VERMILLION — From deflation to elation. 

One year after falling in the Class 9AA state championship to Wall, Parkston grinded out a 12-7 Class 9AA state championship win over Howard on Thursday at the DakotaDome. 

“Last year we talked and we said ‘The best part about going to the Dome was the ride up,’ ” Parkston senior running back Luke Bormann said. “ ‘This year it’s going to be the ride back.’ ”

The ride was a roller coaster on Thursday. The two powers knocked heads for four quarters and traded punches in a throwback nine-man football game. 

“It was a dogfight every single time,” Parkston senior lineman Will Jodozi said. “We knew it was going to be hard coming in and we were going to have to play our best.”

In the end, it was a pair of Luke Bormann touchdown runs that were the difference. Howard (10-2) was clinging to a 7-6 lead in the third quarter and Bormann’s 74-yard touchdown run gave Parkston (12-0) its first lead. 

“At any moment you don’t know if they are going to break one and we were able to break two,” Parkston coach Matt Grave said. “It was a game of 4-5 plays that separated the game.”

Bormann, the Joe Robbie MVP and Outstanding Back, finished with 167 rushing yards on 21 carries and scored two touchdowns. Bormann praised his offensive line for paving the way on the decisive run and made sure they knew it when he accepted his postgame hardware. 

“Right before I went out there and got that award, I said ‘This is your guys,’ ” Bormann said. “Because they are incredible. We have six guys that come in and just maul people. That’s what happened on that run. Because that was not me. That was them.” 

But Parkston still had work to do, and its signature defense authored the finishing touches. The teams traded possessions and Parkston forced a punt to retain possession. After forcing the Howard punt, the Trojans ran out the final two minutes off the clock and the Parkston party was on in the Dome. 

“It’s amazing,” Jodozi said. “Our community has supported us through everything and it’s just a joy to be in Parkston.” 

The Trojans limited Howard to 95 rushing yards on 36 carries. Howard’s Taiden Hoyer finished with 47 yards on 14 carries and a touchdown. 

“Defense wins championships,” Grave said. “It comes down to the line. Our defensive line was unbelievable all year and our offensive line was unbelievable and you win games on the line of scrimmage.”

The contest was played a couple hours after Warner defeated Deubrook Area, 76-54, in an all-time record game. Parkston and Howard felt like polar opposites. 

“We knew it was going to be a dogfight for four quarters and probably a low-scoring affair,” Bormann said. “Warner and Deubrook got all the scoring out of the air. So we were kind of left with the crumbs.” 

The teams played to a 0-0 first quarter tie. Hoyer scored the first touchdown on a short plunge with 2:13 left in the second quarter. 

The game remained scoreless until Bormann’s 22-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. The missed two-point conversion kept the score at 7-6. 

After forcing another Howard punt, Bormann scored his game-clinching 74-yard touchdown run with 1:01 left in the third quarter. Parkston’s defense did the rest. 

“Howard is a very talented team,” Grave said. “They did some things that made us uncomfortable. I felt we played tentatively and we didn't do the basic things and that’s what we talked about at halftime was ‘Let's go back to basic football.’ ”

It was Parkston’s first state championship since winning the 2014 Class 11B state championship. 

“It means everything to this community,” Bormann said. “They have backed us 100% of the way ever since I have been a freshman until now. I am going to miss them more than anything because they care so much.”