Warner throttles Burke 53-0 in opening round of playoffs. Here's how it happened.
WARNER -- Burke received the opening kickoff and, with a couple of nice gains, drove inside Warner's 20-yard line to start Thursday night's Class 9A first-round playoff game.
It looked like the Cougars might build a little confidence with an early score against top-ranked and top-seeded Warner.
That hope disappeared quickly.
Charlie Dulany recovered a Burke fumble to end the promising drive, and, after a long pass play, Hunter Cramer scored from two yards out to put the Monarchs up 6-0. Warner never looked back.
In the end, the Monarchs won 53-0 in a game that ended at halftime. Here are three takeaways from the contest.
Cramer does what Cramer does
After Cramer's first touchdown, Burke fumbled the enduing kickoff. On the next play, Cramer found the end zone from 38 yards out.
He finished with 123 yards rushing and six touchdowns on only 12 carries. He had room to run all night and passed the credit to the offensive linemen.
"It's not very hard for us backs when all we have to do is run through the holes," Cramer said
Warner's experienced offensive line dominates
Warner coach Kerwin Hoellein agreed with Cramer that the offensive line had a great performance, and that has been the case all season. The unit has five seniors that help open holes for running backs and protect the quarterback.
The linemen communicate well, Hoellein said, and that results in sound execution with each player blocking the right defender.
Burke's fumbles makes a tough job impossible
The Cougars lost four fumbles and had a botched snap on a punt that set Warner up at the Burke three-yard line. After the bad snap, Cramer scored from a yard out to account for the final points of the game.
Burke couldn't convert on fourth down on its next drive, and the Monarchs took over and ran out the clock.
Often, the fumble recoveries set Warner up with good field position and the Monarchs capitalized. It's hard to beat any opponent with a minus-four turnover margin, let alone the No. 1 team in the state.
Carter Moen had a fumble recovery and stripped a Burke ball carrier to force another, which was recovered by Dulany. Dulany recovered two fumbles. He added a 10-yard touchdown run for good measure to make it 40-0 with 7:25 to play before halftime. He finished with 73 yards rushing on eight carries.
Warner to host Canistota in second round
The Monarchs are now 9-0. They will play at home as long as they keep winning during the playoffs, Next Thursday, they host Canistota (5-4), which beat Alcestor-Hudson 42-14 in the opening round.
Both Cramer and Hoellein said three more wins is the aim. That would mean an 9A state title at the DakotaDome in Vermillion.
"Oh yeah, that's the goal," Cramer said.
The downside of the playoffs is that only one team wins its final game of the season, Hoellien said, adding that the Monarchs' goal is to be that lone team.
Burke finished the season with a 1-8 mark.
Roncalli fires on all cylinders in 46-0 opening round triumph against Mobridge/Pollock
The running game, passing game and defense all found the end zone Thursday night in Aberdeen Roncalli's 46-0 victory over Mobridge/Pollock Thursday night in the opening round of the Class 11B playoffs at Dacotah Bank Field in Aberdeen.
While the Cavaliers, now 9-0, scored with regularity, the Tigers just couldn't get anything going. Mobridge/Pollock finished the season at 4-5.
Roncalli quarterback/kicker Jackson Isakson passed for four touchdowns and connected on field goals of 48 and 42 yards to lead the Roncalli offense. He also just missed a 60-yard field goal attempt. He found Keegan Stewart on scoring strikes of 13 and 20 yards, the second of which made it 36-0 as halftime approached. But the Cavaliers snuck in one more score before the break when Isakson made his 42-yard kick.
The only score in the second half came with Roncalli's Kaden Clark picked off a pass and took it 15 yards to the end zone to account for the final score.
Roncalli's stingy defense pickup up its fifth shutout of the season, yielding only 127 yards to the Tigers.
"We rely on our defense to give us short fields ... and when they do it, we have to take advantage of it," said Roncalli head coach Billy Young.
He complimented Isakson's passing, noting that he found open receivers on his second reads in the progression on two long completions.
Running back Maddox May finished with 130 yards rushing caught a short touchdown pitch-pass from Isakson.
The Cavaliers host Hot Springs next Thursday at Dacotah Bank Stadium. The Bison (7-2) use a two-running back power football scheme on offense, Young said. He said he's watched two Hot Springs games as he was scouting Redfield and St. Thomas More of Rapid City, common opponents of the teams that will meet in the quarterfinals.
"They're definitely underrated. I've seen them on tape, and they're very, very good," Young said.
Hot Springs slipped past Redfield 14-13 in the opening game of the season and walloped St. Thomas More 49-14. Since losing 41-21 at Dell Rapids on Sept. 9, the Bison have won five straight with three shutouts. In Thursday's opening playoff round, they crushed Bridgewater/Emery-Ethan 45-6.
Roncalli beat Redfield 23-6 and More 21-6 during the regular season.
Roncalli linebacker Zane Backous was dinged up on a two-point conversion attempt Thursday and didn't play after that. Young said it's likely a bone bruise as opposed to something more serious.
Herreid/Selby Area 56, Lemmon/McIntosh 6 (Class 9B): Brenden Begeman ran for touchdown runs of 45, 47 and 54 yards and caught two touchdown passes to lead the Wolverines. But he certainly didn't carry the whole load. Quarterback Tray Hettick passed for five touchdowns. He found Begeman on scoring strikes of 59 and 26 yards and Trevor Gill on touchdown passes of 24 and 41 yards. His other TD pass was 19 yards to Darion Barker.
The long pass to Begeman put Herreid/Selby Area up 20-0. The 26-yarder made it 34-6.
The game ended at halftime, but Hettick still completed eight of 14 yards for 245 yards, while Begeman rushed nine times for 162 yards. He also caught three passes for 130 yards. Gill finished with two catches for 65 yards.
Gill and Kaden Sayler each had five tackles for the top-ranked and seeded Wolverines, 9-0. The Cowboys finished the season at 2-7.
Deuel 27, St. Thomas More 10 (Class 11B): The combination of the offensive line's blocking and Owen Quail's running in the second half sparked the eighth-seeded Cardinals (8-1) to a comeback win over No. 9 St. Thomas More (5-4). More led 10-7 at halftime.
The Cardinals took the lead on a four-yard run by Trey Maaland midway through the third quarter and got two fourth-quarter TD runs from Quail (two and 12 yards), who finished with 224 yards rushing on 35 attempts. Maaland, who had 51 yards rushing and 51 passing, also scored on a five-yard run in the first half. Deuel compiled 307 yards rushing.
Robbie Begalka made seven tackles, including a quarterback sack for Deuel's defense. Quail and Maaland each had interceptions, and Tate Kenyon recovered a fumble.
More (5-4) led at halftime by getting a 12-yard touchdown run from Matthew Larson and a 21-yard field goal from JD Green in the second quarter. Lee Neugebauer passed for 120 yards, teaming with Easton Ogle twice for 50. Larson and Spencer Johannesen each finished with 10 tackles.
Castlewood 26, Timber Lake 0 (Class 9A): Lane Tvedt and Carson Kirwan combined to score four touchdowns to lead Castlewood (7-2) to the win. Tvedt scored on runs of one and 22 yards. Kirwan scored on a 41-yard run and a 38-yard pass from Tvedt. Tvedt completed eight of 14 passes for 136 yards. Kirwan rushed for 61 yards and caught two passes for 58. Jackson Schofield made two receptions for 55.
Jeremiah Wiersma had seven and a half tackles, Schofield six and Booker Schooley five for Castlewood's defense, which intercepted four passes.Gracen Hansen rushed for 57 yards and passed for 47 for Timber Lake (5-4). Caleb Bieber made five tackles and Cole Ducheneaux intercepted a pass.
Hamlin 41, Viborg-Hurley 8 (Class 9AA): Luke Fraser scored four touchdowns and Tyson Stevenson passed for three for the Chargers (8-1). Fraser, who ran 22 times for 222 yards, scored on runs of 35, 46 and 15 yards and also caught a 23-yard scoring pass from Stevenson. Evan Stormo (70 yards) and Dawson Noem (34) each also had TD receptions from Stevenson, who completed nine of 19 passes for 249 yards. Noem caught three passes for 74 yards. Kasen Prouty recorded 10 tackles, Stormo nine and a half, Troy Randall, Jr., seven and Fraser and Mason Trowbridge each six for Hamlin.
South Dakota high school football scores
Class 9A first-round playoffs
Canistota 42, Alcester-Hudson 24
Castlewood 26, Timber Lake 0
Gregory 50, Iroquois/ Lake Preston Co-op 0
Harding County/Bison Co-op 38, Chester 10
Lyman 50, Oldham-Ramona/Rutland 0
Philip 36, Estelline/Hendricks 0
Warner 53, Burke 0
Wolsey-Wessington 41, Deubrook 0
Class 9AA first-round playoffs
Bon Homme 42, Ipswich 20
Elkton-Lake Benton 32, Kimball/White Lake 18
Freeman/ Marion/ Freeman Academy Co-op 36, Florence/Henry 30
Hamlin 41, Viborg-Hurley 8
Hanson 42, Platte-Geddes 18
Howard 48, Britton-Hecla 8
Parkston 46, Leola/Frederick 6
Wall 58, Stanley County 8
Class 9B first-round playoffs
Avon 74, Faulkton 48
De Smet 50, Colome 0
Dell Rapids St. Mary 30, Faith 20
Herreid/Selby Area 56, Lemmon/McIntosh 6
Hitchcock-Tulare 50, Jones County 0
Irene-Wakonda 61, Corsica/Stickney 52
Kadoka Area 60, New Underwood 6
Sully Buttes 14, Potter County 12
Class 11B first-round playoffs
Aberdeen Roncalli 46, Mobridge-Pollock 0
Deuel 27, St. Thomas More 10
Elk Point-Jefferson 58, Rapid City Christian 7
Hot Springs 45, Bridgewater-Emery 6
McCook Central/Montrose 34, Sioux Valley 19
Mt. Vernon 38, Tri-Valley 10
Redfield 7, Woonsocket/Wessington Springs/Sanborn Central 6
Winner 62, Lead-Deadwood 7
Regular season scores
Beresford 52, Lakota Tech 0
Brandon Valley 35, Sioux Falls Washington 33
Brookings 35, Mitchell 21
Canton 38, Chamberlain 21
Dell Rapids 22, Dakota Valley 18
Madison def. Custer, forfeit
Pierre 46, Douglas 6
Rapid City Stevens 44, Rapid City Central 6
Sioux Falls Christian 40, Lennox 0
Sioux Falls Jefferson 51, Sioux Falls Roosevelt 26
Sioux Falls Lincoln 42, Aberdeen Central 7
Sioux Falls O'Gorman 24, Harrisburg 20
Spearfish 28, Sturgis Brown 27, OT
Tea Area 39, Watertown 6
Vermillion 27, Belle Fourche 0
West Central 34, Milbank 6
This article originally appeared on Aberdeen News: Aberdeen Roncalli, Warner record shutouts in football playoffs
