WESSINGTON SPRINGS — With 30 points in each of the first two quarters, Woonsocket/Wessington Springs/Sanborn Central cruised to a 60-6 victory against Red Cloud in the quarterfinals of the Class 11B football playoffs on Thursday. The game was ended at the half due to the mercy rule.
Senior John Witte rushed for three of his four touchdowns in the game during the opening quarter for the third-seeded Blackhawks, who improved to 9-1.
Witte opened the scoring with a 34-yard touchdown run and then added scoring runs of 13 and three yards to give W/WS/SC a 22-0 lead.
The final touchdown of the opening quarter came on the lone pass play for the Blackhawks, with Noah Dickson hauling in an 11-yard pass from Trent Kingsbury.
The Woonsocket/Wessington Springs/Sanborn Central defense got into the scoring column in the second quarter, as Alex Wormstadt returned an interception for a touchdown to make it  38-0.
Witte boosted the lead for the Blackhawks to 44-0 just two minutes later with his final touchdown of the game on a 7-yard run.
Junior Trey Ulmer took over the scoring duties to close out the second quarter and the game. He scored on runs of 45 and 74 yards.
Red Cloud put its lone points on the board with just seven seconds remaining in the opening half as quarterback Alejandro Rama reached the end zone with a run from 43 yards out.
Witte would finish as the leading rusher for the Blackhawks with 14 carries for 148 yards. Ulmer finished with 135 yards on six carries, while Kingsbury had two carries for 14 yards.
Witte was also the defensive leader for W/WS/SC with five tackles, while Wesley Linke had 4.5 tackles and Ulmer had four tackles. Trey Weber finished with three tackles, while Dickson, Logan Wolter and Wormstadt all had 2.5 tackles.
Red Cloud, which ends the season at 7-3, was limited to just 117 yards on total offense on 34 plays.
Rama converted on 3 of 9 passes for 45 yards and was the rushing leader for the Crusaders with 11 carries for 65 yards.
The Blackhawks will now travel to face second-seeded Sioux Falls Christian in the semifinals on Nov. 3.

Red Cloud       0   6 — 6
W/WS/SC     30  30 — 60

Scoring summary
First quarter
WWSSC — Witte 34 run (pass failed)
WWSSC — Witte 13 run (Witte run)
WWSSC — Witte 3 run (Witte run)
WWSSC — Dickson 11 pass from Kingsbury (Kingsbury run)
Second quarter
WWSSC — Wormstadt interception return (Kingsbury to Dickson)
WWSSC — Witte 7 run (run failed)
WWSSC — Ulmer 45 run (Kingsbury run)
WWSSC — Ulmer 74 run (Wolter run)
RC — Rama 43 run (pass failed)

Team statistics
Total offense — RC 117; WWSSC 315
Rushing — RC 25-72; WWSSC 24-304
Passing — RC 3-9-1-45; WWSSC 1-1-0-11.
Penalties/yards — RC 1-15; WWSSC 1-5
Fumbles/lost — RC 1-1; WWSSC 0-0
Punts/avg — RC 5-18.6; WWSSC 0-0
First downs — RC 7; WWSSC 15

Individual statistics
Rushing — RC: Rama 11-65; WWSSC: Witte 14-148, Ulmer 6-135, Kingsbury 2-14.
Passing — RC: Rama 3-9-1-45; WWSSC: Kingsbury 1-1-0-11.
Receiving — RC: Warrior 2-35, Carlow 1-10; WWSSC: Dickson 1-11.
Defensive leaders — RC: na; WWSSC: Witte 5 tackles, Linke 4.5 tackles, Ulmer 4 tackles, Weber 3 tackles.

Photos:

Woonsocke/Wessington Springs/Sanborn Central running back John Witte carries the ball as teammate Logan Wolter (28) prepares to block Jeff Pourier of Red Cloud during the quarterfinal game of the Class 11B playoffs on Thursday in Wessington Springs.

Next, Woonsocke/Wessington Springs/Sanborn Central running back John Witte carries the ball as teammate Logan Wolter (28) prepares to block Jeff Pourier of Red Cloud during the quarterfinal game of the Class 11B playoffs on Thursday in Wessington Springs.

Photos by Mike Carroll/Plainsman