By Ryan Deal 

605 Sports

HOWARD -- Howard withstood a power outage and a scrappy Wall team to secure a Class 9A state championship berth on Friday.

The Tigers outlasted the Eagles, 21-17, to earn their first state championship appearance since 2018. Howard (11-0) will play Herreid/Selby Area (12-0) at 1 p.m. on Nov. 11 in the Class 9A state championship at the DakotaDome in Vermillion.

On Friday, the teams endured a 50-minute delay after the opening drive due to power outage to the field’s lights. 

“It kind of wore us down,” Howard senior John Callies said. “We came out ready and then it put a halt to us and slowed us down. We had to find our groove again, I guess.”

After a little star gazing to start the night, Howard Tigers advance to the DOME! 21-17 over wall. Game MVP is Cody Dawson for turning on the lights!

�" Howard HS/JH Activities (@HowardTigers) November 6, 2021

After the teams exchanged the lead twice in 19 seconds in the second quarter, Howard scored the lone touchdown in the second half and its defense did the rest. 

“They played physical with us for the first half and I tell ya, they got athletes and they are well coached,” Howard coach Pat Ruml said. “They gapped us up on some things defensively. Offensively, we couldn’t get a lot going tonight. We had some yards and so forth, but they are pretty good.” 

Wall's Blair Blasius catches a ball in between a pair of Howard defenders on Friday in Howard. (Ryan Deal / 605 Sports)

In the third quarter, Karsyn Feldhaus scored a 15-yard touchdown run to give Howard a 21-17 lead with 7:17 left. Neither team scored again as they traded possessions around midfield.

In the fourth quarter, Wall recovered a fumble at its own 41-yard line with 2:38 left. The Eagles moved the ball past midfield, but they fumbled a minute later and Howard’s Atticus Darnell recovered. 

Callies picked up a first down two plays later and Howard milked out the clock. 

“This is a great feeling and a great team to be a part of,” said Callies, who had 73 rushing yards and one touchdown. “A lot of people I think overlooked us at the beginning of the year and we started out really hot and we kept the pace going. Hats off to Wall. They are a great football team."

Feldhaus finished with 70 yards, while Taiden Hoyer had a rushing touchdown. The Tigers finished with 235 rushing yards on 55 carries. Ty Beyer posted 5.5 tackles. 

Cedar Amiotte had 30 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown for the Eagles (10-1). Amiotte added 82 passing yards and a passing touchdown. Rylan McDonnell had 95 receiving yards and a touchdown reception. Amiotte added 13 tackles. 

For Wall, it was its third semifinal appearance in the past four seasons. But the Eagles again fell one game short of the DakotaDome. 

“Heartbreaker,” Wall coach Lex Heathershaw said. “I am proud of our kids. I appreciate all the hard work they put in. Thank you to our seniors. Howard is a really good football team and we went toe-to-toe with one of the best in the state.”

On the opening drive, Wall’s Blair Blasius nailed a 35-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead. The lights went out moments later and the 50-minute delay followed. 

“The guys handled it well," Ruml said. "Their guys handled it well. It was an accident outside of town and a power pole went down. I thought our most valuable guy was probably the city guy who got the thing back going again.”

Howard's Karsyn Feldhaus (7) carries the ball as Taiden Hoyer (12) blocks on Friday in Howard. (Ryan Deal / 605 Sports)

Once play resumed, Wall blocked a Howard punt and Amiotte scored to make it 10-0 late in the first quarter. Callies got Howard on the board with a three-yard touchdown run, cutting the deficit to 10-7 with 6:06 before halftime. 

Hoyer scampered for a 24-yard touchdown run to give Howard a 14-10 with 43 ticks before halftime. But just 19 seconds later, Amiotte connected with McDonnell for a 74-yard touchdown strike and a 17-14 halftime lead. 

“I think we were a little bit amped up and we did some things a little uncharastically in the first half,” Ruml said. “We just settled down at halftime. We drew up a few things and they did it well in the second half.”

Feldhaus’ 15-yard touchdown run capped off a nine-play drive, covering just under five minutes and 55 yards. The Tigers never relinquished the lead. 

“They fought back but we kept on the physicality and just wore them down as we went,” Callies said.