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High school semifinal football roundup November 5, 2021 - Canistota/Freeman clips Parkston in 9AA thriller
Canistota/Freeman’s Will Ortman catches the go-ahead touchdown pass with 1:21 left in the fourth quarter to lift the Pride to a 24-20 win over Parkston Friday night in the 9AA semifinal in Parkston.
Rodney Haas/605 Sports

High school semifinal football roundup November 5, 2021 - Canistota/Freeman clips Parkston in 9AA thriller

Nov 5, 2021
  

By 605 Sports Staff


Canistota/Freeman 24, Parkston 20

PARKSTON -- Tage Ortman connected with Will Ortman for a 20-yard touchdown with 1:27 left to propel Canistota/Freeman into next Thursday’s Class 9AA Championship game. The Pride will face the Platte-Geddes Black Panthers.

Canistota-Freeman generated 370 yards of offense, 83 yards rushing and 287 yards passing. Ortman finished the evening with 16 completiond on 31 attempts for 247 yards and two touchdown passes. Isiah Roberton toted the ball 13 times for 41 yards and completed a pass for a 40-yard touchdown. Will Ortman caught five passes for 113 yards and two scores. The Pride were led by Ethan Balvin’s 10.5 tackles and half sack, and Noah Kleinsasser’s 4.5 tackle, one-interception performance.

Cole Prunty carried the Trojans with 97 yards rushing and 22 yards receiving. Kaleb Weber was a very efficient five of eight passing for 61 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. Brayden Jervik had a game high 6.5 tackles, one tackle for loss.


Bridgewater-Emery/Ethan 28, Beresford 21

BRIDGEWATER -- Jay Storm’s interception with 1:27 left clinched Bridgewater-Emery/Ethan’s Class 11B semifinal win over Beresford on Friday. 

Storm’s interception came moments after Kaden Klumb threw a 30-yard touchdown strike to Sutton Arend for the go-ahead score. Klumb added touchdown passes to Koby Kayser and Hunter Bailey, while Kayser’s second-quarter touchdown run put BEE ahead 20-7. 

Beresford’s Tate VanOtterloo threw touchdown passes to Isaiah Richards and Michael Shegrud, while Peyton Fridrich scored a rushing touchdown. 


Winner 52, Elk Point-Jefferson 14

WINNER -- The top-ranked Warriors were dominant on Friday night, accumulating 455 yards of offense and limiting the Huskies to 163 yards.

The Warriors qualify for their third straight Class 11B Championship game and will face a familiar foe, Bridgewater-Emery/Ethan next Friday. Winner and BEE have played in the last two Class 11B state championships. 

Riley Orel led the Warriors on the ground with 169 yards two touchdowns on only 10 carries, Kaden Keiser contributed 81 yards two touchdowns on nine carries, and Aiden Barfuss churned 60 yards one touchdown on 10 carries. Joey Cole was a perfect four completions on four attempts for 71 yards and a touchdown pass. Ethan Bartels hauled in a 24-yard pass for a touchdown. Charley Pravacek led the Warriors with five tackles, three solo stops. Orel intercepted a pass.

Elk Point-Jefferson’s Noah McDermott led the team offensively, completing seven of his 13 attempts for 87 yards and a touchdown. He led the Huskies ground game with 36 yards and a touchdown. Lucas Hueser recorded 6.5 tackles, Gavin Jacobs tallied 5.5 tackles, and Ben Swatek and Noah Larson each recorded 5 tackles for EPJ.


Herreid/Selby Area 16, De Smet 14

SELBY -- Herreid/Selby Area rallied from a 14-0 halftime deficit and knocked off De Smet in a Class 9A semifinal contest on Friday.

In the third quarter, Brenden Begeman scored a rushing touchdown and caught a four-yard touchdown pass from Tray Hettick for the go-ahead score. Begeman later recovered a fumble to help HSA preserve the victory in the fourth quarter. 

De Smet’s Kalen Garry hauled in a touchdown reception from Colt Wilkinson, while Garry added a six-yard rushing touchdown for its other score.

Platte-Geddes 23, Timber Lake 20

TIMBER LAKE -- Platte-Geddes rallied from an early 14-0 deficit and topped Timber Lake in the Class 9AA semifinals on Friday. The Black Panthers, which won last year’s Class 9AA state championship, will play Canistota/Freeman at 7 p.m. next Thursday for the state title.

On Friday, Grayson Hanson rushed for 162 yards on 36 carries and scored two touchdowns. Hanson was a perfect 3 of 3 for 24 yards, including a 15-yard touchdown strike with 2:18 left to make it 23-20. 

Dawson Hoffman intercepted Timber Lake on its final possession to seal Platte-Geddes’ victory. Hoffman finished with 35 passing yards, while Jackson Neuman had 39 rushing yards. Foxley added 47 receiving yards on five receptions. Foxley had a team-high 6.5 tackles. 

Timber Lake’s Hank Kraft racked up 235 rushing yards on 24 carries and scored two touchdowns. Jayce Lawrence recorded 29 rushing yards and a touchdown. Dixon Booth had 28 receiving yards. Kraft finished with 16.5 tackles and one interception.


Dell Rapids St. Mary 32, Avon 20

AVON -- Trailing by 10 points with 9:55 left in the game, the Cardinals pulled off the upset of the Pirates with unanswered scores by Nic Gaspar and Gabriel Lindeman in the fourth quarter to catapult them into the Class 9B Championship game next Thursday in Vermillion.

Nic Gaspar was electrifying with 300 yards of offense for Dell Rapids St. Mary, rushing 18 times for 204 yards and three touchdowns and receiving three passes for 96 more yards. CJ Smith pumped out five completions on seven attempts for 125 yards of passing offense. Defensively, Kyle Bares and Gabriel Lamb each recorded 9 tackles.

Avon’s Brady Bierema matched his counterpart's effort with 24 carries for 221 yards rushing and three touchdown runs. Jaden Stahl tallied 86 yards rushing on 13 attempts. Riley Rucktaeschel had a monster night defensively, recording 16 tackles and 11 being solo. Lincoln Thury was equally strong with 12.5 tackles and eight being solo.


Potter County 22, Faulkton Area 12

FAULKTON -- After falling behind 6-0 the Battlers used two long Grant Luikens touchdown passes in the second quarter to propel them to a 14-6 lead and never looked back. Potter County advances to the Class 9B Championship game against the Dell Rapids St. Mary Cardinals next Thursday in the DakotaDome.

Grant Luikens was only three of 11 pass attempts, but two of the completions were for touchdowns in the decisive second quarter. He completed a 54 yard toss to Colin Arbach for his first touchdown and a 65 yard dagger to Drake Bassett for the other. Luikens also scored the other Potter County touchdown on a 5 yard run, totalling 75 yards on 13 attempts. Cooper Logan recorded 76 yards rushing and led a stifling Battler defense with 8 tackles, 5 of those solo. Potter County only allowed 157 yards of offense by the Trojans.

Parker Geditz completed 14 passes on 25 dropbacks for 127 yards, a touchdown, and an interception for Faulkton Area. Hunter Niederbaumer caught four passes for 40 yards and a Trojan score. Simon Bowar recorded 14 tackles for the Trojans, one for a loss, and 11 solo.


Tea Area 35, Yankton 28

TEA -- The Titans persevered on a fourth and goal attempt by the Bucks on the final play of the game to return to the DakotaDome next Friday night for the Class 11AA Championship game. Yankton made the game extremely tense after trailing 35 to 7 with a touchdown on the last play of the third quarter and another pair of fourth quarter touchdowns.

Cael Lundin spread 10 of his 19 attempts for 225 yards and four touchdown passes, propelling the Titans to the early lead.  Lundin connected with Klayton Sattler four times for 77 yards and a pair of touchdown passes and Jaxon Weber four times for 61 yards.  Chase Van Tol ran 12 times for 66 yards and caught a 50 yard touchdown. Nathan Babb hauled in a 37 yard touchdown. The Titans defense was led by Van Tol’s 11 tackle performance.

Yankton turned to Rugby Ryken trailing by 28 points, and he stepped up for the Bucks. Rugby Ryken manufactured 439 yards of offense in the loss. Ryken attempted 44 passes, completing 27, for 313 yards and three touchdowns.  Ryken also ripped off 20 carries for 126 yards on the ground.


Madison 38, Dell Rapids 28 

MADISON -- Madison outlasted Dell Rapids on Friday and advanced to the Class 11A state championship. 

Madison outscored Dell Rapids, 18-14, in the fourth quarter to earn the victory. The Bulldogs will face Milbank in the Class 11A state title. 

Madison’s Nate Ricke rushed for 235 yards on 30 carries and scored one touchdown. Ricke added 187 passing yards and one passing touchdown. Dillon Bickett hauled in 75 receiving yards on five receptions and had a touchdown reception. Trey Smith racked up 14 tackles and one sack. Peyton Wolf added nine tackles and an interception.

For Dell Rapids, Austin Henry threw for 188 yards and one touchdown. Landon Ruesink added 114 rushing yards and had a touchdown reception, while Brayden Pankonen had 65 receiving yards. Aiden Geraets had a team-high 13 tackles. Ian Mason posted two sacks and Pankonen had an interception.


Pierre 28, Aberdeen Central 21

PIERRE -- Pierre held off Aberdeen Central on Friday and booked a spot in the Class 11AA state championship game. The Governors scored 21 unanswered points to rally back from a 21-7 deficit to earn the victory. 

Pierre’s Lincoln Kienholz finished with 163 passing yards, 101 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown. Treyton Lewis added 98 rushing yards on 16 carries and scored three rushing touchdowns, including the go-ahead score with 5 minutes left. Jack Merkwan added 66 receiving yards. 

Aberdeen Central’s Karson Carda recorded 162 rushing yards on 28 carries. Sam Rohlfs threw for 143 yards and two touchdown passes to Alec Voegele, who had 77 receiving yards. 

Milbank 24, Vermillion 0 

VERMILLION -- Milbank blanked Vermillion and earned a trip to the Class 11A state championship game. 

Milbank’s Kaden Krause scored a pair of touchdowns, while he added a 10-yard touchdown strike to Sawyer Gauer. Bennett Schwenn added a rushing touchdown for the Bulldogs. Krause finished with 66 rushing yards and 39 passing yards. Schwenn added 59 yards on the ground. Karson Weber had 32 receiving yards and six tackles on defense. 

Vermillion’s Jack Kratz threw for 112 yards and had six tackles on defense. Mehki Sheffield had 20 rushing yards and 33 receiving yards. 

 

Harrisburg 17, Sioux Falls Lincoln 10 

HARRISBURG -- Harrisburg is making a return trip to the DakotaDome in Vermillion. 

The Tigers edged Sioux Falls in the Class 11AAA semifinals behind Jacob Knuth, who threw for 84 yards and rushed for another 102 yards on the ground. Knuth scored a 54-yard touchdown run, while Gavin Ross added an 11-yard touchdown run for the Tigers. Harrisburg’s Bryce Soli added a 24-yard field goal. 

Lincoln’s Tate Schaefer connected with Trent Peterson for its lone touchdown.


Brandon Valley 28, Sioux Falls O’Gorman 20

BRANDON -- Noah Thompson scored three touchdowns to lift Brandon Valley back to the Class 11AAA state championship. 

Thompson’s fourth quarter run broke a 14-14 tie, while he later scored to make it 28-14. O’Gorman’s Bennett Dannenbring scored to cut the deficit to 28-20, but Brandon Valley recovered the onside kick for the win. O’Gorman’s Maverick Jones added a rushing touchdown.