VOLGA — The 1988 Sioux Valley Cossacks will take a trip down memory lane this week.  

The Sioux Valley High School football team will play in the Class 11B state championship on Nov. 15 against Winner. It is Sioux Valley’s first appearance in a state football championship since 1988, a heart-pounding 34-28 win over Bon Homme. 

“It’s pretty special to see them get back there in a school that has been so proud in their basketball tradition over the last how many ever years,” said Brad DeBeer, who quarterbacked the 1988 Cossacks. “To see them get back to the DakotaDome in football, that’s pretty special.” 

DeBeer was instrumental in the 1988 state championship game, which was a seesaw battle and was capped off with a DeBeer-to-Paul VanMaanen 32-yard touchdown pass with six seconds left. 

And it’s still fresh in DeBeer’s mind even 36 years later.

“I probably remember just about every play from that game,” DeBeer said. “I can almost remember every play throughout the entire sequence of that game. Just because it’s been ingrained in my brain.” 

The game-winning touchdown capped off a five-play, 65-yard drive that lasted 51 precious seconds, but the Cossacks were calm and confident. 

“It just never felt like we were going to lose,” said DeBeer, who was named the game’s Most Valuable Back. “Obviously, Bon Homme felt the same way. I don’t remember nervous times. To be involved in a win the way that game ended was incredible.”

A 1988 newspaper clipping from the Sioux Valley vs. Bon Homme Class 11B state championship game. (Aberdeen American News)

“Chaotic,” former Sioux Valley player Brock Teske said about the final seconds. “It was just yelling and everyone was running and hugging each other. It was a glorious experience.”

Sioux Valley head coach Mark Dunbar was then quoted as calling it, “the greatest game I’ve ever watched,” and the Brookings Register reported it “has been described by many as the most exciting championship game since the playoffs began in 1981.”

“Bon Homme was a really good team, and they were well-balanced,” Teske said. “It was just a back-and-forth, high-intensity game.” 

The game was also remembered for the tragedy. Referee Doug Koester died after collapsing in the third quarter, and play was delayed for more than 20 minutes. 

Once play resumed, Sioux Valley’s championship hopes looked bleak in the fourth quarter. Bon Homme’s Jerry Durfee broke loose for a 40-yard touchdown run, giving the Cavaliers a 28-21 lead with 10:35 left. DeBeer was then intercepted on Sioux Valley’s next possession, however, the Cossacks still believed. 

“We were just confident,” Teske said. “We didn’t pass much all year but we had Brad DeBeer and we knew he was a college-level quarterback. We had Curtis Hillerud. We knew he was a college-level receiver. We had a good offensive line. We knew we could move the ball.”

Sioux Valley, which trailed 14-0 early in the game, also had a stout defense. After DeBeer’s interception, Bon Homme was forced to punt after a 3-and-out. 

“It was a pretty fun evenly matched game against Bon Homme,” former Sioux Valley player Danny Nelson said. “They had some athletes, (Matt) Westbrock, (Tim) Caba. They had some good run games, good pass games. Not many teams have thrown against us. So our DBs really stepped up well in that game for sure. But we had some big boys, some linemen. They moved some people around. It was a good team effort.” 

“We had a really, really good defense,” Teske added about Sioux Valley’s defense. “Not very many people scored on us. But Bon Homme was balanced. They spread it out and they threw it on us. It caught us off guard a little bit. We just had really good defenders, rallied to the ball, we had good athletes and made the stops when we needed to.” 

After forcing the 3-and-out, Teske returned the punt 41 yards to Bon Homme’s 30-yard line. DeBeer hit Hillerud for a 17-yard pass down the 12-yard line, but three plays later, Sioux Valley faced fourth down at the five-yard line. 

DeBeer rolled right and found a wide-open Hillerud for a five-yard TD pass with 3:02 left. But the extra-point snap was off target, forcing the holder Teske to throw to Nelson, who was stopped short of the end zone. 

The Cavaliers recovered an onside kick at their own 49-yard line. But Sioux Valley’s defense forced another punt, setting the stage for DeBeer and the offense. Teske returned the punt 20 yards to the Sioux Valley 35-yard line with 57 ticks left. 

“I think it was a 50-yarder,” Teske said. “It was so high in the air that it gave me a little time to get some distance.” 

On the first play of the drive, DeBeer threw a 20-yard pass to Hillerud and he stepped out of bounds at Bon Homme’s 45-yard line with 42 seconds left. 

Nelson was held for no gain on a screen pass, and Sioux Valley took its final timeout with 34 seconds left. After an incomplete pass, DeBeer found Teske across the middle for a 13-yard gain to the Bon Homme 32-yard line. 

Then in the waning seconds, DeBeer dropped back and heaved a pass to VanMaanen, who leaped to catch the ball between Westbrook and Caba for the game-winner.  

“There was definitely an eruption of emotion,” Teske said. “But there was still time on the clock. You kind of wanted to wait until we got to zeros and then celebrated.”

After being mobbed by his teammates, VanMaanen kicked the extra point for a 34-28 Cossack lead. After the final sack on Honner, Sioux Valley and its fans finally celebrated.  

“Relief. Excitement,” said Nelson about celebrating the win. “The whole town was pretty much there. They were very excited for us. For some 30-some years now we’ve been relishing the moment, and it’s still talked about.”

Action from the 1988 Class 11B state championship game between Sioux Valley and Bon Homme. (Courtesy photo)

DeBeer set championship game records by completing 19-of-29 passes for 260 yards and five touchdowns. Nelson, an all-state running back that later played at South Dakota State, rushed for 97 yards on 21 carries. Hillerud, who was the Joe Robbie MVP and an all-state defensive back, set receiving records with nine catches for 152 yards and three touchdowns. VanMaanen caught three passes for 56 yards and two touchdowns. 

It capped off an 11-1 season for Sioux Valley, which only lost to Class 11A Vermillion in the regular-season finale. But the defeat was a turning point for Sioux Valley. 

“That was kind of the moment we all looked at each other a little bit and just kind of thought we had a chance to do something kind of special here and win this thing,” DeBeer said. “It was kind of a different direction in practice that whole next month from the last regular season game to the state championship game.”

The Cossacks defeated Harrisburg (42-6) in their playoff opener. It set up a rematch against Flandreau, which lost to Sioux Valley 7-0 in the season opener. 

In the quarterfinal meeting, DeBeer threw an 18-yard touchdown reception to Nelson in the fourth quarter to propel Sioux Valley to a 22-20 win. Sioux Valley faced familiar foe Hamlin, located 37 miles to the north, in the semifinals. 

The Cossacks fell behind 14-0, but scored 24 unanswered points and Nelson scored two rushing touchdowns. DeBeer and Hillerud connected for a 66-yard touchdown pass. 

Hamlin was held to just 26 yards of total offense. 

“Our defense was amazing that night,” said DeBeer, who is a coach and activities director at Deubrook High School. “(Hamlin) scored on a pick-six. But I don’t think they got past the 50-yard line for the last three quarters.”

The former Cossacks are planning a get-together at the DakotaDome during Sioux Valley’s championship game appearance this year, and there are some father-son connections on this year’s team.

Teske and Nelson are both fathers of current Cossacks. Teske’s sons Broden and Cooper are on the team, while Nelson’s son Wyatt is also on the team. 

What would be their advice to their sons and the rest of the Cossacks? 

“Take it all in,” said Nelson, who is a farmer. “Enjoy the moment and do what you’ve been doing all year. You can’t play tight. You can’t be all worked up about it in the moment. Just have fun. Enjoy it. It’s going to be a fun atmosphere.” 

“Your goal at the beginning of the season is to play as many games as you can, to get in as many practices in as you can,” said Teske, who works at Daktronics in Brookings. “They achieved that and now they might as well go get the icing on the cake.”

DeBeer would offer up similar advice for the Cossacks as they look to end a 36-year championship drought. 

“Make sure you enjoy every single second of it,” DeBeer said. “It’s a memory that will stick with you forever.”

The 1988 Sioux Valley team photo and roster from the state football program. (Courtesy photo)