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DakotaDome Memories - 10 Years Ago Canistota completed dominant nine-man 3-peat
The Canistota Hawks hoist the 2012 Class 9A state championship trophy.
(South Dakota Public Broadcasting Photo)
Nov 6, 2022
 

By Jacob Wuertz and Ryan Deal 

605 Sports

Editor’s note: Prior to Thursday’s state football championships, the 605 Sports Staff will unveil a series of DakotaDome memories. The series will feature a look back at memorable moments from 10, 20 and 30 years ago. Today’s installment will look back at the 2012 Canistota Hawks, who completed a dominant nine-man 3-peat. 


The old saying goes that good things come in threes. 

In 2012, this was the case for the Canistota Hawks football program, who completed one of the most dominant runs in South Dakota high school football history. The Hawks cruised to their third straight state championship, rolling past Warner, 52-8, in the Class 9A championship game.

The win gave Canistota its 36th straight win, a streak that would continue into the 2013 season before ending at 37 consecutive wins. The win also cemented back-to-back Class 9A championships, as well as claiming the Class 9B title in 2010.

“It’s just a great way for us to cap our careers,” Canistota quarterback Cody Bunger said in an interview after the game. “For three years to be undefeated — we haven’t always been perfect, but we’ve had a lot of success playing together. It’s just been a great run.”

Canistota rolled past Hitchcock-Tulare (66-0) and Wall (66-6) in the 2010 and ‘11 state championship games, respectively. Canistota’s 3-peat was the first nine-man program to accomplish the feat since Freeman from 1997-99. 

“It feels awesome to be where we are,” Canistota lineman Jason Van Winkle said in an interview after the game. “We never really talked about it, but this was our goal all along. We’ve had a lot of fun playing together, and to be 36-0? That’s just awesome.”

The Canistota Hawks won the 2012 Class 9A state championship. (South Dakota Public Broadcasting Photo)

The 2012 win punctuated a dominant season. The Hawks outscored their opponents by a 596-103 margin, pitched four shutouts and posted a season-high 74 points against Marion. 

In the championship game, Canistota overwhelmed previously undefeated Warner. The Hawks racked up 616 yards of total offense — 327 yards passing and 289 yards rushing. Defensively, they held Warner to a season-low eight points and 250 yards of total offense. 

Individually, Cody Bunger was awarded the Joe Robbie MVP after passing for a then-Class 9A record 294 yards on 12 of 13 attempts and three touchdowns. Bunger also added three interceptions on defense. 

Nick Hofer added a then-9A record 195 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Alex Robertson rushed for 129 yards and two touchdowns. Eric Tieszen had two rushing touchdowns, Jared Nielsen added a 43-yard touchdown run, Boone DeKramer caught two passes for 57 yards and a touchdown. 

Canistota's Cody Bunger was the 2012 Class 9A Joe Robbie MVP. (South Dakota Public Broadcasting Photo)

DeKramer recorded 12 tackles and Van Winkle, who earned most valuable lineman honors, made nine stops on defense. Bunger, Van Winkle, Tieszen, Robertson and DeKramer were all-state selections for the Hawks. 

“This is a veteran team that knows how to play together,” then-Canistota coach Lenny Schroeder said after the game. “We have nine seniors on defense and eight seniors on offense. This group has played together since the third grade. They’ve been very fortunate their whole careers to have this kind of success.”

Canistota graduated 11 seniors off the 2012 team and they were instrumental in laying the foundation for future championship teams. The Hawks captured the 2015 Class 9A state title, while Canistota/Freeman claimed three consecutive championships from 2018-20. 


Other memorable moments from the 2012 high school football championships:


Class 11A - Dell Rapids also completed a 3-peat of their own in 2012 with a 47-0 romp over Harrisburg for the Class 11A title. Joe Robbie MVP Riley Schmidt rushed for 110 yards on just four carries and scored three touchdowns to lead the Quarriers to the win. The win capped off a 34-2 record in the three year run from 2010-12.

Class 11B - Winner won their second Class 11B title in four years by defeating Tri-Valley 13-6. Three years prior, Winner defeated the Mustangs on a Hail Mary pass as time expired. This time, however, Winner’s Isaiah Old Lodge became the hero by returning a fumble recovery 64-yards for a touchdown in the third quarter to give the Warriors the lead and the state title.

Class 9B - Records were broken as Harding County captured its first state title since 1993 in a 50-20 win over Colome. The Ranchers used a 20-point second quarter to build a 28-8 halftime lead and never looked back. Rancher quarterback Jess Feist was nearly perfect on the night, completing 16 of his 18 passes for 290 yards and six touchdowns. Feist won the Joe Robbie MVP and at the time set Class 9B championship records for passes completed (16), total offense (376), and most points (42), all while completing passes to five different receivers. Rancher receiver Ckyler Floyd tied a then-Class 9B record with seven receptions. Harding County also broke team championship records for passes completed (16) and passing first downs (13).