By Ryan Deal, 605 Sports

ryan.deal@sportsticket.tv

KADOKA -- Kadoka Area ran into a wall on Friday.

The Kougars scored on their first two possessions and led 12-6 against Wall after the first quarter. But it was all Eagles the next three quarters as they rolled to a 61-18 win over the Kougars.

After Kadoka Area’s Augustus Scott hauled in a touchdown reception from Garrett Hermann, the Eagles rattled off 48 straight points to soar to the win. 

“We made some adjustments up front on our D-line to just counter the things that they were doing and were successful with,” Wall coach Lex Heathershaw said. “But you have to hand it to Kadoka. Chad Eisenbraun had his boys ready to go and kind of punched us in the mouth. But our boys fought back and ended up finishing things off.” 

The Class 9A No. 5 Eagles (3-0) received touchdowns from multiple players and their defense tightened up the screws after some early hiccups. Kadoka Area capped off a long opening drive with a Hermann-to-Gabriel Fauske five-yard touchdown reception. 

“We knew the first couple of drives it was going to take time to figure out that defense,” Wall quarterback/linebacker Burk Blasius said. “It’s a tight double wing. It’s hard to see where the ball is going, and as time went on, we started to get guys in the right position and we executed on defense and our offense got rolling.”

Once the Eagle offense got rolling, the Kougars (1-1) couldn’t stop it. Cedar Amiotte went untouched for a touchdown run on Wall’s opening play and Mason Heath added a score for a 14-12 lead. 

Blasius punched in another score and connected with Rylan McDonnell for a 28-12 advantage. Heath scored a pair of third-quarter touchdowns, while Blasius found the end zone for a 46-12 lead. Amiotte and Ethan Ferguson scored touchdowns to reach the final margin.

But Heathershaw the offensive outburst all started up front. 

“I think a lot of the reason we are successful too is we’ve gotten a lot better up front the last couple of years,” Heathershaw said. “I’m proud of the guys up front and what they can do in the trenches.” 

Wall plays at Philip on Sept. 10. Kadoka Area plays at Jones County on Sept. 10.