By Rich Winter

605 Sports

VERMILLION —- When Winner senior quarterback Eli Vobr takes the DakotaDome field for Friday’s Class 11B championship between the Warriors (10-0) and Sioux Valley (10-0), he’ll do so with the memory of the 2018 Class 9B championship game still fresh in his mind. 

In 2018, Vobr was a sixth-grade ball boy for a Colome squad that won the Class 9B title with a 48-42 overtime win over Sully Buttes.

“Ever since my sixth-grade year when Jackson Kinzer and those guys made it to state, I've been  dreaming about playing for a state championship,” Vobr said. “My cousin Layton Thieman was the starting quarterback on that team and that’s what made me want to become a quarterback.”

Vobr, a 6-feet, 160-pound senior, is in his first season playing for the traditional Class 11B power Warriors. In each of his first three seasons of high school football Vobr played for Colome High School located 10 miles southeast of Winner. Colome made the playoffs in each of Vobr’s first three seasons, losing in the first round every time. In the summer 2024, leading up to his senior year, Vobr decided he wanted to experience high school football at a higher level.

“I wanted to be part of a winning atmosphere,” Vobr said. “I do miss Colome but I wanted to give myself a chance to win a state championship. Winner lost in the semifinals last year. So it kinda worked out because this year’s team has been solely focused on getting back to the dome and winning a state title.”

Vobr’s road to the starting quarterback position involved several major twists. Vobr and junior Quincy Phillips split reps during fall practice before Vobr was named the starting quarterback for the Warriors’ Week 0 game against Hot Springs. 

Several days before the opener, Vobr said he got sick. 

“I was named the starter and the next day I got really sick and missed two practices,” he said. “I wasn’t disappointed because the Winner coaches did what they had to do. Quincy is a great quarterback and we were both repping for a bit until he got hurt.”

Phillips broke his leg in the third game of the season on the second drive against Elk Point- Jefferson. Having played meaningful reps during the first two games Vobr seized the moment. 

“That was not my first rodeo as I had been playing quarterback and I was ready for that moment,” he said. “I had seen varsity time already and I understood the ropes and I was confident in my game when the coaches told me I was going to start.”

Winner senior quarterback Eli Vobr was a sixth-grade ball boy for a Colome team that won a Class 9B championship in 2018 - Photo courtesy of Linda Kinzery

Entering Friday’s Class 11B championship game against Sioux Valley, Vobr is the third leading rusher on a run-first Winner offense. Vobr has rushed for 394 yards and six touchdowns while completing 11-of-26 passes for 216 yards and five touchdowns. 

In Winner’s 36-0 win over St. Thomas More in the Class 11B semifinals Vobr finished with 11 rushes for 87 yards and two touchdowns while completing 3-of-4 passes for 43 yards and one touchdown. 

Mastering the quarterback position for Winner’s double-wing offense isn’t easy but Vobr ran the same offense with Colome. 

“The biggest thing is the footwork aspect of it,” Trent Olson, Winner football coach said. “Most teams work out of the shotgun so the footwork in our offense is very different. It helped that he came up and practiced every Wednesday with us during the summer.”

Vobr is a tremendous athlete and Olson said his senior quarterback can gain five yards but is capable of taking it to the house on just about every play. For his part Vobr echoed his coach's sentiments about the summer workouts giving him a leg up on knowing the system once he was called into action. 

When Vobr decided to transfer this summer his decision was only enhanced when his cousin, Seth Heath, who was also at Colome, decided to come to Winner.

“Him coming wasn’t the deciding factor but that was part of it,” Vobr said. “We both wanted to come to Winner and see what it was all about.” 

Vobr plays sparingly on defense but he did have an interception in last week’s shutout of St. Thomas More. Heath is Winner’s second leading tackler entering Friday’s championship game with 34.5 stops.

Among his memories from the 2018 championship game, Vobr said it was really hot and he found a little spot in the endzone with a patch of turf to sit on and cool down. He remembers the enclosed atmosphere and just how loud it was to play in such a great atmosphere. 

“I’m looking forward to the game and I’m ready for it,” he said. “Sioux Valley is a great team with both a good offense and defense. It should be a great matchup and I’ll be ready for it.”