Watertown wins big at Spearfish and Great Plains Lutheran earns first playoff berth since 2011

CLEAR LAKE — There was no stopping Trey Maaland and Deuel High School's football team in a game played under a steady rain Friday night

The fifth-rated Class 11B Cardinals put the finishing touches on their first unbeaten regular season since 1989 by rolling past Redfield (1-7) 50-0 in a game that thankfully, at least for the fans sitting through some miserable weather conditions, ended in with 2:16 to go in the third quarter because of the Mercy Rule.

The early stages of the game went like this. Deuel kicked off, stuffed Redfield on downs, got the ball in great field position after a short punt into the wind and then needed one, two or maybe three plays to score. It was 18-0 after one period and 34-0 at halftime.

The Deuel School District was formed in the late 1980s and after years as Clear Lake, the Cardinals played their first official season as Deuel in the fall of 1989. What followed was an 8-0 regular season and a first-round playoff win before falling to eventual state Class 11B champion Hamlin in the second round.

Since then, the Cardinals spent a few years playing nine-man football before moving back up to Class 11B. They've had some success under head coach Dusty Hourigan, but no perfect regular season until now.

"We were aware of it, but it wasn't something we were focusing on," Deuel senior quarterback Trey Maaland said. "We were focused on going 1-0 this week just like every other week."

The final tune-up for the state playoffs

The Cardinals could have likely expected things were going to go their way on Friday against a Redfield team, which made the playoffs last year and even won a first-round game, that was short on numbers and success this fall.

Still, sometimes the weather has a way of being an equalizer. The Cardinals didn't let that happen.

"Ball security was a big thing," said Maaland, a three-year starter who has rushed for 836 yards and 16 touchdowns and also completed 58 of 114 passes for 1,083 yards and 11 touchdowns this fall. "And just playing our kind of football.

"We can spread it out and throw the ball, but when the weather is like this or that gets taken away, we can ground and pound, too," said Maaland. "We have a great line, they can pass block and they can run block. They do whatever we need them to do and then our backs do a great of running hard. We knew we had to keep it on the ground, That's what we did and it worked out."

The ground attack produced 285 yards on 35 attempts, including 113 by Maaland on 13 carries, 72 by Gavin Kloos on 10 and 69 by Carson Marko on four.

Kloos opened the scoring with a 4-yard run and Marko (10 yards) and Maaland (2 yards) also scored on TD runs in the opening period. Marko and Maaland each found the end zone again in the second period on runs of 36 and 26 yards, respectively. Oliver Fieber added a 22-yard scoring run in the third quarter before Maaland closed out the win with a TD run and conversion late in the third quarter. Owen Haas also had a conversion run.

The Cardinals, officially, went 0-for-1 passing although Maaland did connect on two conversion passes to Dexter Unzen.

Kaden TeKrony and Ethan Prins each made five tackles and Robert Begalka and Kloos each three for a Deuel defense that held the Pheasants to a minus-26 yards of offense.

It all added up to another win and a regular season that might have been unexpected. The Cardinals did graduate 14 seniors off a team that fell to eventual state runner-up Winner in the second round of the playoffs last fall.

"I thought we could be competitive but after watching our young guys compete in Week 1, I thought we'd have a chance to have a good playoff run," said Hourigan. "That has been the surprising thing for me, how our sophomores and freshmen have stepped up. We're playing five of them on each side of the ball."

Playoff Pairings: State playoffs set to open on Thursday for four of state's seven classes

It helps to have senior leadership

It isn't all about youth for the Cardinals, who have a number of talented seniors who helped them earn the No. 2 seed in the state playoffs that start Thursday. Deuel hosts fellow Northeast Conference foe Webster Area and will have home-field advantage for as long a they remain alive in the playoffs.

"Again that wasn't something we were focusing on but obviously it was a goal," said Maaland. "It's really nice having that home-field advantage. We have great support from our fans who are going to come out and be loud for us."

The group of senior leaders includes Maaland, who is also a key player on defense at safety. He has 23 tackles and five interceptions this fall, including one he returned for a TD.

"His leadership off the field is great and the kids believe in, just the things he can do running and passing the ball," said Hourigan. "The other understated thing is he is a phenomenal safety. He's also quarterback on defense. He is always in the right spot and that helps out a lot."

Now Class 11B has a number of teams believing they have a chance to go a long ways in the state playoffs, so making it to the DakotaDome and competing for the program's first-ever state championship isn't going to come as easy for Deuel as Thursday night's win did.

Maaland and his teammates know that.

"Obviously the goal for every team at the end of the season is to go to the Dome and bring a ring back home," said Maaland. "Right now, we're just looking forward to next week. We'll take it a week at a time and if we piles the wins up we'll be able to reach our goal at the end.

Watertown 42, Spearfish 7

SPEARFISH — Fourth-rated Class 11B Watertown pushed its record to 6-2 with by rolling past the 4-4 Spartans.

Treyton Himmerich tossed three touchdown passes for the Arrows, connecting with Kohen Kranz (22 yards), Spencer Wientjes (64 yards) and Markus Pitkin (51 yards). Himmerich finished 10 of 14 passing for 238 yards, teaming with Pitkin five times for 96 yards.

Juven Hudson rushed the football 13 times for 127 yards and scored on runs of 8 and 3 yards. Wientjes added a 2-yard TD plunge and Tommy Foley went 4-for-5 on extra-point kicks. Owen Spartz tallied five tackles.

The Arrows led 42-0 at halftime. Spearfish (4-4) scored in the fourth quarter on a 42-yard pass from Thomas Hughes to Cade Varuska. Hughes passed for 113 yards.

Great Plains Lutheran 28, Hitchcock-Tulare 20

HITCHCOCK — Great Plains Lutheran (4-4) secured its first playoff berth since 2011 with the help of three touchdown runs from Brody Scharlemann, the last a 23-yarder that snapped a 20-20 tie in the fourth quarter.

Scharlemann, who ran 19 times for 90 yards, also scored on runs of 1 and 5 yards. Thomas Erickson rushed 17 times for 93 yards, scoring on an 8-yard run and two conversions. Scharlemann completed two passes, one to Jacob Bartels for 17 yards and the other to Erickson for 13.

"It's been 12 years," GPL head coach Aaron Schleusener said. "I'm really proud of how the guys battled tonight. They really wanted this."

The Panthers visit Platte-Geddes in the first round of the state Class 9AA playoffs on Thursday.

Erik Salmen led the Patriots (4-4), rushing 22 times for 115 yards and three TDs (6, 5 and 8 yards). He also went 7-for-15 passing for 124 yards, teaming with Brendan Nowell four times for 66.

Yankton 31, Aberdeen Central 21

YANKTON — Third-rated Class 11AA Yankton scored 17 unanswered points to end the third quarter and rallied for the Eastern South Dakota Conference win over fifth-rated Aberdeen Central.

Evan Serck (2 yards) and Matthew Sheldon (3 yards) had touchdown runs for the Bucks (7-1), who also scored on a 1-yard fumble return by Ryker Freng, 1-yard pass from Lucas Kampshoff to Tucker Gilmore and a 40-yard field goal by Josie Trujillo-Melgoza.

The Golden Eagles (4-4) got a safety from Brandon Schwan, two 1-yard runs by Parker Lemer and a 38-yard run by Avery Ligon that gave them a 21-14 lead early in the third period.

Serck carried the football 25 times for 132 yards and Kampshoff completed 13 of 26 passes for 114 yards including four to Gilmore for 42. Sheldon had nine tackles and Bryce Kral seven. Tyson Prouty had two quarterback sacks and Sheldon one.

Ligon's 142 rushing yards on 26 carries led Aberdeen Central (4-4). Lemer went 9-for-11 passing for 69 yards. Cooper Eisenbeisz hauled in three catches for 39 yards. Bodey Tracy notched nine tackles and Tate Huff five with an interception.

Castlewood 38, Estelline-Hendricks 8

CASTLEWOOD — Lane Tvedt rushed for 79 yards and three touchdowns and passed for two other scores to propel Castlewood (4-4) to the Dakota Valley Conference win.

Jackson Schofield (28 yards) and Brody Bass (15 yards) caught TD passes for the Warriors. Tvedt completed three of four passes for 55 yards including two to Schofield for 40.

Paul Everson made 11 tackles and Kolby Davis, Camron Eng, Yader Munoz and Kamden Keszler four each for Castlewood. Keszler also recovered a fumble.

The Redhawks (4-4) scored on a 44-yard pass from Mattix Hausman to Trey Cass. Hausman passed for 47 yards and Caden Ching rushed for 29. Ethan Axtell added a conversion run.

Aberdeen Roncalli 7, Clark-Willow Lake 2

WILLOW LAKE — Kaden Larson's 1-yard touchdown run and Aiden Fisher's extra-point kick in the third quarter lifted Roncalli (6-2) to the Northeast Conference win.

Clark-Willow Lake, which scored on a safety by Lincoln Reidburn in the fourth quarter, ended its season with a 3-5 record.

Larson ran for 41 yards and Fisher rushed for 41 yards and passed for 24. Josh Schaunaman recorded 10 tackles and Brad Harms nine to lead the Cavaliers' defense.

Emmerson Larson finished with 75 yards rushing and 42 passing for the Cyclones, who outgained the Cavaliers 192-106. Griffin Musser had nine tackles and Reidburn four.

Sioux Valley 47, Flandreau 7

VOLGA — The second-rated Class 11B Cossacks also wrapped up a perfect 8-0 regular season with the win.

Boden Schiller led the way, rushing for 142 yards and three touchdowns (7, 24 and 58) yards and also passing for 63 yards (including a 53-yard TD strike to Hudsyn Ruesink. Donovan Rose added a 13-yard TD run.

Ruesink led the Cossacks' defense with 12 tackles. Braden Danzeisen added eight and Schiller, Brock Christopherson and Preston Top each added seven. Tobin Squires recovered a fumble and Jakob Guthmiller intercepted a pass.

Flandreau (3-5) scored on a 14-yard pass from Paul Parsley to Kody Kneebone. Ben Ballard ran for 34 yards and also caught four passes for 30 to go along with 10 tackles. Karter Headrick added eight tackles and Kamryn Grengs recovered a fumble.

Groton Area 20, Mobridge-Pollock 8

GROTON — Groton Area (5-3) scored one touchdown in each of the first three quarters to record the win.

Logan Ringgenberg found the end zone on a 28-yard fumble return, Teylor Diegel on a 20-yard pass from Lane Tietz and Christian Ehresmann on a 3-yard run.

Ehressman rushed 25 times for 77 yards and Tietz threw for 50 yards. Ringgenberg made eight tackles and Holden Sippel sand Colby Dunker seven each for the Tigers' defense, which also got two interceptions from Diegel.

Mack Saxon's 2-yard TD run got Mobridge-Pollock (2-6) on the board in the fourth quarter. Simon Fried rushed for 78 yards and Jackson Eisemann went 9-for-27 passing for 108 yards, teaming with Shane Henderson three times for 45 yards. Taylon Carmody and Easton Eisemann each had eight tackles.

Sisseton 14, Baltic 6

SISSETON — Sisseton closed out a 3-5 season with the victory over the 0-8 Bulldogs.

Landyn Steichen scored on a blocked punt and also added a safety for the Redmen. Ethan DeSpiegler scored on a quarterback sneak.

The Redmen rushed 38 times for 191 yards, led by Steichen's 69 on nine carries and Holden Hawkins' 47 on 12. Mason Shultz tallied six tackles, Hughin Current five and DeSpiegler four.

Ben Erickson caught three passes for 56 yards and Payton Anderson three for 42 to lead Baltic.

Chamberlain 33, Milbank 13

CHAMBERLAIN — Cruz Soulek ran 24 times for 233 yards and two touchdowns and also completed seven of 12 passes for 101 yards and two more scores for Chamberlain (4-4).

Soulek found the end zone rom 5 and 42 yards out and teamed with Sawyer Donovan (34 yards) and Levi Miller (4 yards) on TD passes. Miller caught three passes for 33 yards and also made 10 tackles on defense.

Milbank (2-6) scored on a 41-yard run by Owen Tesch and on a 5-yard pass from Garrett Mertens to Emmett Hanson. Mertens ran 13 times for 66 yards and completed six of 11 passes for 81 yards. Tate Schlueter added 38 yards rushing and Jayden Johnson 40 yards receiving on three catches.

Jesse Schneck made six solo tackles and two assists and Schlueter six solo tackles for Milbank's defense. Schneck and Ethan Owen each recorded quarterback sacks.

Freeman-Marion/Freeman Academy 54, Florence-Henry 0

FLORENCE — Karter Weber completed nine of 12 passes for 120 yards and three touchdowns for FMFA (6-2).

Ethan Scharberg caught scoring passes of 48 and 20 yards and Rocky Ammann hauled in the other from 15 yards. Ammann also returned a punt 40 yards for another scored and Dominic Sperling added TD runs of 1 and 3 yards.

Easton Tschetter also tossed two TD passes, one to David Walter (9 yards) and the other to Dillon Podzimek (30 yards).

Karter Kohlenberg rushed for 47 yards and also caught two passes for 19 yards for the Falcons, who ended the season 0-8. Tristyn Sumner rushed for 31 yards.

Colman-Egan 42, Arlington 0

ARLINGTON — Jack Mousel rushed for 121 yards and a 33-yard touchdown and also tossed 21-yard TD pass to Jace Mousel for Colman-Egan (2-6) in the Dakota Valley Conference game.

Jonny Keyes added TD runs of 5 and 40 yards and Brayden Wiese 8 and 17.

Greyson Nielson rushed six times for 47 yards for Arlington, which closed out its season with 1-7 record.

Herreid-Selby Area 46, Britton-Hecla 14

ABERDEEN — Fifth-rated Class 9B Herreid-Selby Area closed out a 7-2 regular season with two touchdown runs by Houston Hauge (3, 18 yards) and two TD passes from Wayde Grage.

Grage tossed scoring passes to Trevor Gill (18 yards) and Cole Zabel (13) yards for the Wolverines, who also scored on an interception return by Porter Gregg and a 14-yard run by Mason Vetter.

Hauge ran the football 22 times for 134 yards and Vetter 11 for 82. Grage went 7-for-10 passing for 92 yards and joined Vetter and Gregg with interceptions on defense. Collin Tisdall added a fumble recovery.

Jace Rein (5 yards) and Graham Fosness (2 yards) had TD runs for Britton-Hecla (5-3). Bryce Hawkinson ran for 161 yards on 17 carries.

Faulkton Area 14, Leola-Frederick Area 6

FAULKTON — Layne Cotton produced 251 yards of offense and two touchdowns for top-rated Class 9B Faulkton Area (7-1).

Cotton ran for 92 yards and a 1-yard TD and completed seven of 13 passes for 159 yards, teaming with Charlie Deiter on a 27-yard scoring pass.

Garrett Cramer made 10 tackles and Spencer Melius and Deiter nine each for the Trojans. Melius also had a quarterback sack.

Gavin Nickelson dashed 70 yards for a TD for LFA (5-3). He ran four times for 80 yards and Austin Mantei 18 for 67. Mantei recorded 10 tackles and Brayden Sumption 8.

Warner 50, Northwestern 0

WARNER — Top-rated Class 9A Warner capped a perfect 8-0 regular season with the win.

Hunter Cramer scored on a 6-yard run and a 42-yard punt return for the Monarchs, who also got TD runs from Jesiah Baum (5 yards), Hunter Robinson (1 yard), Drew Bakeberg (9 yards) and Tanner Wolberg (45 runs). Bakeberg also connected with Alec Mikkelson on a 20-yard scoring pass.

Gage Broderson gained 91 yards rushing and Wolberg 61 for Warner. Bakeberg was 5-for-5 passing for 38 yards.

Dell Rapids St. Mary 20, Deubrook Area 18 (2OT)

DELL RAPIDS — St. Mary's (5-3) closed out the regular season with the double-overtime Dakota Valley Conference win.

Gavin Landmark rushed 30 times for 175 yards and three touchdowns (4, 54 and 10 yards) for Deubrook Area, which will also take a 5-3 record into the playoffs.

Other Friday Scores

Oldham-Ramona-Rutland 44, Iroquois-Lake Preston 12

Elkton-Lake Benton 12, De Smet 2

Tiospa Zina 60, Flandreau Indian School 0

Potter County 50, Sunshine Bible Academy 23

More: A look at Watertown and Aberdeen area teams' playoff status before Week 9

Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on X (formerly known as Twitter) @PO_Sports or email: rmerriam@thepublicopinion.com

This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Coverage of area games in Week 9 of the state's prep football season