WOLSEY Anyone who works with high schoolers knows that getting all of a group to agree entirely on anything is a minor miracle. When talking to a group of seniors from the Wolsey-Wessington Warbirds as they prepare for their Class 9A championship game against Howard on Friday at 10 a.m., you get one consistent answer from team leaders to why this year has been different for the Warbirds.
We did two-a-days all summer, and wed never done that before, Moshe Richmond mentioned. Teammate Peyton Rainford added, everyone is really bought in, and that started this summer.
Coach Hayden Hooks echoes his seniors views, praising the whole team for their work to prepare for the season.
I would agree. We really amped it up this summer – and they amped it up, he said. We have a meeting at the end of the year, and everyone says the right things about what they want to do the next year, but these kids applied it this year and were true to their word.
These guys have held each other accountable and led by example, he continued. They talked about everyone being bought in, but that starts at the top, and its easy to follow leaders like the seniors who are all showing it each day.
With an expected smaller roster coming into the season, the additional conditioning was encouraged to allow players to stay on the field throughout the game without the depth to do a lot of substituting during the game. A fortunate lack of major injury has also helped the Warbirds to come into the title game with a healthy roster.
The Warbirds will take a 10-1 record into their title matchup with the Howard Tigers, who bring an 11-0 record into the tilt. This will be the first trip back to the DakotaDome for Wolsey-Wessington since the school won a Class 9B title in 2020. Since that state championship, the Warbirds have not made it beyond the quarterfinals.
This season, the Warbirds have leaned on their conditioning to put up gaudy numbers. The offense has produced 418 yards per game, with 247 yards rushing and 171 yards passing per game in a balanced offense.
Junior quarterback Caleb Richmond is having one of the best statistical seasons in the state, completing more than 70% of his passes, tallying 1,806 passing yards and 22 touchdowns with just three interceptions on the year. Hes also amassed 1,229 yards on 122 carries with 16 touchdowns on the ground.
When you have a player like Caleb, you can do a lot of different things, Coach Hooks smiled. The line knows their assignments and knows guys behind them will execute if they execute their assignments.
Caleb is joined on the ground attack by seniors Rainford (732 yards, 6 TD) and Moshe Richmond (446 yards, 7 TD).
Moshe is leading a diverse receiving corps with 72 receptions for 920 yards and 10 touchdowns. Colin Hughes has added 46 grabs for 529 yards and three scores while Rainford has 19 catches for 247 yards and six touchdowns.
When the team gets in tight, they can lean on many weapons, which is evident in the players who have scored two-point conversions on the season. Moshe has run for three and caught 10, Hughes has run in three and caught six, and Caleb has scored five rushing conversions and thrown for 21. Overall, eight Warbirds have scored either a touchdown or a 2-point conversion this season.
Senior Hughes leads the defense with 119 tackles, 62 solo, nine sacks, five forced fumbles, an interception, and hes even forced a safety. Moshe had 113 tackles, 58 solo, three sacks, and three interceptions.
Ashton Hill had 70 tackles and recovered three fumbles. Cooper Timm (50 tackles), Keaton Zomer (48 tackles), Rainford (46 tackles, four interceptions), Ethan Rearick (34 tackles), and Isaiah Sabalier (33 tackles) round out the Warbirds defense.
Warbird coach Hooks will be taking his first team to the DakotaDome as the head coach, but hes no stranger to the championship game.
Haydens father Gordon took the Warbirds to the title game three times – 2014, 2015, and 2020. Hayden joined the staff in 2015, winning a 9AA title in 2015 and a 9B title in 2020 as an assistant coach.
This season, the Warbirds have one loss on the season, to top-ranked Class 9AA Parkston, 33-20, on Oct. 11. What did they learn from that game?
Weve got to come out fast, Rainford said, with plenty of head nods around the room. Richmond took it a step further. I dont think weve really played a full game this year – yet, Moshe stated. We either come out fast and coast to the finish or struggle out of the gate and finish strong. Well need to put together four full quarters.
One notable difference with Wolsey-Wessington and most teams they face is evident along the line. Howard has eight players who are 220 pounds or more. The Warbirds have two. That does put a different requirement on execution.
We really work with the guys to make sure they get their assignments and that theyre stepping as one, Hooks relayed. They just have a ton of grit. They play hard every play, and we rely on our front five on both sides of the ball quite a bit.
The seniors all echoed that their experience facing run-heavy teams this year should have them prepared for Howard, but the size difference requires exceptional execution to do well as well as strong communication on the offensive line and across the entire defense.
The Howard Tigers bring in a well-known plan as they enter the title game, according to Hooks.
Its a great program, and they do what they do very well, he stated. They run it right at you with a number of strong options and they play tough defense. Itll definitely be a challenge, but not a challenge that were not ready for. We expect a physical game. It will just be about who executes better and avoids silly mistakes.
Throughout the season, the Wolsey-Wessington community has supported the team well, and players and Coach Hooks expressed thanks for the crowd that has traveled to various games this season.
I would personally like to say thank you to the parents who allow their kids to play football for us, Hooks emphasized. Theres a lot of negative being said about tackle football, but we appreciate the parents that allow us to push their kids hard toward a common goal. We dont get complaints and negatives, and that really helps us as coaches.
For Hooks, seeing his team come together with confidence in one other has been his biggest highlight of the season.
You can tell that theyre a group that supports each other, loves each other, wants to be around each other, the coach responded. Theyre doing things outside of football together. Everybody has bought into being around each other. We have talked about earning the right to play one more game together, and thats really a driver for these guys – getting that one more game as a group.
Moshe Richmond summed up the teams perspective heading into the title game.
A lot of people before the game said that we had to travel to Wall to beat them, he expressed. I told the team that we had to travel to Wall for them to beat us. We just need to do what we do.
Wolsey-Wessington will play Howard at 10 a.m. on Friday in Vermillion, the first of three championship games that day at the DakotaDome.
Leave a Reply