Undefeated Blackhawks looking to go from good to great

Sep. 19—WESSINGTON SPRINGS, S.D. — In year two of the Kenny Huether era, Woonsocket/Wessington Springs/Sanborn Central appears to be hitting its stride.

Entering the sixth week of the prep football season, the Blackhawks are 4-0 and received 21 votes in the latest 11B SDFBCA coaches poll, placing them one spot outside the top five.

With a balanced offense led by quarterback Holden Havlik and a number of dynamic two-way players, WWSSC undoubtedly has a good football team. But it's setting its sights on being a great one.

"There are a lot of good programs in Class 11B, and I found that out last year. We're simply trying to become one of those," Huether said. "I think we still have a ways to go before we get there. And to be honest, until we have a signature win against a highly-rated team, there will be doubters. There are plenty of things we have yet to prove."

Huether, a tenured South Dakota football coach who was most recently at nine-man Kimball/White Lake, is pleased with his team, which has just five seniors on the roster.

Through four games, WWSSC boasts wins against Mount Vernon/Plankinton and McCook Central/Montrose — two teams it lost to last season — and has outscored its opponents 122-27. Though the opposition hasn't been fierce (holding a combined 7-13 record) the convincing nature of each performance appears to be a result of the team's growth.

Motivated by the frustration of a narrow loss to Redfield in the first round of the playoffs last year, the Blackhawks worked to improve from a physicality standpoint in the offseason, according to Huether.

Returning four of five starting offensive lineman, the current offensive line of Caleb Kneen, Robbie Hine, Carter Gaikowski, Cooper Goldammer and Rylan Grassel is "bigger and stronger" than last year's line and has helped produce more explosive plays, Huether said.

The line is backed by Havlik, a junior and third-year starting quarterback, who began his high school career at KWL under Huether in 2021. Havlik is playing his best ball to date, averaging 190 passing yards a game, while the offense is rushing for 230 yards a game.

"Along with being a great thrower, he has turned into an excellent runner, and it's made him a dual-threat quarterback who can hurt you with his arm and with his legs. It's a nightmare for defenses to try and stop all of that," Huether said.

Other key playmakers include Blake Larson, a multi-use receiver who has thrown the ball on a few playbook wrinkles, and Ryder Michalek, a 6-foot-3, 180-pound junior, who is one of Havlik's go-to receivers. The starting running back, Tyson Eddy, averages nearly 80 yards per game. And defensive coordinator Garrett Larson puts each of them to use on the other side of scrimmage, as well.

For an offensive-minded Huether, it's a group that can play his style of football.

"I've always been a guy that likes to throw the football," Heuther said. "I like to spread people out. But I also understand that with weather in South Dakota, you're always one rainy night or one cold blizzard night away from having to be able to line up and pound the football as well. You have to be diversified, and I think that's a strength of our season to this point."

Stiff tests are in front of WWSSC. On Friday in Wessington Springs, the Blackhawks play 2-2 Tripp-Delmont/Armour/Andes Central/Dakota Christian in the "all-alphabet bowl." Its final regular season opponent, Rapid City Christian, is currently 3-1.

But a chance to prove they're among the best in the state requires beating a top team — something they won't get an opportunity to do until the playoffs.

"We're trying not to look ahead more than the game right in front of us," Heuther said. "But yes, we want to qualify for the playoffs, and we want to advance. Each of the last couple of years, the Blackhawks were beat out in the first round, and so that's a hurdle that we have to get over. So we want to put together as good a regular season record as we can and then see if we can get that first-round playoff win and move on from there."