VERMILLION The first two 9-man finals were both blowout games, but the Howard Tigers had to survive a second-half scoring onslaught by the Wolsey-Wessington Warbirds to remain perfect at 12-0 with a 38-30 win the Class 9A State Championship Friday morning at the DakotaDome in Vermillion.
The Warbirds won the toss and Caleb Richmond hit brother Moshe Richmond on the very first play for no gain. However, a swing pass to Peyton Rainford on the second play gained Wolsey-Wessington 21 yards and got them into Howard territory.
Moshe came back to Caleb as he scrambled to grab a 15-yard pass to the Howard 24. Caleb took the first run of the game on a draw for three yards. After an incomplete pass, a pitch to Rainford to the outside gained 14 yards inside the Howard 10. Caleb scrambled to the one-yard line on third down to make it fourth and goal. A toss to Rainford broke one tackle and got in for the first score of the game. The Warbirds ate up nearly five minutes over 11 plays and 65 yards to take a 6-0 lead.
Howard opened their first drive on their own 44-yard line. They opened on the ground, with Weston Remmers gaining eight on the first play. One play later, a handoff to Tate Miller found a hole and he exploded for 43 yards and a touchdown. The point-after kick was blocked by Moshe Richmond, leaving the score tied 6-6.
The Warbirds got excellent field position because of a short kick out of bounds, starting at the Howard 48. Caleb connected with Moshe down the middle for a 23-yard gain to the Howard 22. A sideline pass from Caleb to Colin Hughes picked up seven yards. Hughes then went around end for a first down on a shovel pass despite slipping on the play.
The Warbirds struggled for yards after the catch once they got to first-and-goal, getting to fourth down. On the fourth down play, Rainford ran to the one-yard line, turning the ball over at the one to Howard.
After two short runs by Howard to get out to the 7-yard line, the first quarter ended. After one more play, the Tigers punted and got an excellent bounce to get a 59-yard punt, putting the Warbirds back on their own 32. A tough run after the catch by Moshe got him seven yards. However, on third down, Caleb was intercepted by Remmers of Howard at the Wolsey-Wessington 42.
After two Miller runs, quarterback Carson Hinker gained six for a first down to the Warbird 28. On fourth down, the Tigers handed to Kolt Becker for a first down inside the red zone. The next play, Hinker threw his first pass of the game, finding Luke Koepsell for a 17-yard touchdown. The 2-pt pass fell incomplete, giving Howard a 12-6 lead with six minutes left in the first half.
After an initial strong gain, the Warbirds went backward on the ensuing drive, drawing a punt down to the Howard 26.
The Warbirds pushed Howard to a fourth down, but the Tigers executed a fake punt that gained 21 and got the ball across midfield. They then executed their second pass completion to Becker for a first down. A pass to Koepsell got the ball inside the 20.
With less than two minutes left in the half, Howard looked to punch in one more score before half. Miller carried twice down to the two, setting up a first and goal. A play fake pass to Lucas Feldhaus was wide open for a touchdown. The kick failed, sending the game to half with Howard ahead 18-6.
Howard got the ball to open the second half and went right back to their ground attack, which had produced 125 yards in the first half. The Warbirds were able to swarm to the ball, though, and they forced a punt that took a Howard bounce to the 8-yard line.
On the third play of the drive, Caleb Richmond broke through the line and ran away from the defense for a 92-yard touchdown run, tying a Class 9A championship game record for the longest run. Caleb then connected with Hughes for the conversion, cutting the Howard lead to 18-14.
An onside kick attempt failed, giving Howard very good field position, starting on the Warbird 49. Becker busted through the line and gained 12 yards on the first play of the drive for the Tigers. Miller then took the ball on a sweep for another dozen yards.
A pass up the middle to Koepsell got them to the Warbird two. Miller then punched the ball in for his second touchdown, but the PAT kick was blocked, leaving the score 24-14 in favor of Howard.
Howard then recovered the onside kick to get the ball back. Hard running by Becker earned a first down. Howard went into the fourth quarter with more than 70 yards in the third quarter and a huge time advantage as they tried to keep the Warbirds from coming back.
On third and deep, Hinker connected with Koepsell for a 42-yard touchdown. After the Warbirds stuffed the two-point run, the score was 30-14 Howard.
Caleb found a wide-open Ashton Hill for 30 yards into Tiger territory to open the Warbird possession. Caleb then found Moshe downfield to the Howard 15 on a leaping grab. He then connected with Moshe in the back of the end zone for a touchdown. The 2-pt pass from Caleb Richmond to Hughes was good to make it a one-score game at 30-22 with nine minutes left.
Howard worked to milk the clock with their run game after the Warbird touchdown. A counter play to Lucas Feldhaus went around edge for 32 yards for a score. Hinker found Koepsell for a diving pass in the end zone on the conversion play to make it 38-22.
Caleb and Moshe connected on back-to-back pass plays to get into Howard territory. They connected again down the middle for an 11-yard TD pass. A Caleb run got to the 20 and then he connected with Moshe for a pass in the middle to the Howard 2-yard line. On fourth-and-goal, Rainford took the pitch into the end zone. Caleb and Moshe connected on a fade pass for the conversion to make it 38-30.
Howard picked up a first down on the ground, burning both Wolsey-Wessington timeouts along the way. The Tigers were then able to run the ball into the teeth of the Warbird defense to burn the clock and end the game.
The Tigers rushed for 275 yards, led by Miller with 105 yards on 15 carries along with two touchdowns. Becker ran 14 times for 51 yards and Remmers carried 11 times for 32 yards.
Hinker finished 6-of-6 passing for 112 yards and three scores while running for 37 yards on seven carries, winning the outstanding back of the game. Koepsell was selected the outstanding lineman of the game after making four catches for 100 yards and two touchdowns. Koepsell was also selected the Joe Robbie MVP for the game after also tallying seven tackles on defense, leading the team with five solo stops. Calvin Halverson led the team with eight tackles.
Wolsey-Wessington finishes the season 10-2, led by Moshe Richmond with 12 catches for 141 yards and a score. He also had 17 tackles, including 12 solo and blocked two extra-point attempts. Caleb Richmond was 19 of 27 passing for 211 yards and a touchdown while running 14 times for 129 yards and a score.
Rainford ran six times for 23 yards and two touchdowns and made 12 tackles, eight of them solo, on defense.
The Warbirds will graduate eight seniors from this years team.
Wolsey-Wessington 6 0 8 16 30
Howard 6 12 6 14 38
Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
7:07 – WW – Peyton Rainford 1-yard TD run. (2-pt pass failed)
5:59 – H – Tate Miller 43-yard TD run. (PAT kick blocked)
2nd Quarter
6:09 – H – Luke Koepsell 17-yard TD pass from Carson Hinker. (2-pt pass failed)
0:14 – H – Lucas Feldhaus 2-yard TD pass from Hinker. (PAT kick failed)
3rd Quarter
5:56 – WW – Caleb Richmond 92-yard TD run. (Colin Hughes 2-pt pass from C.Richmond)
3:11 – H – Miller 2-yard TD. (PAT kick blocked)
4th Quarter
11:03 – H – Koepsell 42-yard TD pass from Hinker. (2-pt run failed)
9:12 – WW – Moshe Richmond 15-yard TD pass from C.Richmond. (Hughes 2-pt pass from C.Richmond)
4:52 – H – Feldhaus 32-yard TD run. (Koepsell 2-pt pass from Hinker)
2:26 – WW – Rainford 1-yard TD run. (M.Richmond 2-pt pass from C.Richmond)
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