Nov. 12—VERMILLION, S.D. — For the first time in 27 years, Freeman is soaring solo to the top of South Dakota high school football.
The undefeated, No. 2-seeded Flyers captured their first state championship as a standalone school since 1999, defeating the No. 5-seeded Bennett County Warriors in the Class 9A state championship game 57-12 on Thursday at the DakotaDome. The victory also marks Freeman’s second consecutive state title after winning last season as part of a co-op with Marion and Freeman Academy.
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Behind a dominant first-half performance, the Flyers put themselves in position to make history, capping an undefeated season with a state championship and proving Freeman could reach the mountaintop on its own for the sixth time in program history.
“Our coaches were a part of those ’90s teams, and they just told us they were still better,” Freeman quarterback Tayden Kerrigan said with a smirk. “I don’t know if that’s true, but I don’t think so. No way.
“I wouldn’t have expected myself to be the head coach 27 years ago. I had no intention of ever being a head football coach,” Freeman coach Dustin Tschetter added. “The opportunity presented itself, and now to bring a title back to Freeman is pretty special being a former player and now as a head coach.”
The Flyers wasted little time establishing control, striking just 13 seconds into the game. Kerrigan connected with Easton Tschetter on a 53-yard pass to set up a 9-yard touchdown run by Axle Schultz.
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The Flyers continued to dominate from there, with Kerrigan accounting for three passing touchdowns and a rushing score. Tschetter added a 3-yard touchdown run as Freeman built a commanding 42-6 halftime advantage.
“We have athletes all over the place, and we were able to jump on these guys early, which was huge against a team like (Bennett County),” Dustin Tschetter said. “It’s hard tackling us in space, and I feel like we utilized our speed and physicality today.”
From there, the Flyers cruised in the second half behind a 6-yard rushing score from Alaric Knittel to end the third quarter and Kerrigan connected with Tannen Auch once more from 11 yards out to make it 57-6 with just under 7 minutes left in the contest. Bennett County’s Hayden Risse had a 68-yard rushing score to make the final 57-12.
Freeman was led by Kerrigan’s 12-for-18 passing for 273 yards and four touchdowns, plus 55 rushing yards on 7 carries and a score. For his efforts, Kerrigan was named Joe Robbie MVP and Most Outstanding Back of the title contest.
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Even after a dominant offensive game, Kerrigan credited the Flyer defense for limiting a high-powered Bennett County team to just 253 total yards and 12 points for the game.
“I think our coverage was the biggest part,” Kerrigan said. “We just had to slow them down, and our defensive line always gets a good push on them and gets pressure on the quarterback. They are a really good offense with a ton of good athletes, so our defense was just as important as our offense.”
For Freeman, Schultz tallied 125 rushing yards on 11 carries and a touchdown, while Tschetter paced the air attack with 108 yards on four catches and a score, plus a rushing touchdown. Defensively, Trey Maske had eight total tackles and a sack, while Alaric Knittel had three tackles for loss. Kerrigan and Logun Pankratz each had an interception.
Freeman’s Hunter Nankivel was recognized as the championship game’s Most Outstanding Lineman.
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“It means everything to me,” Nankivel said of earning the lineman award. “We as linemen don’t get the stats. We don’t get the write-ups. We don’t get all the glory, but we know what we do up front. It allows these guys to make plays, and we controlled the line of scrimmage from the get-go.”
For Bennett County, who ended its season at 10-2, Maddux Risse had 169 passing yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. Rush O’Neill had eight catches for 112 yards and a score.
Coming off back-to-back state titles, Kerrigan, only a junior, is already looking ahead to next season. With a large junior class returning, he’s excited about the opportunity to make another championship run and potentially secure a three-peat.
Up next, the Flyers will take the court with a Class B basketball title to defend.
“That’s the plan for sure,” Kerrigan said. “We have a lot of juniors, so we’ll see what happens. We’ll see about basketball, too.”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
