Class 11B playoff
Woonsocket/Wessington Springs/Sanborn Central 14, Aberdeen Roncalli 13
ABERDEEN The Woonsocket/Wessington Springs/Sanborn Central Blackhawks forced four turnovers in an impressive defensive effort to take down the Aberdeen Roncalli Cavaliers 14-13 in the first round of the Class 11B football playoffs on Thursday at Dacotah Bank Stadium in Aberdeen.
The Blackhawks, who have consistently been a top-five team in Class 11B rankings throughout the year, scored the upset as the 10th seed, moving to 7-2 on the season and earning a matchup on Thursday with second-seeded Winner.
The defensive effort for the Blackhawks was led by Nathan Gaikowski with nine tackles. Payton Uecker and Caleb Kneen each had a sack while Karter Mebius, Bryce Larson, and Ryder Michalek each had an interception.
Holden Havlik passed for 130 yards and two scores while throwing two interceptions for the Blackhawk offense. Uecker led the team on the ground with seven carries for 39 yards.
Michalek had six catches for 29 yards and a score while Wesley Molnar snagged four balls for 55 yards and a touchdown.
Class 9A playoffs
Wolsey-Wessington 50, Lemmon/McIntosh 20
WOLSEY The Class 9A fourth-seeded Wolsey-Wessington Warbirds rolled up 437 yards of total offense in a 50-20 route of the Lemmon/McIntosh Cowboys Thursday in Wolsey in the opening round of the playoffs.
The Warbirds struck first but struggled to slow the Cowboy offense in the first quarter, coming out of the first period with a 20-14 lead. The defense shut down the visitors from that point, only giving up a late score to allow the Cowboys to get their 20 points.
Caleb Richmond led the Warbirds, now 8-1, going 16 of 20 passing for 210 yards and five touchdowns through the air. He then added 107 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries. He also three for three conversion scores and ran in another.
Peyton Rainford added 75 yards rushing on five carries. Moshe Richmond was the Warbirds leading receiver, with eight grabs for 82 yards and two touchdowns. Colin Hughes snagged five catches for 82 yards and a score.
After 12th-seeded Dupree upset fifth seed Harding County/Bison, the Warbirds will host Dupree on Thursday for the chance to move to the Class 9A semifinals.
Other Heartland playoff football scores (no further information was received from teams):
Clark/Willow Lake 27, Bridgewater-Emery/Ethan 13
Freeman/Marion/Freeman Academy 58, De Smet 14
Colman-Egan 52, Hitchcock-Tulare 12
Faulkton Area 44, Sunshine Bible Academy 0
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