Monday Night Lights: Quarterfinal playoff action on tap tonight

By Roger Toland | Sunday, October 29, 2006

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Journal Sports Writer

It's "play ball" time again for eight area 11-man high school football teams tonight.

The quarter-final round of the state high school playoffs will be held across the state today, with those winners advancing to the semifinals on Saturday.

The area teams still alive are Rapid City Central and Rapid City Stevens in Class 11AA, Little Wound, Winner, Custer and Belle Fourche in Class 11A and Stanley County and St. Thomas More in Class 11B.

Area teams may also be confronted with temperatures in the low 30s, with possible snow showers.

A preview of tonight's area games:

CLASS 11AA

S.F. Washington at R.C. Central

"Washington is a very talented team," said Central coach Steve Svendsen. "They are very two-dimensional on offense. They run the ball very well with two good running backs (Tim Marlette and Farron King) and (Jordan) Lakatos throws well. They have big weapons."

Sam Holsen, who also returns kicks and plays in the defensive backfield, is Lakatos' favorite receiver.

"We've watched film of the last game over and over (a 35-10 loss in Sioux Falls) and evaluated it," said Svendsen. "We gave up three big plays and they took it to us up front. If we can eliminate their big plays, we can win. We have to step up and make the plays. We feel good about our chances."

Svendsen is pleased with his team's 7-3 record.

"We're happy for our kids to have a home game," he said. "You can't say enough about our kids, the time they have put in and the effort they've given."

The Cobblers advanced to this round with a 33-7 victory over Spearfish, a game where they jumped ahead 33-0, then sputtered offensively.

"Our start was awesome," said Svendsen. "Our defense played well, our special teams played well and we scored on our first two possessions. When you are up 26-0 in the first quarter, you want to win with class. We had the opportunity to work on our running game, and it didn't work."

Cody Goodrich, a 225-pound lineman, will be sidelined for this game with injuries.

R.C. Stevens at S.F. O'Gorman

"It's an understatement to say O'Gorman is a good football team," said Stevens coach Paul Miller. "The key for us is to make sure we don't make as many mistakes as last time (a 41-8 loss). They are not an overpowering team, but are very, very efficient. They don't make many mistakes."

Miller feels the Raiders have made vast improvements during the 3-7 season.

"The kids have had the challenge of learning a new system and getting used to me," said Miller. "The first year is always a challenge in so many ways, but they have done a magnificent job of staying steadfast. I'm proud how they have developed over the course of the year. There were many times they could have folded."

Tailback Cole Benne has been the key offensive performer for the Raiders with 11 touchdowns this season.

"He has more than met my expectations," said Miller. "In the second half of the first Sturgis game he picked up the load and took claim to that position. We would have liked to have passed a little more, but (Bryan) Keck threw enough last week (a 36-14 victory over Sturgis, when he completed three of four passes for 86 yards to be effective."

Miller praised the Scoopers for not folding after being down 18-0.

"Sturgis came out and battled," said Miller. "It was a game where we came out and put all three phases of the game together. It's all about blocking and tackling."

CLASS 11A

Little Wound at Winner

"We just need to keep doing what we have been doing," said Winner coach Dan Aaker. "We need to control the line of scrimmage and let our skill players make plays."

The Warriors, 8-1 on the season (losing only to Valentine, Neb.), has a powerful ground game, led by Jared Donahoe (926 yards rushing and 21 TDs), Chas DeMers (490 rushing) and Rob Cahoy (312).

DeMers has also completed 73 passes for 939 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

"DeMers has done a nice job running and throwing the ball," said Aaker. "We are averaging about 260 rushing and 105 passing a game. We feel very comfortable throwing the ball a lot if we have to."

Little Wound/Crazy Horse brings a 7-2 record into the game, losing only to Red Cloud (14-12) and Todd County (28-20).

"Little Wound is having a tremendous year," said Aaker. ""They have very good athletes at the skill position and we are very concerned about their passing game. We will have to play solid defense in all areas to contain them."

The Warriors have allowed only 10 touchdowns all season. The defense is led by Dane Driscoll (89 tackles), Cahoy (67 tackles), Donahoe (61 tackles), Jake Pruss (five interceptions) and Andrew Farley (54 tackles, six sacks).

The visiting Mustangs have out-scored its nine foes 244-92, but had close games against Red Cloud, Pine Ridge and Todd County twice.

Johnny Cloud's passing has been a key part of Little Wound's offense.

Cloud, Shiloh Pierce, Brice Hornbeck, Devon LeBeau and T.J. McCauley have been the team's leading scorers.

"We're pretty much a passing team," said third-year Little Wound coach Darrell Hunter. Cloud has more than 1,800 passing yards this season, mainly throwing to McCauley and all-state receiver Hornbeck, who has returned to the team after an injury.

Winner downed Vermillion 27-8 in its first-round game last week.

"We played a very solid football games against a very deceiving 2-6 team," said Aaker. "They have played one of the toughest schedules in '11A' and competed in all their games. We were happy with our performance."

Little Wound advanced to the quarterfinals with a 14-12 victory over Todd County when Cloud fired a nine-yard scoring pass to Pierce and a two-point conversion to McCauley late in the game.

"We'll have to contain Winner's outside running," said Hunter. "If we can contain DeMers and Donahoe, I think we have a good shot. They have a small line, but they are quick."

Little Wound averages 230-pounds across the front line.

"Our boys don't have any quit in them," said Hunter.

Belle Fourche at Custer

This is a re-match of a game on Sept. 29, which Belle Fourche lost 13-0 at Custer.

"Belle is going to come in here looking for revenge," said Custer coach Darren DeNeui. "They had injuries the last time we played and I am sure they will be healthy and ready to go. There were a couple of plays which did not go their way in that game. To win against Belle we need to stop the running game, play disciplined defense and control the ball offensively. During the playoffs you cannot afford to have mental breakdowns."

The Wildcats, 7-2 for the season, have relied on a balanced offense for most of the season.

"We did not have balance last week (a 44-0 victory over Pine Ridge)," said DeNeui. "We dropped several passes and ran several pass patterns wrong, along with several mental mistakes on the line. During the season, we tried to be as balanced as possible, but dropping balls and running the wrong patterns makes us one-dimensional and not balanced at all."

During the season, Louis Goodshield has been the leading rusher, while Doug Sirois has gone to the airways to score 12 times. Sirois' favorite targets have been Michael Heyne, Trevor Cook, Isaac Parsons and Rich Knuppe.

The Wildcats' defense (four shutouts) has also been a key.

"Our defense has kept us in several games," said DeNeui. "We're only giving up 77 total points all season. Having a strong defense has helped in some games with play calls offensively. Just knowing the defense is playing well motivates the offense."

DeNeui said the turning point in the game against Pine Ridge was Darin Smith's punt return for a TD.

"That play helped motivate us offensively and defensively," said DeNeui. "Another key was scoring when we got in the red zone."

"We have to score some points," said Belle Fourche coach Jody Grubb. "Our offense was pretty anorectic for three or four weeks. They have a good running and passing game and have two big receivers."

The Broncs would prefer to keep the ball on the ground behind the running of Colen Kling and Jess Cooper.

"Kling and Cooper have done a nice job," said Grubb.

Belle Fourche has been hampered by injuries this season, especially at the quarterback position.

Alex Kling suffered a broken ankle in the second game of the season against Winner, then Kyle Webb was injured two weeks later. Cade Kling filled in before Webb took over again.

"Webb can throw, but he's better running around," said Grubb.

The Broncs knocked off Hot Springs 14-12 last week.

"We got up 14-0 and seemed to be in good shape, but the (Paul) Tierney kid is a one-man wrecking crew," said Grubb. "We figured he would get the ball on the two-point conversion to tie, but we had a freshman kid knock him down. It was a battle."

CLASS 11B

Stanley County at St. Thomas More

This will be a re-match of the game in Rapid City on Oct. 13, when St. Thomas More won 41-6.

"It will be a tough game," said St. Thomas More coach Wayne Sullivan. "Dave Tate (Stanley County coach) will have a couple of new wrinkles and he is a great coach, so after playing us once he will know what to fix and what to keep the same."

The unbeaten Cavaliers will stick to what has made them successful all season - spread the field and either run or pass depending on what the defense gives them.

St. Thomas More has out-scored its nine opponents 419-91.

Junior quarterback Nathan Jacobson keys the Cavs' offense as he has a team-leading 505 yards rushing, along with seven TDs. Through the air he has completed 82 of 133 passes for 1,674 yards and 27 scores. His favorite targets have been Dusty Nowotny (731 yards in receptions) and Johnny Gonzalez (414 yards).

"It will ultimately come down to the line of scrimmage," said Sullivan. "In high school football, whoever controls the line of scrimmage will win the game no matter what level."

Stanley County has a 7-2 record, losing only to Winner and St. Thomas More.

"St. Thomas More drilled us pretty good the last time," said Stanley County coach Dave Tate. "It's a tough road to hoe. Our kids are no dummies; they are realistic enough to know we can't hang with their speed."

Stanley County goes to Joel Cornelisen, who has been moved from flanker to tailback after a season-ending injury to Dan Reiman, most of the time on offense.

"If we'd had Joel in the backfield all year he'd probably have more than 1,500 yards rushing," said Tate. "Tommy More will have guys on him all night."

The Buffaloes have a small quarterback (5-foot-9 Austin Scott) and small receivers, except for 6-4 Scotty Deal.

The Buffaloes blanked Bennett County 28-0 and the Cavaliers toppled Red Cloud 60-6 in first-round games.

"We were able to strike fast and first," said Sullivan. "This enabled us to put pressure on their passing game and our defense was able to stop a young man (Billy Scott) who had rushed for over 1,200 yards. Our three-headed monster, as we like to call them, of Jacobson, Gonzalez and Nowotny had great nights and our line play was exceptional."

"We did pretty well early (two TDs in the first quarter), but then we didn't do much," said Tate of the 28-0 win against Bennett County.

Contact Toland at 394-8430 or at roger.toland@rapidcityjournal.com