VERMILLION — For the second time in four seasons, the Tigers are Class 9A state champions.

Howard caps off an undefeated season Friday morning at the DakotaDome with a 38-30 victory over Wolsey-Wessington, but the Warbirds didn’t go down without a fight.

“I wanted to win this game for these guys because they deserved it, period,” said Howard head coach Pat Ruml.

Howard led by 12 points early in the second half when the track meet began, WW’s Caleb Richmond found a crease in the defense, taking it 92 yards for a touchdown on one shoe.

Richmond’s run ties Sully Buttes’ Travis Mercer (1990) for the longest rush in a 9A championship game.

The Richmond duo, Caleb and Moshe, was a tough matchup for the Tiger defense all game long. Caleb Richmond rushed for 115 yards and a touchdown while throwing for 211 yards on 19 completions and one touchdown pass. Moshe caught 12 passes for 141 yards and a touchdown for the Warbirds as well, with both playing pivotal roles defensively.

“They’re both great players,” said quarterback Carson Hinker of the Richmonds. “They can both make the play a lot harder. Their passing game is really good, they obviously came with a plan, and they executed that plan and played very good.”

The Tigers, however, were resilient throughout, but especially when it came to the closing moments of the game.

Tate Miller punched it in from two yards out to extend the lead to 10, which preceded a Luke Koepsell onside kick recovery leading to another Howard touchdown.

Koepsell, the game’s outstanding lineman and Joe Robbie MVP, played arguably the biggest role in the Tigers victory, catching four passes for 100 yards and two touchdowns, adding a 21-yard carry, and totaling seven tackles on defense.

“Just our team,” said Koepsell on what he’s most proud of. “We’ve worked really hard, and, to end up on top. It’s surreal.”

After the onside recovery, Hinker connected with Koepsell on a 42-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter.

“Luke’s a great player, we’re really great friends, and we kind of just have that connection,” said Hinker. “We’ve played football together since we were in third grade, so we’ve always played together and always have that connection between us.”

Down by 16, the Warbirds kept finding answers.

Caleb Richmond drove the WW offense down for another touchdown, reaching the endzone on a 15-yard touchdown pass to Moshe Richmond, cutting back into the Howard lead.

With a little over nine minutes left and an eight point game, any stop by the Warbird defense would flip the game on its head, but that never happened.

The Tigers reached the endzone one final time, with a Lucas Feldhaus 32-yard touchdown run.

The Warbirds would score again, but that was all she wrote on the Tigers’ undefeated season.

“That was great how we responded. We all stayed calm and collected,” said Hinker.

It was the consistency of Howard’s second half offense that pushed it over the finish line, but it was the quick start in the first half that helped swing momentum in the Tigers favor.

After an opening drive touchdown by WW, Tate Miller scored on the third offensive play from 43-yards out.

The second quarter got out of the Warbirds hands after a Caleb Richmond pass was intercepted, setting up Hinker’s first passing touchdown to Koepsell from 17 yards out.

Hinker, winning the game’s Outstanding Back award, had an efficient outing at quarterback completing all six pass attempts for 112 yards and three touchdowns.

“It felt great,” said Hinker. “Obviously last year we lost coming in second place. This year coming in first feels great, it’s amazing. Hopefully the guys next year can do it too.”

The biggest play of the first half came on a fake punt by Howard, as Koepsell took the direct snap and scooted down the sideline for a 21-yard gain to keep the drive alive, leading to Hinker's second passing touchdown to Lucas Feldhaus.

“They wanted to run it,” said coach Ruml on the fake punt. “I told them yesterday in practice ‘I’m going to run that’, and Luke goes ‘I doubt it.’ We haven’t run a fake much all year, maybe a couple,but if it’s there and they tell me it’s there, sometimes it’s just a feeling.”

The Warbirds gave all they had, but Howard played a consistent 48 minutes to take home the title.

Coach Ruml says he’s most proud of the way his players carried themselves all season long, but specifically in Friday’s championship game.

“How our guys play and how they act,” said Ruml. “The championship’s awesome, but how they act on the field game in and game out, the sportsmanship and so-forth, that’s what I’m most proud of.”