Brenden Begeman’s 5,271 — and counting — rushing yards aren’t by accident. 

The Herreid/Selby Area senior football player surpassed 5,000 career rushing yards on Friday, becoming one of 16 players in South Dakota history to reach the milestone. In a 60-20 win over Northwestern, Begeman powered the No. 1 Wolverines with 277 rushing yards and five touchdowns. 

It was another monster night for Begeman, a 6-foot-2, 210-pounder that describes his running style as both physical and electric. Begeman packs a punch with his size and bruising style, but also uses his speed and shiftiness in the open field for long touchdowns. 

Friday’s output was another example of how Begeman’s hard work and natural ability have turned him into one of the state’s best running backs. 

“I take a lot of pride in it,” Begeman said about his running style. “It’s taken a lot of work and it’s a blessing from God to be in this position.”

Herreid/Selby Area's Brenden Begeman (20) carries the ball against Sully Buttes on Sept. 23 in Onida. (Ryan Deal / 605 Sports)

Begeman is a three-sport athlete that also competes in track and field and basketball. In track and field, he placed in the shot put, triple jump and also qualified in the 200-meter dash. 

He’s also a workout warrior that’s regularly in the weight room.

“I work on it a lot, for sure,” Begeman said. “Six days a week in the weight room and I have been going to a lot of football camps trying to better myself and we had a team camp, too.” 

Herreid/Selby Area coach Clayton Randall has coached the Wolverines for the past six seasons. It wasn’t long into his tenure when Randall took notice of Begeman and fellow senior Tray Hettick, who were freshman when HSA finished as Class 9B runner-ups in 2019. 

“Those guys were freshmen and you could tell 

then they were watching the way these older guys were doing things, and no surprise, they have been in the weight room for four years,” Randall said. “They got to camps and anything that we give them extra, they are doing it and that’s why they are in the position they are in is because they put a ton of work in. They are great guys on the field. They are also great guys in the classroom. They are real high character guys.” 

Herreid/Selby Area's Brenden Begeman (20) carries the ball against Sully Buttes on Sept. 23 in Onida. (Ryan Deal / 605 Sports)

Begeman is another dynamic running back to recently play for the Wolverines, joining the likes of all-staters Logan Schaefbauer and Clayton Randall, Jr. Coach Randall gave Begeman a huge shot of praise and said he could impact any level of football in South Dakota.  

“At our level he can beat you anyway he wants to,” coach Randall said. “He’s got the speed. He can get on the corner and he’s gone. If he’s got to put his shoulders down and run behind his pads, he can get us four yards, too. He can beat you anyway.”

Against Northwestern, he scored four touchdown runs of 35 yards or more. On Sept. 23 against Sully Buttes, Begeman scored on touchdown runs of 53 and 63 yards, while he added a 32-yard touchdown reception and had eight tackles on defense. 

“They were ginormous, for sure,” Begeman said about the long touchdowns. “They were kind of stopping us a little bit and then when you break off one of those, it’s really disheartening for the defense.”

Herreid/Selby Area's Brenden Begeman (20) carries the ball against Sully Buttes on Sept. 23 in Onida. (Ryan Deal / 605 Sports)

Begeman’s running style and production have piqued interest from college football programs. He mentioned Missouri Valley Football Conference members South Dakota State University and North Dakota, along with NCAA Division II schools Northern State University and University of Sioux Falls as main suitors. 

“No decision yet,” Begeman said. “I still have a couple bigger schools talking to me and I want to see how that shakes out.”

For Begeman, however, there’s still one item on his agenda before he plays on Saturdays in the fall: a state championship. 

In addition to the 2019 state runner-up finish, Herreid/Selby Area finished second to Howard last season in the Class 9A title game. In 2020, the Wolverines lost to eventual Class 9B state champion Wolsey-Wessington in the semifinals. 

“We are extremely motivated,” Begeman said. “We’ve been there a couple of times. We haven’t had the right outcome and we want it really bad and we want to go back and end it with a ‘W.’ ”