HITCHCOCK — The De Smet Bulldogs left no doubt in a top-five showdown.

The Class 9B No. 2 Bulldogs coasted past Class 9B No. 4 Hitchcock-Tulare, 46-0, in a top-five matchup. The convincing victory was especially sweet for the Bulldogs, who were eliminated by the Patriots (48-0) in last season’s Class 9B semifinals. 

The Bulldogs (6-1) flipped the script on Friday night. 

“Last year, we took a big ‘L’ against them in Tulare,” De Smet quarterback Britt Carlson said. “So this year we had something to prove and I would say we went out here and proved it.”

Carlson accounted for six total touchdowns, including three passing touchdowns to Tom Aughenbaugh. Kadyn Kast added a touchdown run for the Bulldogs, who seized control with a 20-0 halftime lead. 

“It was a great game by everybody,” De Smet coach Brendon Pitts said. “We had some kids that were not able to play tonight and we had a lot of guys step up and really do some really good things for us.” 

On defense, De Smet bottled up Hitchcock-Tulare’s two playmakers — Erik Salmen and Brendan Nowell. Salmen, a 6-foot, 215-pound bruising running back, constantly drew multiple De Smet defenders whenever he had the ball. 

“He is a phenomenal player,” Pitts said. “He runs extremely hard. He is extremely hard to tackle and just a great player. He’s probably one of the best running backs we will see all year and we knew that coming into it. Their quarterback (Nowell) can make plays on his feet, too. He throws the ball well through the air. So we really just tried to keep that in check and I thought we did pretty good on that.”

De Smet forced a turnover on downs on Hitchcock-Tulare’s opening drive. A few plays later, Fast showed off his speed for a long touchdown run and De Smet staked a 6-0 lead. Carlson punched in a touchdown after De Smet pounced on a fumble and momentum stayed on its side from there. 

Carlson connected with Augenbaugh for a touchdown reception and a 20-0 advantage. The senior duo has connected multiple times this season and it continued on Friday. 

“It’s been really big,” Carlson said. “It's pretty much started since the first game.”

They hooked up for another touchdown in the third quarter and Carlson tacked on two more rushing touchdowns, extending De Smet’s lead to 40-0. In the fourth quarter, Carlson dropped a 50-yard dime to Aughenbaugh for the game’s final score. 

“Offensively, we mixed the ball around and got a lot of different guys to do a lot of different things for us, and as a coach you couldn't ask for more than that,” Pitts said. “Our line gave our quarterback time and Britt, he’s the type of quarterback that can make plays in the air. He can make plays with his feet.”

The Patriots (4-3) will host Great Plains Lutheran on Oct. 13 in the season finale. 

The Bulldogs will host Elkton-Lake Benton on Oct. 13 in their season finale. The Dakota Valley Conference championship is also at stake. 

“It’s for the conference championship and it’s against a 9AA opponent,” Pitts said. “We know they are going to be a very, very good team.”