MOUNT VERNON — With the playoffs around the corner, Mount Vernon/Plankinton picked up a marquee win on Friday.

The Class 11B No. 5 Titans outlasted Class 11B No. 4 Woonsocket/Wessington Springs/Sanborn Central, 22-20, in a top-five matchup. The Titans improved to 6-2 and earned the first win over a top-five team this season. 

“It gives us a bunch of confidence,” MVP senior running back Brad Fox said. “With everyone saying we are good, but we haven't had that good win yet. This is big for us.”

The Class 11B pairings will be set on Saturday, depending on the outcome of the Clark/Willow Lake vs. Webster Area contest. 

On Friday, MVP rushed for 226 yards and offset the aerial attack of the Blackhawks (6-2). 

“It was really exciting,” Fox said. “It’s always a rivalry with us. We’ve been playing them for a long time. Last year they kind of beat on us, but this year we really turned it around and it was really exciting.” 

Fox finished with 59 rushing yards and two touchdowns, while Kyle Sandland added 68 rushing yards and a score. Riley Mayer rushed for 74 yards and posted 52 receiving yards. 

Woonsocket/Wessington Springs/Sanborn Central's Holden Havlik, right, carries the ball against Mount Vernon/Plankinton on Friday in Mount Vernon. (Ryan Deal / 605 Sports)

WWSSC quarterback Holden Havlik, a 6-foot-3, 215-pounder headed to Northern State University, completed 14-of-26 passes for 237 yards and one touchdown. Havlik’s two favorite targets Colby Flowers (33 yards receiving/TD) and Ryder Michalek (100 yards receiving) teamed with Havlik to form a potent trio in the passing game. 

Havlik regularly zipped the football down the field and threw with precision during his 237-yard performance. 

“He can throw it a long way,” Fox said. “We haven’t seen anything like that all year. So it was different.” 

MVP, however, came up with some big defensive plays to preserve the win. The Titans were clinging to a 22-14 lead in the fourth quarter, and drove into WWSSC territory with under five minutes left. 

Michalek intercepted an MVP pass in the end zone, setting up the Blackhawks at their own 20-yard line. On fourth down, Havlik kept the drive alive with a dime to Wesley Molnar and connected with Flowers for a touchdown strike. 

The score made it 22-20 with 2:19 left, but Havlik was stopped short on the ensuing two-point conversion run. 

WWSSC used its final three timeouts, and forced an MVP punt in the waning seconds. With 15 seconds left, the Blackhawks took over at their own 23-yard line. Paxton Nedved intercepted Havlik’s pass down the right sidelines, securing MVP’s two-point victory. 

“When they pass a lot it’s tough for us, but we really shut it down and we stepped up,” Fox said.  

After the teams traded fumbles in the first 30 seconds, WWSSC’s Bryce Larson plowed in for a two-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead. Sandland answered with a three-yard touchdown run, and WWSSC trailed 7-6 late in the first quarter. 

The teams traded scores in the second quarter, with Fox and Havlik both scoring short touchdown runs for their respective teams. Fox added a touchdown run, pushing MVP’s lead to 22-14 with 31 ticks before halftime. 

The game remained scoreless until Havlik orchestrated WWSSC’s last-gasp fourth-quarter rally. 

Defensively, Sandland posted six tackles and Mayer had five tackles. Isaiah Olson added three tackles and an interception. 

For WWSSC, Tyson Eddy had 46 yards rushing and the Blackhawks had 95 yards on the ground as a team. Flowers and Michalek both had interceptions on defense. Flowers had nine tackles, while Michalek added 6.5 tackles.