WARNER — Faulkton Area’s defense traveled to Warner on Friday. 

The Class 9B No. 5 Trojans blanked Leola/Frederick Area, 37-0, in a home game played in Warner. The game was moved from Faulkton to Warner due to rain and wet field conditions. 

The Trojans (2-2) responded with a resounding shutout win over Leola/Frederick (2-3), which was coming off a 44-point outing last week against North Central.  

“The defense was really big,” Faulkton Area senior defensive lineman/fullback Tristen Baloun said. “They did a lot of good things and we stepped up when we needed to.” 

The Trojans led 16-0 after the first quarter, and piled on 21 more points in the second half. Defensively, Faulkton Area bottled up the Titans and forced multiple turnovers on a drizzly night in Warner. 

“We knew they wanted to run the football and we knew we had to win the line of scrimmage,” Faulkton Area coach Shayne Geditz said. “They had some really good players up front and they got a couple of runs early and then our guys did a nice job.” 

Baloun, a 6-foot-2, 217-pounder, powered the defensive unit up front and also helped pack a punch from his fullback position on offense. 

“The keys were we really wanted to stop the run,” Baloun said. “They are an 80% run team. So it’s a really big deal to us. So get to the guy with the ball and everybody gets there, not just one.”

“Our defense played outstanding,” Geditz added. “We have been getting better every week and we’ve held some good offenses to not a lot of points. But tonight they really did a good job. Defense wins games.”

For Faulkton Area, it was a return to the win column. The Trojans had gone 1-2 against teams either ranked or receiving votes in the South Dakota Prep Media Football Poll, with losses against Ipswich (34-30) and Warner (17-14). The Trojans also defeated Herreid/Selby Area (24-6). 

“We’ve played some tough teams,” Baloun said. “Those two losses are tough. But we can come back from them, for sure.” 

It doesn’t get any easier for Faulkton Area, which hosts Class 9B No. 1 Sully Buttes on Sept. 26. It’s a rematch of last season’s Class 9B state championship game, 34-14 Charger victory. 

“Our schedule has been tough and it’s not going to get easier next week,” Geditz said. “That’s the way it is. Iron sharpens iron, so we are trying to get sharper.”