Begeman's big runs lead Herreid/Selby past Britton/Hecla, into playoffs with 8-0 record
It's hard to find an answer for the monster named Brenden Begeman, and Britton/Hecla didn't discover it Friday night at Dacotah Bank Stadium.
That just means the Braves are in good company.
Begeman, the Wolverines senior running back and linebacker, racked up 296 yards rushing to lead Herreid/Selby Area to a 50-0 victory in high school football action.
Here are three takeaways from the game.
Begeman's long touchdown runs
Begeman scored on runs of 19, 53, 94 and 43 yards to lead the offense.
Herreid/Selby Area coach Clayton Randall suspected the effort put Begeman over 2,000 yards rushing on the season and the Wolverines over 3,000 yards as a team.
Randall said Begeman has a rare combination of speed, strength agility for the Class 9B level, and once he gets beyond the line of scrimmage he has moves and power to break tackles. That was apparent Friday night.
Don't forget the offensive line
The offensive line opens the holes to get Begeman to the second level. Randall said sophomore Kaden Sayler is in his first year as a starter at center and has had a great season. And then there are offensive linemen Hunter Friend and Collin Tisdall.
All three win one-on-one battles to get Begeman loose, Randall said.
"At this level, they're as good as it gets," he said.
Friend said the success doesn't come without doing some homework. He said he and other teammates spend three to four hours a week looking at film to know what to expect and how defenders move.
He said the perfect regular season is nice, but hopes the most exciting part of the season is still to come.
Britton/Hecla gambles with onside kick to open the game
The Braves attempted an onside kick to open the game, trying to catch Herreid/Selby off guard. But the Wolverines recovered and made the most of it.
Moments later, Begeman scored his first touchdown. After the kickoff, Britton/Hecla couldn't move the ball and had to punt. Herreid/Selby again took over with good field position, and Begeman scored from 52 yards out to make it 16-0.
After the Braves fumbled, Herreid/Selby Area quarterback Tray Hettick found wide receiver Cole Zabel from 19 yards out to make it 24-0.
Britton/Hecla backed the Wolverines up inside their own one-yard line with an excellent punt. But Herreid/Selby Area drew the defense offsides to get five easy yards. And on the next play, Begeman erased any doubt about the game's outcome racing 94 yards into the north end zone.
Randall said the Wolverines goals on the season are go win a conference title, go 8-0 in the regular season and win a state title. Two down, one to go.
Herreid/Selby Area is assured of being the top seed in 9B. Britton finished the regular season 4-4 and made the Class 9AA playoff field.
Aberdeen Central uses running game to thump Yankton, win fifth straight
Aberdeen Central used a potent rushing attack to defeat Yankton 29-7 at Friday night at Crane-Youngworth Field in Yankton.
Central improves to 5-3 on the season, while Yankton falls to 4-4. The Golden Eagles will likely be the No. 3 seed in the Class 11AA playoffs when pairings are announced next week. They have won five straight.
“The two things we had to do were stop the ball and we had to score,” Bucks head coach Brady Muth said. “We failed on both of those. It's disappointing when you don't reach your goals and objectives. But we still have football to play.”
Golden Eagles running back Karson Carda was a key difference maker. With Aberdeen Central leading 8-7 at halftime, Carda ran through the Bucks defense in the second half, scoring on touchdown runs of 54 and 34 yards to give the Eagles a 22-7 lead.
Yankton’s defense stayed with it and forced a stop on the Golden Eagles’ next drive. Central faced a fourth and six from the Bucks’ 19-yard line. The defense stopped Central quarterback Dustin Hermansen on the play.
A Central defense that had given up only 10 total points in the last three games was stout against the Bucks. Yankton had success moving the football between the twenties in the fourth quarter, but the Eagles hunkered down and stopped the Bucks on fourth down in Central territory on Yankton’s first two drives in the quarter.
“(Their defense was) bend don't break,” Muth said. “We couldn't get over the top. Once we had to get away from the run, and we did that to ourselves, we put ourselves in a position where we had to score points. You have to go to the pass game, and they've got athletes back there."
The Golden Eagles put the game away with 6:06 remaining as they veered away from their run game. Hermansen found wide receiver Drew Salfrank for a 65-yard score to give the Golden Eagles a 29-7 lead.
-Contributed by Eric Bean, Yankton Press & Dakotan
Warner 55, Northwestern 0: Hunter Cramer scored on runs of eight, one and 19 yards as the Monarchs built a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter. He later added a 65-yard punt return. Drew Fischbach scored twice for Warner, on an 18-yard scoring strike from Drew Bakeberg and 13-yard rush. Ashton Schuchhardt led the defense with 12 tackle as the Monarchs finished the season 8-0 and as the top-seeded team in Class 9B. With a 1-7 record, Northwestern missed the playoffs
Hitchcock-Tulare 50, Great Plains Lutheran 0: Second-rated Class 9B Hitchcock-Tulare wrapped up an 8-0 regular season by beating Great Plains Lutheran (3-5) in Brookings. Landon Puffer (28-yard run and 65-yard punt return) and Carter Binger (five-yard run and 21-yard interception return) each scored twice. The Patriots are the second seen in the Class 9B playoffs.
Waverly-South Shore 55 Langford Area 0: Big games from Troy Kneeland and Cody Thompson helped Waverly-South Shore snap a 20-game losing skid dating back to Sept. 11, 2020, a 29-0 win over Great Plains Lutheran. Kneeland had a hand in five touchdowns and a safety. He ran for a TD, returned a fumble for another and passed for three scores. He also scored on a run, a pass and two returns (interception and punt).
Holman and Endres each interception passes for the Coyotes, who finished 1-7. Langford Area ended the season 0-8.
More:South Dakota high school football playoff pairings set for 11B, 9-man
Deuel 26, Redfield 13: Deuel capped a 7-1 regular season with a Northeast Conference win that featured a four-touchdown performance by Owen Quail. He scored on runs of four and 39 yards, hauled in a seven-yard scoring pass from Trey Maaland and also returned an interception 60 yards to the end zone.
Mobridge/Pollock 30, Groton 12: Aiden Schoenhard scored on two short rushes in the fourth quarter to seal the victory. Earlier in the game, he collected a touchdown pass from Holden Eiseman. Eiseman finished with two touchdown passes. Schoenhard rushed for 115 yards. For Groton, Lane Tietz led the way with 146 passing yards, including a touchdown, and 79 yards rushing.
Mobridge/Pollock ended the regular season 4-4 and qualified for the Class 11B playoffs. Groton finished 3-5 and missed the playoffs.
Pierre 35, Tea Area 30: Lincoln Kienholz threw for 256 yards with three touchdowns and ran for 205 yards with two more scores as the Governors beat Tea in a battle of undefeated Class 11AA teams. Brecken Krueger had 71 yards receiving with a touchdown.
For Tea, Maddix Slykhuis threw for 148 yards with two touchdowns -- one to Parker Mulder and the other to Chase Van Tol. Van Tol ran for 63 yards with a rushing touchdown, and Keegan DeYoung ran for 65 yards with a touchdown.
High school football scores for Friday, Oct. 14
Aberdeen Central 29, Yankton 7
Alcester-Hudson 36, Irene-Wakonda 14
Beresford 22, Dakota Valley 20
Burke 33, Gayville-Volin 22
Canistota 22, Platte-Geddes 8
Canton def. Custer, forfeit
Cheyenne-Eagle Butte 38, Marty Indian 22
Dell Rapids 42, St. Thomas More 19
Dell Rapids St. Mary 36, Estelline/Hendricks 18
Deuel 26, Redfield 13
Elkton-Lake Benton 32, Castlewood 26
Elk Point-Jefferson 28, Bridgewater-Emery/Ethan 14
Faith 42, Stanley County 16
Freeman/ Marion/ Freeman Academy Co-op 36, Florence/Henry 14
Garretson 33, Centerville 14
Gregory 23, Bon Homme 12
Hanson 45, Colome 14
Harrisburg 41, Brookings 7
Herreid/Selby Area 50, Britton-Hecla 0
Hitchcock-Tulare 52, Great Plains Lutheran 0
Hot Springs 42, Hill City 0
Howard 45, Chester 7
Ipswich 54, North Central Co-Op 0
Kadoka Area 56, New Underwood 6
Kimball/White Lake 53, Bennett County 0
Lead-Deadwood 53, Lakota Tech 30
Leola/Frederick 56, Faulkton 34
Lower Brule 48, Omaha Nation, Neb. 0
Lyman 60, Lemmon/McIntosh 7
McCook Central/Montrose 44, Parker 0
Milbank 16, Chamberlain 8
Miller/Highmore-Harrold 41, Tripp-Delmont/Armour/Andes Central/Dakota Christian 16
Mitchell 21, Huron 14
Mobridge-Pollock 30, Groton Area 12
Philip 50, White River 0
Pierre 35, Tea Area 30
Potter County 42, Sunshine Bible Academy 14
Red Cloud 48, Winnebago, Neb. 42
Sioux Falls Christian 48, Belle Fourche 7
Sioux Falls Lincoln 38, Sioux Falls Washington 7
Sioux Falls Jefferson 38, Brandon Valley 14
Sioux Falls O'Gorman 53, Rapid City Central 7
Sioux Valley 29, Flandreau 13
Sisseton 20, Baltic 6
St. Francis Indian 26, Pine Ridge 6
Sturgis Brown 27, Douglas 0
Sully Buttes 32, Corsica/Stickney 14
Todd County 30, Standing Rock, N.D. 22
Tri-Valley 48, Wagner 6
Vermillion 28, Madison 20
Warner 55, Northwestern 0
Watertown 26, Spearfish 7
Waverly-South Shore 55, Langford 0
West Central 38, Lennox 16
Winner 34, Mt. Vernon/Plankinton 8
Wolsey-Wessington 34, Avon 16
Woonsocket/Wessington Springs/Sanborn Central 14, Rapid City Christian 6
This article originally appeared on Aberdeen News: Aberdeen Central wins fifth-straight game against Yankton to go to 5-3
