VERMILLION — A pair of nine-man powers will square off on Nov. 15 at the DakotaDome for the Class 9A state championship. 

No. 2 seed Howard (11-0) will play No. 4 Wolsey-Wessington (10-1) in a matchup that pits two programs filled with football history.

Howard is making its eighth trip to the DakotaDome, and won state championships in 2004, ‘09, ‘14, and ‘21. Wolsey-Wessington is making its fourth state football championship appearance, and won state state championships in 2015 and ‘20. 

Howard defeated Wolsey-Wessington for the 2014 Class 9A state championship. 

Howard lost last season’s Class 9AA state championship to Parkston, but have not lost since after dropping down to Class 9A this season. 

The Tigers average 46.5 points per game on offense and allow just 5.7 points per game on defense. They’ve pitched four shutouts on defense. 

Howard relies heavily on running the football, and again features a stable of running backs. Tate Miller has rushed for 1,174 yards on 109 carries and has 18 rushing touchdowns. Kolt Becker has rushed for 900 yards on 104 carries and has nine rushing scores. Weston Remmers has racked up 638 yards rushing on 69 carries and has 10 rushing touchdowns. 

Lucas Feldhaus (317 yards rushing/4 TDs), Carson Hinker (245 yards rushing/7 TDs), and Korbin Shumaker (209 yards rushing/3 TDs) also add to the Tiger rushing attack. 

Hinker has completed 55-of-70 passes for 834 yards and has 13 passing touchdowns. Senior tight end Luke Koepsell has 22 receptions for 278 yards and seven touchdown catches. Garrett Feldhaus has 193 yards receiving and two touchdown grabs. Remmers and Miller have more than 100 yards receiving. 

Defensively, Koepsell and Calvin Halverson have 70 tackles apiece. Koepsell has a team-high six sacks. Remmers has 55 tackles and two interceptions. Miller has intercepted six passes. 

Wolsey-Wessington is powered by brothers Caleb Richmond and Moshe Richmond. Caleb, a junior quarterback, has completed 128-of-181 passes for 1,806 yards and 22 touchdown passes. He’s also rushed for 1,229 yards and 18 more touchdowns. 

Moshe Richmond, a 6-foot-3, 205-pound senior wide receiver, has caught 72 passes for 920 yards and 10 touchdown catches. Moshe Richmond also has 446 rushing yards and eight more scores.

Peyton Rainford has 732 yards rushing on 102 carries and six rushing touchdowns. He’s also caught 19 catches for 247 yards and six receiving touchdowns. Colin Hughes has caught 46 passes for 529 yards and four touchdown passes. 

Hughes has posted a team-high 62 solo tackles and nine sacks. Moshe Richmond has 58 solo tackles, three interceptions and three sacks. Rainford has intercepted four passes.