South Dakota Gridiron Report for Aug. 22: Close calls motivate Avon, Parkston, Seahawks in 2022 efforts

Landon Dierks, The Daily Republic, Mitchell, S.D.
·6 min read

Aug. 22—For three area programs — Avon, Bridgewater-Emery/Ethan and Parkston — the 2021 high school football season ended just short of the ultimate goal of a championship.

In the nine-man ranks, Parkston (Class 9AA) and Avon (Class 9B) each reached the state semifinals in 2021 after several years away. For BEE, the season ended with a trip to the DakotaDome as one of the final two teams left standing in Class 11B for a fifth-straight season, though the result was the fourth loss during that span.

In the case of all three programs, each with their own rich championship histories and football traditions, the desire and capability to return to the top are clear. However, entering a new season, the top long-term question remains for all three programs: How do we get there again? And, better yet, how do we take it one step further?

According to BEE coach Jeff VanLeur, the process starts immediately following the end of the previous season, when a new crop of seniors, though only midway through their junior year in school, take control of the team.

"Ownership starts the day after the Dome game and builds throughout the offseason," VanLeur said. "I believe our seniors know that this is their season, and they take ownership of it."

Among the factors to deal with early in the season is addressing expectations. VanLeur and Avon coach Tom Culver both noted that the internal expectations don't always come from the coaching staff, with setting goals as a team an every-season occurrence.

"As coaches, we are really focusing on getting better every day, and we tell the kids that we're going to get the other team's best shot, so we need to be focused and ready to play each week," Culver said. "We remind them of the goals they have created for themselves and what it is going to take to achieve those goals."

Of course, a dependable cycle of developing playmakers on both sides of the ball is a key element to repeated trips deep into the postseason. No program is immune to losing key pieces to graduation, and finding new faces to step in and fill those shoes can sometimes prove difficult.

For BEE and Parkston, perhaps the most glaring holes left by departed seniors from 2021 are in the backfield, where Koby Kayser and Cole Prunty, respectively, were the leading ballcarriers. Avon will be without its top back, a nearly 2,000-yard rusher in Brady Bierema, due to injury to start the 2022 season, but is also tasked with replacing a pair of four-year starters.

The cycle of plugging in new players and developing them into playmakers is crucial to carrying success through year-to-year — to which Culver cautiously added "with any team in a small school, one injury can be devastating" — and in VanLeur's opinion, it's the most important element to taking the next step forward.

Ultimately, though, it's not until teams take the field and show how the adjustments from last season translate that gauging where they're at and where they need to go can take place.

If the first week of the 2022 season is any indication, Avon, BEE and Parkston are all on the right track. Though all three opened the season on the road Friday night, the trio went 3-0 and combined to win 110-14.

Three victories from Week 1 that got our attention:

* Warriors upend the Dogs: In a contest that includes a pair of recent playoff stalwarts, Castlewood picked up a 20-14 home win over De Smet on Friday. Defense did the job for Castlewood, holding the Bulldogs to 133 yards and Byron Laue posting 12 tackles and 1 1/2 sacks in the win.

* The Phoenix start at 1-0: It's hard to argue with the start of the team history for Freeman/Marion/Freeman Academy, which opened its new co-op on Friday night with a 34-12 win at Burke.

Our Marcus Traxler profiled the new team prior to their first game.

* Howard wins Class 9AA showdown: In the most anticipated nine-man game of the week,

Howard built a 20-0 through a quarter and a half but staved off Hanson's comeback attempt for a 20-12 win.

Both teams showed their share of firepower in the game, likely making them exciting teams to follow for the remainder of the season.

The top performers from the week:

* Reed Rus carried Mount Vernon/Plankinton to a 37-8 win over Woonsocket/Wessington Springs/Sanborn Central went 4-for-5 passing for 165 yards and a pair of touchdowns (both 60-plus yarders to Chris Mayer) while adding 94 yards on the ground and three more touchdowns.

* Elk Point Jefferson's offense erupted to the tune of a 50-0 win over Parker, but Lucas Hueser's nine carries for 170 yards and three touchdowns as well as Devon Schmitz three receptions for 51 yards and pair of touchdowns take the cake.

* Taiden Hoyer scored twice in the first half for Howard in a victory over Hanson. The quarterback finished the day with 60 yards passing and a touchdown while adding 105 yards and a score with his legs on 15 rushes.

* Sioux Valley's Brock Christopherson carried the ball 10 times for 113 yards and a pair of scores — including one from 27 yards and one from 31 yards — for the Cossacks in a 34-14 win of Jim River.

* Riley Tschetter went 15-for-28 for 242 yards and three touchdowns for Freeman/Marion/Freeman Academy in a 34-12 win over Burke. Rocky Ammann hauled in three of those passes for 111 yards and a score, while Matt Hagen added another seven catches for FMFA for 63 yards and a touchdown in the win.

* Herreid/Selby Area rushed for 285 yards on Friday night, with Luke Campbell taking both of his carries for touchdowns, finishing with 105 yards and scoring from 36 and 69 yards out, respectively.

* BoDell Davidson helped lead Britton-Hecla to a 44-34 win over Great Plains Lutheran with 18 carries for 143 yards and two touchdowns.

* Great Plains Lutheran's Thomas Erickson registered 25 carries for 136 yards and four scores in the loss to Britton-Hecla.

* Noah Kleinsasser ran for 114 yards and scored twice on just six carries for Canistota in a 43-28 win over Irene-Wakonda. He also added a catch for 26 yards.

Here are three games on next week's schedule we're fired up for:

* Howard at Canistota: The Cornbelt Conference rivals fire up again on Friday night, with a pair of expected No. 1 teams meeting in their usual Week 2 slot. Of course, Canistota operates as a solo enterprise this season, but since 2018, Canistota/Freeman won four of the last six matchups (including the 2018 state title game and the 2020 state semifinal meeting, both in Class 9A), but Howard won last year's game, 59-28.

* Wolsey-Wessington at Gregory: The vaunted Missouri Valley Conference schedule continues to churn with this matchup, plus Bon Homme takes on Kimball/White Lake and Parkston hosts Platte-Geddes. Gregory opens the season with the matchup, which could be a playoff preview at some point in November, with both teams in Class 9A.

* Sioux Falls Jefferson vs. Harrisburg (Saturday): A Class 11AAA state title defense starts next week for Harrisburg, who hosts the up-and-coming Cavaliers to kick off Jefferson's sophomore season as a program. The Tigers look to reload behind Gavin Ross, while Jefferson returns all 22 starters from 2021.