Woonsocket/Wessington Springs/Sanborn Central's Clay Olinger (5) follows Brady Larson (26) while Wagner's Xander Khadka, left, plays defense on Friday in Wagner. (Ryan Deal / 605 Sports)

By Ryan Deal, 605 Sports

ryan.deal@sportsticket.tv

WAGNER -- It was a bend but don’t break mentality for Woonsocket/Wessington Springs/Sanborn Central on Friday.

The Blackhawks bottled up Wagner’s high-powered passing attack, overcame two turnovers and Clay Olinger scored four rushing touchdowns in a 26-14 victory. 

WWSSC (3-1) led 26-0 early in the third quarter, but couldn’t put away quarterback Dustin Honomichl and Wagner’s passing attack. 

“We came in with the mentality that we are not going to give up any big plays,” WWSSC coach Corey Flatten said. “We were going to make them travel the whole length of the field and they did that a couple of times. There were a couple of turnovers and we had that bend but don’t break mentality and that’s what we came in with.”

Honomichl gave Wagner (4-1) life with third-quarter touchdown receptions to Nolan Dvorak and Riley Roberts. The Blackhawks responded with a drive into Wagner territory, but the Red Raiders recovered a fumble. Wagner drove the ball into WWSSC territory, but Honomichl’s fourth-down pass fell incomplete with four minutes left and the Blackhawks ran out the clock for their third consecutive win. 

“It feels really good,” said Olinger, who rushed for 236 yards on 29 carries. “They have two really good players, No. 6 (Honomichl) and No. 5 (Dvorak). They are dogs out there and it was a tough opponent.”

WWSSC countered Wagner’s passing attack with long drives on offense. Olinger scored on WWSSC’s opening drive after it chewed up more than four minutes off the clock. 

He punched in another score in the first quarter for a 13-0 lead. After Noah Wormstadt intercepted Honomichl, Olinger plowed his way for another score and a 19-0 advantage. 

“He’s just shifty and if he hits that hole hard,” Flatten said. “If you get him to the second level, he’s trouble because he’s got that jump step and you can’t teach that.”

The Red Raiders marched down the field on their next possession. However, WWSSC stuffed Wagner on a fourth and goal from inside the five-yard line to preserve the 19-0 lead. 

“That was a huge momentum changer right there and look at the game, we won by two scores,” Flatten said. “It was huge and they got the ball in the second half. So we knew we had to stop them.”

WWSSC’s Brady Larson intercepted Honomichl on Wagner’s opening drive of the second half and Olinger busted a touchdown run on the next play for a 26-0 lead. 

Honomichl finished with 254 passing yards on 23 of 34 passes, while Dvorak hauled in 14 catches for 145 receiving yards. The Red Raiders finished with 275 total yards. Chris Nelson had 13 tackles on defense.

The Blackhawks finished with 356 total yards, including 348 rushing yards on 47 carries. The rushing attack was boosted by senior lineman Quinten Christensen, who missed the first four games due to an offseason knee injury. The return of Christensen, who is a 6-foot-5, 250-pounder committed to South Dakota State, allowed WWSSC to control the action up front on offense. 

“They have some big, quick guys,” Christensen said. “But the lower man always wins and we really have to focus on staying low and getting a good push. Because that’s where games are won.”

Wormstadt posted a team-high nine tackles, while Toby Kneen had 1.5 sacks. 

Up next, WWSSC hosts Tripp-Delmont/Armour/Andes Central/Dakota Christian on Sept. 24. The Red Raiders play at Winner on Sept. 24.