VERMILLION The 2024 football season came to an end as the South Dakota High School Athletics Association held their state championship games at The DakotaDome last weekend.
THURSDAY
Class 9B
Sully Buttes 34, Faulkton Area 14
Wesley Wittler put on a show, throwing for three touchdowns and running for two more to help the Chargers defeat the Trojans in the Class 9B championship.
The Chargers got on the board early when Wittler fumbled at the goal line but recovered it in the end zone and ran in the two-point conversion to give Sully Buttes an 8-0 lead.
Faulkton responded with a one-yard touchdown plunge by Gian DiMaria to cut the deficit down to 8-6 but Faulkton began a run of 26 unanswered points with a Wittler touchdown pass to Gavin Barber and another two-point conversion to put the Chargers up 16-6 with 1:29 left in the first quarter.
Wittler caught fire from there, throwing a 31-yard touchdown pass to Barber to extend the lead to 22-6 with 3:47 left in the second quarter and threw another touchdown to Teghan Westphal for 68 yards with 7:49 left in the third quarter.
Wittler ripped off a 66-yard touchdown run to put Sully Buttes up 34-6 with 1:21 left in the third quarter and DiMaria threw a 25-yard touchdown pass and a two-point conversion to DiMaria for the final score of the game with 10:19 left in the fourth quarter.
Wittler finished with 194 yards and an interception on 13-of-17 passing and ran for 158 yards to pace the Sully Buttes offense.
Barber ran for 42 yards on eight carries and caught seven passes for 73 yards and two touchdowns.
Wittler also finished with a team-high seven tackles while Taydon LaRosh had seven tackles (1.5 for loss) and a sack. Atticus Miles also had an interception.
DiMaria completed 11-of-26 passes for 169 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Landon Coyle ran the ball 19 times for 79 yards. Charlie Deiter caught seven passes for 113 yards.
DiMaria also led Faulkton defensively with eight tackles including one for a loss. Carter hall also had an interception.
Class 9AA
Hamlin 32, Parkston 8
Evan Stormo opened with a one-yard touchdown run in the first quarter but Kolton Kramer took the ensuing kickoff 97 yards back to the house to give Parkston an 8-7 lead.
That would be the last time Parkston would get on the scoreboard, however, as Turner Stevensons seven-yard touchdown run gave the Chargers a 15-8 lead with 9:37 left in the second quarter.
Stevenson scored his second touchdown on the ground from three yards out and Easton Neuendorf connected on a 45-yard field goal to give Hamlin a 25-8 lead at halftime and Jackson Wadsworth connected for a 12-yard touchdown to Boden Stevenson in the third quarter to give Hamlin the state title.
Wadsworth completed 17-of-22 passes for 216 yards and a touchdown. Turner Stevenson led the Chargers in rushing with 57 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries. Stormo caught seven passes for 80 yards.
Stormo also had 11 total tackles with a tackle for loss and an interception. Aiden Abraham and Zac Van Meeteren each had a sack.
Brycen Bruening completed 8-for-13 passes for 48 yards and an interception for Parkston. Kolter Kramer had 13 carries for 46 yards. Mason Jervik caught three passes for 22 yards and Kaden Holzbauer had three catches for 10 yards.
FRIDAY
Class 9A
Howard 38, Wolsey-Wessington 30
The Warbirds struck first when Peyton Rainford had a two-yard touchdown to cap an 11-play, 65-yard drive to open the game but Tate Miller ripped off a 43-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 6-6 with 5:59 left in the first quarter.
Howard took its first lead with 6:09 left in the second quarter when Carson Hinker connected with Luke Koepsell for a 17-yard touchdown pass and extended it with a two-yard touchdown pass to Lucas Feldhaus with 14 seconds left in the first half to take an 18-6 lead into halftime.
W-W chipped in to the lead when Caleb Richmond had a 92-yard touchdown run to make it an 18-14 game with 5:56 left in the third quarter but Miller scored his second touchdown of the game from two yards out with 3:11 left in the third quarter to give Howard a 24-14 lead.
Hinker extended the league with a 42-yard pass to Koepsell early in the fourth quarter and both teams alternated touchdowns from there as Caleb Richmond threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Moshe Richmond, Feldhaus ripped off a 32-yard touchdown run and Peyton Rainford scored from one yard out with 1:54 to play for the final 38-30 score.
Hinker completed all six passes for 112 yards and three touchdowns for the Tigers. Miller had 105 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries. Koepsell had four catches for 100 yards and two touchdowns.
Calvin Halverson led Howard with eight tackles. Koepsell and Miller each had a sack. Weston Remmers came up with an interception.
Caleb Richmond completed 19-of-27 passes for 211 yards with a touchdown and an interception for the Warbirds. He also had 115 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
Moshe Richmond led the Warbirds in receiving with 12 catches for 141 yards and a touchdown. He also led W-W with 17 tackles with one for loss and had two blocked extra points.
Class 11AA
Watertown 14, Pierre 13
The Arrows stopped Elijah Boutchee on what could have been a game-winning two-point conversion to win the Class 11AA championship.
After a scoreless first quarter, Treyton Himmrich put the Arrows on the board with a 28-yard touchdown pass to Marcus Fossum and took the 7-0 lead into halftime. Pierre responded with Kaleb Lounsburys touchdown 28-yard touchdown pass to George Stalley with 9:53 left in the third quarter but Spencer Wientjes put Watertown ahead with a 24-yard touchdown run with 3:57 left in the fourth quarter.
Boutchee scored on a six-yard keeper with 50 seconds to give the Governors a chance to tie but Pierre opted to go for the win before Boutchee was stopped on the two-point conversion and Watertown held on to win.
Himmerich completed 7-of-13 passes for 121 yards and a touchdown for the Arrows. Fossum had 82 rushing yards on 22 carries. Mitch Olson had two catches for 48 yards and Fossum had two catches for 27 yards and a touchdown.
Nathan Briggs led Watertown with seven tackles with a tackle for loss. Jayden Lambert had a sack with a fumble recovery. Wientjes also had a fumble recovery.
Lounsbury completed 23-of-25 passes for 291 yards and a touchdown. Carter Merrill led the Governors with 21 rushing yards on six carries. Stalley had eight catches for 147 yards and a touchdown.
Sutton Sonnenschein led Pierre with nine tackles and recovered a fumble.
SATURDAY
Class 11A
Lennox 14, Sioux Falls Christian 6
Boston Katzer threw a pair of touchdowns to lead the Orioles over the Cavaliers for the Class 11A title.
After a scoreless first quarter, Brayden Witte threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Cole Snyder to give the Cavaliers a 6-0 lead at halftime. But Katzer threw both scores in the third quarter, connecting with Drake Mikkelsen for a 30-yard touchdown with 7:46 left in the third quarter and to Chase Faulds on a 14-yard pass with 5:24 left in the third quarter.
Katzer completed 18-of-27 passes for 187 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions for the Orioles. Ramsey Williams led Lennox with 83 yards on 22 carries. Mikkelsen had five catches for 56 yards and a touchdown.
Nolyn Spielman led Lennox with 10 total tackles and two sacks. Leif Karlson also had a sack while Maxwell Weeldreyer and Weston Richarz each recovered a fumble.
Katzer had two interceptions while Williams and Tate Gerdes each had an interception.
Lincoln Prins completed 11-of-25 passes for 128 yards with three interceptions for Sioux Falls Christian. Brayden Witte had nine carries for 17 yards. Snyder had five catches for 80 yards and a touchdown.
Jensen Pixler and Drew Netjes each had 10 total tackles for the Cavaliers. Canyon Prins had two sacks whole Paul Hoekman and Lyncoln Leo each had 0.5 sacks. Brant Wassenaar had two interceptions.
Class 11AAA
Sioux Falls Lincoln 31, Brandon Valley 21
Brody Schafer threw three touchdowns including two to spark a second-half rally to upset Brandon Valley for the Class 11AAA title.
Schafer gave Lincoln an early lead on a 63-yard touchdown pass to Everett Starks but Briggs Knutson capped off an 11-play, 80-yard drive with a nine-yard touchdown pass to Kolton Welch to tie the game at 7-7 with 4:39 left in the first quarter.
The Lynx took a 14-7 lead when Knutson found Landon Dulaney for a four-yard touchdown pass with 7:59 left in the second quarter but Javin Agustus had a 38-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 14-14 with 6:17 left in the second quarter and Edison Nolls 19-yard field goal as time expired gave Lincoln a 17-14 lead at halftime.
Knutson put Brandon Valley back on top with a four-yard touchdown to Dulaney with 2:42 left in the third quarter but Lincoln turned up the tempo, going six plays and 80 yards in 1:02 and capping off the drive with a Schafer five-yard touchdown pass to Samuel DeGroot to give the Patriots a 24-21 lead at the end of the third quarter.
Schafer finished the game with a 63-yard touchdown pass to Michael Roche with 4:13 left in the fourth quarter to lead the Patriots for the state championship.
Schafer completed 9-of-18 passes for 226 yards and three touchdowns. He also led the Patriots in rushing with 24 carries and 122 yards on the ground. Michael Roche was Schafers top target with three catches for 81 yards and a touchdown.
Griffin Keller led Lincoln defensively with 12 total tackles. Kishmar Eberline had a fumble recovery. Tatum Bell and Gabriel Brunz each had an interception.
Knutson completed 24-of-30 passes for 239 yards with three interceptions and two touchdowns for the Lynx. Levi Veskrna had 34 carries for 167 yards. Dulaney caught 12 passes for 79 yards and two touchdowns.
Chase Leary had a team-high nine tackles for Brandon Valley. Parker Coughlin had an interception.
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