By Rich Winter

After losing a heartbreaker to Red Cloud (26-24) on Oct. 8, Todd County put it all together Friday earning a 36-24 win over the Crusaders.

That win improved the Falcons' record to 6-2 and earned the team a trip to Saturday's championship game against undefeated Winnebago, Nebraska, at the DakotaDome in Vermillion.

“First of all we were excited to beat Red Cloud,” Kornely said. “Before the game I told them they were one game from the Dome and two games from the championship.”

Tristan Rogers led the Falcons with 185 yards on 25 carries and two touchdowns against Red Cloud. The senior started slowly this season but over the last three games he's rushed for 588 yards and six touchdowns.

“The thing with Tristan is his intensity, his drive and his desire,” Kornely said. “He's over 1,000 yards rushing and leads our team with 90 tackles and he's definitely the guy that starts it for us.”

The Falcons are not one dimensional in their rushing attack. Junior Sayge Yellow Eagle has 887 yards rushing this season on just 35 carries with a hefty 25.3 yards per carry average. Rogers and Yellow Eagle combined to have 25 rushing touchdowns this season.

Kornely said one of the big reasons for the ground success was moving sophomore Drake Espinoza from tight end to the interior line.

“We told him we thought we would be better with him at guard,” Kornely said. “He's our best blocker, our best point of attack guy and when we asked he said coach I'll do it if this is better for the team.”

On facing Winnebago in Saturday's championship Kornely knows the Indians will present multiple challenges.

“Zaiden Bernie is a really good football player that can hurt you with his legs and his arm,” he said. “They have the big running back (Antrell Harlan) and they have a very good offensive line.”

Kornely noted Winnebago plays sound defense and they don't get out of place very often or fooled by trick plays.

Todd County dropped a 48-12 home decision to Winnebago on Sept. 17.

“Hopefully we get some breaks this time around,” he said. “We lost four fumbles, they got an onside kick and we had five drives where we were stopped just short of first downs.”

Quarterback Charlie Long did not play in the first contest. The junior has thrown for 337 yards with six touchdown passes.

Defensively Rogers controls things from his linebacker position. Junior Rocky Wiedman has 12 sacks this season to go along with 60 tackles. Stephan Guerue leads the secondary with 71 tackles and an interception. Yellow Eagle leads Todd County with three interceptions.

After the semifinal win over Red Cloud the fans and parents came down on the field to spend time with the athletes.

“There is a lot of excitement in our community right now,” Kornely said. “After the Red Cloud game all the families hugged their kids so hopefully these feelings carry on into the weekend.”