Hitchcock-Tulare caps perfect season with third state 9B football title

VERMILLION — It took 13 years, but Carter Binger moved from the stands to center stage and helped Hitchcock-Tulare cap a perfect season with the state Class 9B football championship.

The senior quarterback earned Joe Robbie Most Valuable Player honors with 238 yards passing and four touchdowns and 133 yards rushing and another score in the second-seeded Patriots' 50-28 win over top-seeded Herreid-Selby Area on Thursday in the DakotaDome.

The final score wasn't indicative of how close the game was. It ended with Hitchcock-Tulare winning its third state Class 9B title, and first since 2009, and Herreid-Selby Area finishing second (also 9B in 2019, 9A in 2021) for the third time in four years.

"I was in pre-school in 2009, but I still remember parts of the championship game," said Binger. "I was in the stands with my parents and it was pretty special to get back here and do it for them."

Binger was just one of many Hitchcock-Tulare players who made their presence felt, not only on Thursday but all season long. The cast of talented players helped the Patriots turn six of their seven offensive possessions into touchdowns. They were 9-for-13 in third down conversions and 3-for-3 on fourth down.

"Ultimately it just came down to their ability to make plays a play on third or fourth down," said Herreid-Selby Area head coach Clayton Randall. "We just couldn't get enough stops."

Let's be honest, getting stops wasn't any easier for a Hitchcock-Tulare team trying to contain a Herreid-Selby Area team led by standout senior running back Brenden Begeman. Begeman entered the game needing only 188 yards to become all-time leading rusher in South Dakota high school football history.

Two things worked against Begeman, a hamstring injury he suffered in the team's semifinal playoff win and Hitchcock-Tulare's defense.

"We kind of heard some rumors about it (his hamstring injury), but we knew he was a great athlete so we still had it in the game plan to just ty to shut him down and not give up any big plays," said Binger, who also recorded seven tackles on defense. "He did make a few big plays but we came back on offense and we executed."

For the most part, the game went back and forth with both offenses combining for 993 yards (500 by HSA and 443 by Hitchcock-Tulare). Still, perhaps the most important play of the game was provided by Hitchcock-Tulare's defense, namely 131-pound junior safety Brendan Nowell.

After Hitchcock-Tulare (12-0) went 3-for-3 in turning possessions into touchdowns and gained a 20-8 halftime lead, the Wolverines opened the second-half with a 12-play, 74-yard drive that concluded with a 7-yard touchdown run by Begeman.

Herreid-Selby Area (11-1) then followed with its only defensive stop and threatened to tie or take the lead after a 55-yard pass from Tray Hettick to Trevor Gill, tacking on the final 20 after a loose-ball scrum was picked up by Cole Zabel. A couple of plays later, Nowell picked off a pass at the 2-yard line to took it 98 yards to the end zone for a 26-14 lead.

"It was a huge momentum changer right there," Nowell said of his second interception return for a touchdown this season. "I read the quarterback, saw him throw the ball and I went and got it. I was thinking about it the entire time the ball was in the air that I was going it back."

The two teams traded two touchdowns each before Hitchcock-Tulare closed with the game's last two scores in the final 5:59.

Binger, who missed most of his junior and freshmen seasons with knee injuries, capped his comeback tour with a 44-yard TD jaunt with one minute remaining. He also teamed with Cole Schroeder (6 yards), Riley Fliehe (17 yards) and Landon Puffer (13 and 65 yards) on scoring passes. The Patriots also scored on a 4-yard run by Riley Fliehe.

Binger rushed 12 times for 123 yards and completed 12 of 15 passes. Puffer, named the outstanding back of the game, caught four passes for 147 and Fliehe four for 56. TJ Salmen made 10 tackles and Puffer, Erik Salmen and Fliehe each eight. Jackson Maynard also had seven. Puffer added an interception. Jacob Michlitsch, a 279-yard senior who earned outstanding lineman honors, contributed four tackles.

"This year was real special, just all the rehab made it all worth it coming back here and winning it," said Binger. "We had so many playmakers on this offense and defense. There are so many guys who have been so good this year. We also lost a lot of seniors last year and a lot of guys came in this year and stepped it up. I just love this team."

Begeman and senior quarterback Tray Hettick, as they have all season, each had big games for Herreid-Selby Area. Begeman had only 24 yards at halftime, but gained 165 in the second half. His final two carries (No. 22 and 23 of the game) in the final minute produced 31 yards and broke former Howard standout Luke Loudenburg's state record of 6,806 career yards by one yard. He walked off with a noticeable limp after the final run.

Begeman, who also now holds the state record for most rushing yards in a season (2,977), scored on runs of 6, 7 and 8 yards and Hettick added the other score on a 1-yard plunge. Hettick completed 12 of 21 passes for 269 yards, teaming with Gill five times for 161 and Zabel five for 94. Nathan Bradford and Collin Tisdall each made 11 tackles and Begeman eight.

Randall credited Hitchcock-Tulare for its performance and wasn't about to make any excuses. Still, we'll never know if Begeman at 100 percent produces a different outcome.

"It definitely changed how we approached the week not knowing what his availability would be," Randall said. "He played and and gave us everything he had, it just wasn't enough. But credit goes to them, they also stopped him.

"I don't know what his final numbers were in terms of touches, but in a typical game like this, he's our workhorse and he's going to have it 30-35 times. I don't think we got him that today."

This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Carter Binger runs for TD, passes for four others in 50-28 win.