Five things we learned about Watertown and Friday's other football highlights

One thing that John Hodorff has consistently stressed in his seven-plus seasons as the head coach of Watertown High School's football team is for the Arrows to try to get better every week.

What the Arrows' 34-19 Eastern South Dakota Conference victory over Huron Friday night truly means is certainly a long ways away from being determined. There's little doubt that the 0-2 Tigers likely won't be as good as Brookings, which beat Watertown 26-3 last week.

Still, there's no question that Friday's version of the Arrows looked better than last Friday's version.

"Overall it was pretty good win," said Hodorff. "We have a lot of things we can fix, but it's always a positive when you have a big win and still can fix a lot of things."

Juven Hudson is ready for a big year

The junior speedster isn't a newcomer. He's been a varsity performer the last two years and led Watertown in rushing last season.

He's still fast, but he's bigger and more experienced and it definitely showed on Friday.

Hudson ran the football 24 times for 207 yards and three touchdowns (32, 27 and 23 yards).

"Our lineman blocked with more confidence and that's something we worked on all week," said Hudson. "Everybody did their job perfectly."

Hudson had 77 yards in last week's opening loss, but most of those came in the first half. He got things going right from the start Friday, capping the Arrows' first possession by breaking a handful of tackles on the way to the end zone.

"When we ran the ball, our offensive line did a really good job of blocking," said Hodorff.

The Arrows proved they can bounce back

The bouncing back is not only in reference to the recovery from the season opener to this week, but also what the Arrows did during Friday's game.

After Hudson's 32-yard TD run to start the game put Watertown ahead, Huron took the lead with a 17-yard TD run by Quinston Luellman Clark late in the first quarter and went ahead 13-6 when quarterback Mason Davis scrambled into the end zone from 15 yards out midway through the second period.

Watertown tied the game on Hudson's 27-yard run with 2:40 left and took a 20-13 halftime lead on Alex Kahre's 10-yard scoring pass to Jesse Werner with 1:16 remaining.

That momentum carried into the second half with Kahre's 2-yard TD scamper early in the fourth quarter and Hudson's 23-yard scoring jaunt with 3:27 left that decided the outcome.

"We liked the fact that we came out real hard and took it right down the field and score a touchdown," said Hodorff. "We didn't like the fact that we struggled for almost a full quarter. Scoring twice to going to halftime with the lead was a positive and we seemed to build on that."

The defense deserves some credit

Watertown failed to take advantage of good field position, especially in the first half, in last week's season opener. Offensive struggles put some extra burden on the defense.

Huron did outgain the Arrows 324-260 and ran 70 plays compared to 45 for Watertown, but they didn't come close to scoring in the second half until they connected on a long pass in the final minute that led to Luellman Clark's 2-yard TD run as time expired.

"We came out in the second half and did a much better job defensively," said Hodorff.

Ashton First In Trouble and Mason Whiting each had four solo tackles and an assist and Werner added four solo tackles to lead the defense. Key contributions came from a number of players.

Running can't be the only option

Arrow fans probably have to go back to the 2013 season when Shay Bratland's running led Watertown to the state Class 11AA championship game. Hudson has that same kind of ability.

Still, other teams will learn quickly. Kahre completed six eight passes for 71 yards including a nifty 46-yard strike to Drew Denzer, who finished with three catches for 61 yards.

"In the future, we're going to have to be able to throw the ball around. We'll have to run some screens and get some plays down the field otherwise they're going to pack eight or nine guys in the box," said Hodorff. "Juven will probably struggle if he has to play against a nine-man box."

Bigger tests await in the coming weeks

The Arrows have back-to-back road games the next two weeks, a stretch that opens with a visit to third-rated Class 11AA Yankton (2-0) on Friday.

"We know they're a good football team, but we have a good football team too," said Hodorff. "So it's going to be a battle. We'll go down to Yankton and see what happens."

Hudson is hopeful that Friday's performance is more indicative of what the Arrows are capable of.

"I think we played with a chip on our shoulders from last game. We expected to win. That's what we wanted and that's what we got," he said. "Hopefully this is an eye opener to show that we can win games no matter what."

The Arrows follow the visit to Yankton, with a road matchup against Sioux Falls Washington on Sept. 16.

Watertown will then return home to host five-time defending state Class 11AA champion Pierre to kick off a five-game stretch that includes four home games.

"Things are starting to head in the right direction and this group deserves to win football games," said Hodorff. "They work together and do such a good job of doing things right."

Friday's Other Area Games

Hamlin 49, Garretson 0: Luke Fraser rushed for 142 yards and three touchdowns (14, 30 and 43 yards) and Tyson Stevenson connected by Evan Stormo on scoring passes for 12 and 21 yards for the third-rated Class 9AA Chargers (3-0). Mason Trowbridge added a 2-yard TD run and Aiden Abraham a 2-yard TD reception from Jackson Wadsworth. Trowbridge added 89 yards rushing and Stevenson 83 yards passing. Zac VanMeeteren led the Chargers' defensive with five tackles and Kasey Prouty added four.

Cole Jessen rushed for 41 yards, Ian Buettner caught four passes for 59 yards and Jayden Davis had 4.5 tackles for Garretson (0-3).

Castlewood 54, Arlington 0:  Lane Tvedt ran for three touchdowns (2, 45 and 19) and tosses TD passes to Booker Schooley (40 yards) and Carson Kirwan (35 yards) to lead the Warriors (2-0). Paul Everson ran for 66 yards and two scores (11 and 27 yards). Adam Heyn made seven tackles and Wiersma five.

Brecken Vossler's 32 yards rushing paced Arlington (0-2).

Deubrook Area 24, Great Plains Lutheran 6: Colin Bauman scored on a 65-yard run and set up two other scores with runs of 50 and 60 yards for the Dolphins (3-0). Treven Grimsrud scored on runs of 80 and 8 yards and Gavin Landmark on a 21-yard dash. Devon Landmark had an interception.

Brody Scharlemann scored on a 2-yard run and finished with 77 yards rushing and 101 passing for the Panthers (1-2). Jacob Bartels caught four passes for 42 yards and Thomas Erickson two for 35 to go along with 65 yards rushing. Micah Holien recorded 10 tackles.

Deuel 47, Sisseton 12: Trey Maaland ran for two scores (14 and 17 yards) and also tossed TD passes to Carver Nothem (12 yards) and Gabe Sather (30 yards) for the Cardinals, now 2-1 overall and in the Northeast Conference. Northem also returned a kickoff 98 yards for another score and Owen Quail ran for 87 yards and two TDs (13 and 4 yards). Sather also made eight tackles.

Sisseton (1-2 overall and 0-1 in the NEC) scored on a 75-yard fake punt by Jason Fisher and a 5-yard run by Mikah Hamm. Carter Stickland passed for 89 yards and Ethan DeSpiegler 75. Fisher caught eight passes for 110 yards and joined Nate Tchida with six tackles apiece on defense.

De Smet 52, Dell Rapids St. Mary 8: The fifth-rated Class 9B Bulldogs improved to 2-1 with two rushing touchdowns from Trace Van Regenmorter and one each from Britt Carlson, Kadyn Fast, Dylan Zell and Gannon Gilligan. Carlson also connected with Fast on a 26-yard score. Van Regenmorter made seven tackles and an interception and Noah Harrison six tackles.

Nic Gaspar notched 15 tackles for fourth-rated Class 9B St. Mary (1-2).

Britton-Hecla 52, Waverly-South Shore 14: BoDell Davidson had a hand in seven touchdowns to lead the Braves (2-1). He scored on runs of 48, 37 and 5 yards; tossed TD passes to Bryce Hawkinson (13 yards), Collin Beaner (35 yards) and Gage Storley (10 yards) and returned a fumble for another score. Davidson rushed for 144 yards and passed for 235. Dawson Treeby caught three passes for 69 yards, Hawkinson four for 60 and Gage Storley five for 57. Ty Fagerland led the defense with seven stops.

Troy Kneeland passed for 160 yards and two touchdowns for the Coyotes (0-3). Zach Ries caught seven passes for 72 yards and a TD and Cody Thompson seven for 66 and another TD. Thompson was involved in 15.5 tackles, Kolby Ries seven and Bryan Ramirez and Zach Ries each six.

Madison 41, Milbank 6: Ben Brooks passes for 178 yards and a TD and also ran for 126 and another score to lead fifth-rated Madison (1-1) to victory in a rematch of last year's state Class 11A championship. Carson Wolf added two TDs (one rushing and the other receiving and Bruce Galde rushed for two touchdowns and Joe Gors one.

Milbank (1-1) scored on a 15-yard pass from Garrett Mertens to Eli Johnson. Aiden Foell ran for 133 yards on 33 carries. Mertens ran for 73 yards, passed for 58 and made seven tackles. Johnson caught six passes for 53 yards and recorded eight tackles.

Elk Point-Jefferson 50, Sioux Valley 0: Ben Swatek rushed for 187 yards and two touchdowns and Lucas Hueser 76 and two other scores to lead No. 3 Class 11B EPJ (3-0) past No. 4 Sioux Valley (2-1). Swatek also hauled in a 19-yard TD pass from Noah McDermott.

Lane Liebsch made eight tackles and Boden Schiller, Brock Christopherson and Donovan Rose six each for Sioux Valley, which had a negative 10 yards of offense compared to 454 for EPJ.

Winner 62, Webster Area 8: Top-rated Class 11B Winner improved to 3-0. Webster Area slipped to 0-3.

Bridgewater-Emery-Ethan 18, Clark-Willow Lake 7: Second-rated Class 11B BEE ran its record to 3-0. The Cyclones slipped to 1-2.

Tiospa Zina 54, Crazy Horse 0: The Wambdi evened their record at 1-1 with the All-Nations Conference win.

Groton Area 57, Dakota Hills 0: Teylor Diegel scored on runs of 14 and 38 yards and hauled in a 48-yard touchdown pass of from quarterback Lane Tietz. Tietz also had two 5-yard touchdown runs for Groton (1-2). Colby Dunker had 13 tackles for a Groton defense that held Dakota Valley to negative two rushing yards.

Dylan Rumpza made five tackles and Caleb Miller for four Dakota Hills (0-3).

Aberdeen Roncalli 23, Redfield 6: Roncalli improved to 3-0 and dropped Redfield to 1-2. Maddox May ran for 122 yards and two touchdowns and Jackson Isakson kicked three field goals (45, 35 and 45) and an extra-point kick for Roncalli.

Mason Whitley rushed for 129 yards and a touchdown and also made 11 tackles for Redfield.

Hitchcock-Tulare 36, Iroquois-Lake Preston 6: The third-rated Class 9B Patriots improved to 3-0. The Sharks slipped to 0-3.

Carter Binger passed for 155 yards and three touchdowns for Hitchcock-Tulare. TJ Salmen caught two TD passes and also recorded seven tackles, four quarterback sacks and a fumble recovery on defense.

Josh McMasters caught a 12-yard TD pass from Logan Peskey for Iroquois-Lake Preston.

Maple River 68, Tri-State 16: Tri-State slipped to 0-3 with the North Dakota High School Activities Association loss.

Elkton-Lake Benton 30, Bon Homme 14 (Thursday): Ryan Krog passes for 157 yards and three scores, rushed for 141 yards and two other TDs and made seven tackles for the Elks (3-0). Tanner Stein, Riddick Westley and Carson Griffith each hauled in TD passes. Riley Rothschdal rushed for 97 yards and a TD and also passed for 80 yards and a TD to Isaac Crownover for Bon Homme (1-1).

This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Here's a roundup of area high school football games on Friday night.