FRIDAY
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State Championships at USD’s DakotaDome in Vermillion
CLASS 11B
2 Bridgewater-Emery/Ethan
1 Winner 18-14
The Warriors held on to be the 11B winners as the Seahawks’ Hail Mary attempt to end the game fell short & incomplete in an 18-14 final. After a scoreless opening frame, the teams traded touchdowns in the 2nd, giving Winner a 12-7 advantage at the break on a TD run in the closing minute of the half. The Warriors built the lead to 11 points about halfway into the 3rd, but BEE answered right after thanks to a 70-yard KO return and a short TD run that brought the Seahawks back within four. That, however, would be the rest of the scoring in this one. Winner RB Riley Orel took home the Joe Robbie MVP trophy after carrying the ball 20x for 101y & a score. QB Brady Fritz helped the Warriors w/ 11c for 35y and another TD while throwing it just 5x w/ two completions for 57y. Preston Norrid had the other Winner TD carry & just 8y on 2c. Interestingly, Sam Kruger had 10c for 48y + 1 catch for 30y and received the Most Outstanding Back award. Charley Pravecek was named Most Outstanding Lineman, finishing with four tackles & one sack. BEE had just 157y of offense (to Winner’s 255), led by Bodie Burnham. Burnham wound up w/ 14c for 61y & a TD + 3r for 38y. He also had that key 70y KOR. QB Kaden Klumb ran it 9x for just 5y and a score while going 9/16 passing for 55y and a pick. Klumb also lost a fumble on a backwards pass play.
CLASS 11AA
3 Pierre 38-6
1 Brookings
Pierre took the governor off its offense Friday night and throttled the Bobcats in a surprising 38-6 rout of previously unbeaten Brookings. The Govs got some revenge for their 21-14 regular season loss after avenging their 52-29 loss to Yankton w/ a 21-12 elimination of the Bucks in the semis last week. Pierre notched their 4th-straight championship after pulling away w/ a 21-0 2nd quarter to take a 28-6 advantage into the locker room. QB Lincoln Kienholz had two TD tosses to put the Govs up 14-6, then grabbed an INT on defense before tacking on a 2nd TD pass to keep things rolling. Kienholz took home the Joe Robbie MVP Award by going 10/19 passing for 151y & 3TD’s and running it in once for good measure. Maguire Raske was named Most Outstanding Back after piling up 164y and a score on 28 carries for Pierre. Just like Kienholz, he also had an INT on the defensive side. Jack Merkwan caught four passes for 64y & a TD, while Regan Bollweg had just 2r for 13y, but they were both TD’s. Josh Buri led the Brookings offense w/ 16c for 122y and the team’s lone score. Jaxon Bowes was held in check – going 4/13 passing for only 24y & 2int’s. Pierre’s Preston Taylor took home the Most Outstanding Lineman award after racking up seven tackles, three sacks, and five tackles for loss.
SATURDAY
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State Championships at USD’s DakotaDome in Vermillion
CLASS 11A
2 Canton
1 Tea Area 35-16
The Titans claimed their 2nd state title on the gridiron Saturday, downing the C-Hawks 35-16 to finish the season undefeated. Canton’s season started & ended w/ losses to Tea (27-21 in ssn opener). Garrett Kolbeck got things jumpstarted w/ an INT for Tea on the 1st play from scrimmage and the team rolled from there – building a 28-0 lead by halftime. QB Austin Lake racked up the yardage, piling up 116y & 2TD’s on just eight carries, while going 7/10 passing for 142y & two more scores to give him the Joe Robbie MVP award & the Most Outstanding Back honor. Kaden Johnson carried it a team-high 13x for 128y & another TD. The Most Outstanding Lineman award went to Luke Rettedal who set the tone on the offensive line. Tea finished w/ a 396-177 advantage in yardage with the Titans hitting that 396 mark on just 38 plays! They also had two INT’s. The Canton offense saw Seth Peterson finish 8/25 for 96y, a TD, and the two picks. Payton Eben caught five passes for 73y and the score. Nobody on the C-Hawks ran for more than 22y in the game w/ the longest run being 11y.
CLASS 11AAA
5 Harrisburg
2 Brandon Valley 35-14
The Lynx shut-out Harrisburg after halftime to wrap up the HSFB season w/ a 35-14 win. The teams were knotted at 14 at recess. A pair of long 3rd quarter TD runs put things out of reach. BV led the way in yardage, 416-337, and they held a 3-1 TO advantage. Tate Johnson was the workhorse again for BV, piling up 225y & 2TD’s on 27 carries to take home Most Outstanding Back honors. The Joe Robbie MVP award, though, went to his QB Joe Kolbeck. Kolbeck piled up 143y & another 2TD’s on 11c, while going 4/7 passing for 45y and a score. Offensive lineman Jaxen Mullet took home the Most Outstanding Lineman honor (and should also receive the Name of the Year award). The Tigers leaned on the passing attack w/ Jacob Knuth going 29/42 for 301y and three INT’s. He also had 9c for a loss of 9y and a TD. Lincoln Carlson led the receiving corps w/ 7r & 74y, while Anders Clayton was close behind w/ 7r for 67y. Clayton was the leading rusher for the Tigers w/ 21y on 10c.