Football Playoffs: Hamlin, De Smet win; season ends for Watertown with loss at Tea

HAYTI — The Hanson at Hamlin quarterfinal game in the state Class 9AA high school football playoffs on Thursday definitely lived up to the advanced billing.

In a game full of momentum changes and some missed opportunities for both sides, the fourth-seeded and fifth-ranked host Chargers prevailed 26-20 in overtime over the fifth-seeded and third-ranked Beavers on Luke Fraser's 10-yard touchdown run.

Hamlin (9-1) stays alive and will visit top-seeded and second-ranked Wall (10-0) in the semifinals on Friday, Nov 4. Hanson ended its season 8-2.

Here are five takeaways from the game:

An early lead could have been bigger for Hanson

Hanson, for the most part, appeared to control most of the first half. A couple of turnovers didn't help Hamlin, but the visiting Beavers struck first when Jayce Slaba connected with Ethan Cheeseman on a 25-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter.

Hanson had other chances deep in Hamlin territory, but was stymied by some penalties. The Beavers ended the game with eight penalties for 75 yards.

"Even with those penalties, I'm still proud of our kids," said Hanson head coach James Haskamp. "We lost to a good football team. We overcame some things and still gave ourselves an opportunity to win the game at the end."

Despite all the issues early on, Hamlin also hung tough and gained a 7-6 halftime lead when sophomore quarterback Tyson Stevenson connected with wide open classmate Evan Stormo on a 67-yard scoring pass with 2:30 left in the first half. Troy Randall, Jr., added the extra-point kick.

Many numbers favor Hanson, but Beavers had to play from behind most of the game

Hanson outgained Hamlin 385-253 in total yards, held a 23-14 advantage in first downs and also controlled the ball for nearly 31 minutes compared to 17-plus for Hamlin.

Despite those numbers, Hanson spent most of the second half playing from behind.

Hamlin converted on the first possession of the half after a long kickoff return by Stormo, who eventually scored from two yards out with 9:27 left in the third. Randall added another PAT to give the Chargers a 14-6 lead they took into the final period.

"We had some turnovers early, but we bounced back. That just shows the resiliency this team has," said Fraser. "I thought Hanson was the best team we've played all year and we knew that coming in, but we also played the best we've played all year."

More about the passing than the running

Hanson outrushed the Chargers 194-89, but neither team had its way in the ground game like it did against many of their opponents through the season.

Fraser, who turned in a number of huge games this fall, was limited to 95 yards. The final 10 were the biggest. Hamlin didn't flinch with Stevenson completing 10 of 16 passes for 164 yards including five to Stormo for 127.

"Tyson did a good job throwing the ball, and our receivers did a good of catching it," said Hamlin coach Jeff Sheehan. "Luke may not have got his 300 yards, but he grinded tonight. He took what they gave him and didn't try to do too much. That's impressive for a junior in high school."

Jackson Jarding rushed for 148 yards, including a game-tying 37-yard touchdown and conversion run with 8:17 remaining in the game.

But after having their way early on the ground, the Beavers had to rely more on the passing game while playing from behind. Slaba completed nine of 23 passes for 162 yards, including three to Riley Haynes for 113.

"That's a part of our game that really started clicking toward the end of the year," said Haskamp. "We had some good weapons and we tried to utilize them."

A playoff classic with a classic finish

The game of twist and turns didn't stop down the stretch. After Jarding's TD run and conversion tied the game, Hamlin marched right back down the field and took the lead on Stevenson's 1-yard plunge with 4:10 left. The Chargers opted not the kick the PAT and Fraser was stopped short on the conversion.

Hanson still had time, but two more penalties left the Beavers facing a second-and-25 situation with the clocking nearing the minute mark. Things weren't looking good, but Slaba connected with Riley Haynes on a 44-yard scoring strike on the next play to tie the game at 20-20. A go-ahead conversion attempt by Jarding was ruled short of the goal line.

The Beavers got the ball first in overtime and appeared to take the lead on a fourth-down touchdown pass from Slaba to Cheeseman. The score was nullified by another penalty and Hamlin's defense held.

One play later, the game was over.

"That was all my teammates," said Fraser. "The hole was just wide opener for me and I just ran through it."

One team moving on, the other isn't

It's sort of the beauty and the beast of sport that great games end the same way as others. That's with one team winning and the other losing.

Hanson, which hadn't played for a state championship game since winning back-to-back Class 9A titles in 2009 and 2010, had its hopes stopped.

"That's a heartbreaking loss," said Haskamp. "I'm still proud of them for not only how they played but how they conducted themselves all year long."

Hamlin, a Class 9AA runner-up in 2020, continued its quest to return to the DakotaDome in Vermillion.

The only question now is how the Chargers respond after such an emotional victory.

"We have goals set and we know where we want to get to," said Sheehan. "We'll enjoy this one tonight and tomorrow we'll be on to the next one. That's kind of how these guys have been all year."

Thursday's Other Area Games

Class 11AA No. 2 Tea Area 41, No. 7 Watertown 0: The host Titans (9-1) defeated the Arrows (3-7) for the second-straight week by getting 139 yards rushing and three touchdowns from Chase Van Tol. Keegan DeYoung added two TD runs for Tea Area, which gained 287 of its 330 yards of total offense on the ground. Jessen Wiebenga led the defense with seven tackles.

Treyton Himmerich passed for 53 yards, Juven Hudson rushed for 30 and Jesse Werner caught three passes for 43 yardsd to lead Watertown. Austin Johnson, Marcus Rabine and Simon Hendricks each were involved in seven tackles and Drew Denzer six.

Class 9B (No. 6 De Smet 20, No. 3 Kadoka Area 8): Trace Van Regenmorter caught two passes for 58 yards and a TD and also rushed for 50 yards and another score for De Smet (7-3) in the win over Kadoka Area (6-4). He also made eight tackles.

Britt Carlson threw the TD pass to Van Regenmorter and also scored on a TD run. He finished with 75 yards passing, 55 yards rushing and seven tackles. Kadyn Fast added 37 yards rushing, five tackles and a conversion run; Dylan Zell 12 tackles including a quarterback sack; Gannon Gruenhagen eight tackles and Tommy Aughenbaugh four tackles and an interception.

Class 9A (No. 2 Lyman 34, No. 7 Castlewood 16: Lyman (9-1) scored 22 unanswered points in the final 13 minutes to rally for the win. Teagan Gourneau scored on runs of 10, 6 and 4 yards and also tossed a 12-yard TD pass to Brayden Oldekamp. Tance Wagner added a 10-yard TD run. Gourneau completed 11 of 18 passes for 108 yards and added 75 yards rushing. Rory McManus had five tackles for a defense that tacked on a late safety.

Lane Tvedt completed six of nine passes for 111 yards, teaming with Jackson Schofield (58 yards) and Jeremiah Wiersma (3 yards) on TD passes for Castlewood (7-3), which also scored on a safety by Schofield. Schofield finished with three receptions for 92 yards. Booker Schooley recorded 14 tackles and Camron Eng eight.

Class 11B (No. 1 Winner 32, Deuel 8): Two-time defending state champion Winner (10-0) scored 32 unanswered points and pulled away in the second half for the quarterfinal win. Aiden Barfuss scored on runs of 3 and 28 yards, and Blake Volmer tossed TD passes to Shawn Hammerbeck (14 yards) and Ethan Bartels (29 yards) to push the Warriors' winning streak to 34 games. Volmer passed for 95 yards, and Barfuss rushed for 60 to go along with 11 tackles.

Deuel (8-2) took the early lead on a 3-yard run by Trey Maaland and a conversion pass from Maaland to Braydon Simon. The score was set up when punter Josh Mussi picked up a snap over his head and scrambled before dumping a pass to Gavin Benck, who took it 58 yards to the 5-yard line. The Cardinals trailed only 16-8 at hafltime.

Owen Quail rushed 24 times for 114 yards to become the first runner to surpass 100 yards in a game against Winner this fall. Benck caught two passes for 75 yards. Quail and Ronnie Begalka each made six tackles and Gabe Sather and Simon five each for Deuel, which didn't allow a 100-yard rusher this season.

Class 11B (No. 3 Elk Point-Jefferson 42, No. 11 Redfield 0): Lucas Heiser ran for 80 yards and three touchdowns to loead EPJ (10-0) to the win. Devon Schmitz (1-yard run), Jakob Skarmon (19-yard pass from Noah McDermott) and Hunter Geary (25-yard interception return) also scored for the Huskies.

Mason Whitley rushed for 36 yards and Nolan Gall passed for 54 for Redfield (6-4).

Class 9AA (No. 2 Elkton-Lake Benton 52, Freeman-Marion/Freeman Academy 14: Ryan Krog rushed for 131 yards and three touchdowns and passed for 174 and three more scores to lead the Elks (10-0), who built a 44-8 halftime lead. Carson Griffith caught two passes for 140 yards and two scores, and Quinten Poindexter added a 33-yard touchdown reception. Colt Beck contributed a TD run and six tackles, Griffith two quarterback sacks and Riddick Westley 114 yards rushing.

FMFA (7-3) scored on a touchdown pass from Riley Tschetter to Matt Hagen and on a run by Ethan Balvin. Tschetter passed for 147 yards and ran for 50.

This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Hamlin outlasts Hanson in Class 9AA overtime quarterfinal thriller