VOLGA Sioux Valley seized control against Flandreau in the second half on Friday night at Cossack Field as the Cossacks beat the Fliers 52-27.
It was 14-14 at halftime and then Sioux Valley scored on every possession of the second half.
We just came out with a lot more energy in the second half, said Sioux Valley head coach Jordan Fast. We had a lot of crucial mistakes in the first half, like penalties, and we stalled out in the red zone a few times. Those are errors we just cant have. We left points on the board in the first half and in the second half we capitalized [and finished off drives].
Flandreau got the ball first but the Cossacks scored first. Xavier Bien dropped back to pass on third down and Hunter Steinhaus picked it off and returned it 60 yards for a touchdown to make it 6-0 two minutes and 45 seconds into the game.
Weve been working a lot with our defensive backs to get their eyes right and the coverage right. It was good to see Hunter [make that play], but also all of the defensive backs improve from last week, Fast said.
Flandreau answered with a touchdown of its own as Bien found Tate Hammer for a 35-yard touchdown. The Fliers didnt convert the two-point conversion as well and it was 6-6 with 7:28 to play in the first quarter.
Sioux Valley would then drive inside the Flandreau 10 yard line but turned it over on downs. The Fliers would then drive almost the length of the field and faced a fourth and goal on the one. Bien would stretch the ball over the goal line and also run in a two-point conversion to make it 14-6 with just under seven minutes left in the first half.
It didn’t take long for the Cossacks to tie things up as Braden Danzeisen took the ensuing kickoff 87 yards to the house and Mitchell Guthmiller ran in the two-point conversion to make it 14-14. Sioux Valley forced a three-and-out and it looked like the Cossacks were going to take the lead before halftime. However, Wyatt Hardt fumbled inside the five yard line and the Fliers jumped on it, making it 14-14 at halftime.
The Cossacks came out of halftime firing on all cylinders. They marched right down the field and Guthmiller capped off the drive with a 30-yard touchdown. Hardt ran in the two-point conversion to make it 22-14 just over two minutes into the second half.
Bien then threw his second interception of the night as Broden Teske picked off an errant pass and returned it inside the Flandreau 25. A couple plays later Guthmiller found the end zone from eight yards out. The Cossacks did not convert the two-point conversion and it was 28-14 with 6:30 left in the third.
Flandreau wouldnt go away quite yet as Bien found Alexavier Poitra for a 52-yard touchdown. The Fliers failed on the two-point conversion and it was 28-20 with 5:28 left in the third. Sioux Valley answered right away though Guthmiller scored from two yards out and Hardt ran in the two-point conversion to make it 36-20 heading into the fourth.
Guthmiller wasnt done. This time he scored from 20 yards out and carried a few Fliers into the end zone along the way. Hardt scored on the two-point conversion again and it was 44-20 with 9:10 to play. Hardt then got in on the touchdowns as he found Logan Mohn for a four-yard score and Kellon Tucker ran in the two-point conversion to make it 52-20.
Fast said that his team did a good job of finishing drives as they scored a touchdown on each of their four possessions in the second half.
We had penalties in the red zone and that hurt us twice. So we put an emphasis on that at halftime and also finishing drives. We wanted to finish drives with touchdowns and two-point conversions [and we did that], Fast said.
Poitra would run one in from two yards out and Bien ran in the two-point conversion to make the final 52-27.
The Cossacks had 275 yards on the ground. Guthmiller had 17 carries for 140 yards. Fast said that Sioux Valley is fortunate to have Guthmiller, who is going to play for South Dakota State next year, and he wishes this wasnt his last season coaching him.
Hes a leader and were lucky to have him. Hes going to be a good player at SDSU. Were just fortunate to have him because hes a great leader. I wish he could play another senior for us,? Fast said.
Hardt had 64 yards on 12 carries and Mohn had 63 yards on eight carries. Hardt was also 3-for-5 for 64 yards. Tobin Squires had a 55-yard catch.
The Fliers had 358 total yards of offense. Bien was 6-of-17 for 167 yards. Poitra and Hammers only catches were their touchdowns. Justin Klein had 141 yards on 28 carries.
Sioux Valley moved to 3-3 on the season. The Cossacks were coming off a loss to Deuel where the Cardinals won the game on the final play of the game. Fast admitted that his team needed a win on Friday after what he described as a disappointing first five games of the season.
Expectations are always high around here. Id be lying if I said we werent frustrated. We want to win every game we can, but we want to trend [upwards] and play our best football in November. Thats where we want to head, Fast said.
Flandreau dropped to 1-5 on the season. The Fliers will host Elk Point-Jefferson next weekend and the Cossacks will host Berseford.
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