15 yards for a first down, and two plays later ran for 11 yards for another first down. Two plays later, Owen Deal completed a pass to Brock Martig for a touchdown and Border West led 14-7 going into halftime.

3rd Quarter –
Stephen-Argyle made some changes at halftime and started the half with the ball. The Storm ran three plays for 11 yards and got a first down. Three plays later, they recorded another first down before the drive sputtered with a loss of four yards and an incomplete pass to turn the ball over on downs. Border West opened up the game on the next drive as they scored a touchdown on the third play of the drive on a short pass from Owen Deal to Sam Rinke, who broke several tackles and ran 62 yards after the reception for a touchdown, and the Buccaneers had a 20-7 lead. Stephen-Argyle had another lengthy drive and got a first down on a fourth-and-one play to extend the drive. Border West had back-to-back penalties of 10 and 15 yards for a free 25 yards for the Storm. They recorded another first down and got inside the five-yard line, but were stopped on a fourth and short at the four-yard line and turned it over on downs.
Border West had a three-and-out, and their punt only went 14 yards.

4th Quarter –
Stephen-Argyle started the final quarter with the ball and had 12 yards on the first two plays for a first down to set up a first and goal. The Storm got the ball down to the one-yard line and handed the ball to Kellen Johnson, who scored on a one-yard run, and after Rivard’s extra point kick, the Storm trailed 20-14.
Border West responded with an impressive drive that started at their own 37-yard line. It only took them eight plays, aided by a 15-yard facemask penalty, and the Buccaneers scored on a 19-yard run after breaking several tackles to take a 26-14 lead.
Stephen-Argyle responded in a big way as they dropped back to pass on the first play of the ensuing series, and Setterholm threw a perfect pass down the field and hit a streaking Swanson, who was wide open and he caught the ball and went 78 yards for a touchdown to bring the Storm within a 26-20 deficit with 7:44 left in the game.
Stephen-Argyle forced Border West to punt and got the ball back at their own 29-yard line with less than five minutes to go. They ran three plays and got a first down, but the next play was a 5-yard loss, stalling the drive, and the Storm turned the ball over on downs a few plays later.
Border West got a first down and ran the clock out to win 26-20.

Stephen-Argyle drops to 0-1 on the year, and they will host the Kittson County Central Bearcats on Friday, September 11. Border West improves to 1-0.

SCORING-
1st Quarter –
6:25 – Storm – Ashten Setterholm 29 yard pass to Ryan Swanson (Owen Widner kick)

2nd Quarter –
7:32 – BW – Tryg Olson 47 yard run (Dylan Groebner run)
0:38 – BW – Owen Deal 19 yard pass to Brock Martig (run failed)

3rd Quarter –
6:51 – BW – Owen Deal 62 yard pass to Sam Rinke (pass failed)

4th Quarter –
9:52 – Storm – Kellen Johnson 1 yard run (Reid Rivard kick)
8:02 – BW – Jaxon Gary 19 yard run (pass failed)
7:44 – Storm – Ashten Setterholm 79 yard pass to Ryan Swanson (kick blocked)

INDIVIDUAL STATS

Ashton Setterholm

Zaiven Martinez

Kellen Johnson

Sam Durand

Ryan Swanson

Omarion Martinez & Owen Widner

Mason Smith

Ryan Swanson

Liam Kasprowicz

Zaiven Martinez

Ashton Setterholm

Ashton Setterholm

Zaiven Martinez

Kellen Johnson

Sam Durand

Ryan Swanson

Omarion Martinez & Owen Widner

Mason Smith

Ryan Swanson

Liam Kasprowicz

Zaiven Martinez

Ashton Setterholm

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