Howard looks to repeat as state champions in Class 9A, while No. 1 Wall seeks perfect season

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Nov. 11—HOWARD, S.D. — Two of the most accomplished programs in recent nine-man football lore in South Dakota will meet up Friday morning to decide the Class 9A state championship.

No. 1 Wall (11-0) heads east with an undefeated record and a ledger of dominant victories this season and in their way is seventh-seeded Howard (9-2), the reigning state champions in this class that won a pair of road games to return to Vermillion and do not have the look of an easy opponent in the title game, which will be played at 10 a.m. Friday at the DakotaDome.

Playing in its fourth state championship game in the last five seasons, Howard won the state championship in 2024 over Wolsey-Wessington 38-30 in Class 9A. That team had nine seniors graduate and 18 seniors leave in a two-year span, Howard coach Pat Ruml said. That led him to call this year's Tiger squad the "forgotten team."

"This program won so many games," Ruml said. "For some teams, this was supposed to be a year where if you wanted to get Howard, this was the year to get them, and I think these guys heard that stuff. And they really took it to heart and said, 'We're just as good.' In their minds, they're just playing to Howard's standard."

The Tigers earned their spot with an 18-12 win over third-seeded Alcester-Hudson in the semifinals, which followed a 28-21 win over No. 2 Warner in the quarterfinal round.

The Tigers rush for 307 yards per game, and a large share of that is done by senior back Kolt Becker, who has rushed for 1,911 yards on 221 carries and 27 touchdowns. Quarterback Drew Maier has completed 61% of his passes for 733 yards and 10 touchdowns and only three interceptions.

Owen Feldhaus has rushed for 583 yards and six touchdowns, and Korbin Shumaker has 468 yards on the ground and seven touchdowns. Feldhaus has caught three touchdown passes for Howard and Shumaker is the leading receiver in terms of yards with 165.

Led by coach Lex Heathershaw, the Eagles outscored their three playoff opponents by a margin of 152-6, with a 56-6 win over Philp in the state semifinal round. Wall is playing in its sixth state championship all-time, winning titles in 1990, 1994 and 2022, with the last of those coming in Class 9AA.

For Wall, senior running back Jace Mohr is the No. 1 scoring threat after 34 touchdowns during the season. Mohr has 1,460 yards on only 82 carries and 28 rushing scores. Junior quarterback Tanner Volmer has thrown for 24 touchdowns this season and completed 60% of his passes for 1330 yards and only two interceptions, and he's rushed for 600 yards and 10 touchdowns.

The Eagles have rushed for 2,766 yards this season on 206 carries, good for 13.4 yards per carry and 47 touchdowns. They have only completed 56 passes, but 29 of those have gone for touchdowns and are good for 24.4 yards per reception.

The two teams last met in the 2021 playoffs, with Howard winning 21-17 in the Class 9A semifinals that season, with the Tigers eventually winning the state title. Since 2022, Wall has a combined record of 41-3, while Howard is 40-5 since 2022 and 52-5 in the last five seasons.

Wall is led defensively by Ryon Bielmaier, who has 10 sacks this season, and Younger Amiotte has a team-best 65 total tackles. Teelan Kjerstad has picked off seven passes for a Wall defense that has intercepted 23 opponent passes and has 36 takeaways overall.

Defensive leaders for Howard include Owen Feldhaus, who has 71 tackles, while Nolan Mentele has 70 tackles and Kean Hofer has 60 tackles for the Tiger defense. Garrett Feldhaus has picked up a team-best five sacks and Becker has four interceptions.

"Our coaching staff, we'll have them scouted, and we will have schemes for them, and we're going to go down there and give it everything we've got," Ruml said. "I know they've got a lot of weapons, but we do, too."

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