St. Thomas More outscores Elk Point-Jefferson to win state Class 11B football title
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VERMILLION — On its seventh try, St. Thomas More finally won a state high school football championship game.
In a back-and-forth offensive slugfest, the second-seeded and second-rated Cavaliers (12-0) used two defensive stops in the final 3 1/2 minutes and a 90-yard halfback pass from Kain McLeod to Broeden Sales to nail down a 48-38 win over Elk Point-Jefferson in the state Class 11B title game in the DakotaDome.
EPJ, top-rated and top-seeded, closed out its season with an 11-1 record.
Plenty of offense to go around
For most of the game, the two teams took turns scoring. Not counting offensive kneel downs at the end of each half, St. Thomas More scored on seven of its eight offensive possessions. EPJ found the end zone on five of its first seven possessions before its final two drives ended on downs and a fourth-down fumble.
St. Thomas More gained 424 yards in the game, 131 rushing and 293 passing. EPJ finished with 407 yards rushing and 103 passing.
The key momentum switch came in the third quarter after EPJ had rallied to take a 30-27 lead on Levi Hanson’s 67-yard touchdown pass to Aiden Hammitt.
The Cavaliers answered with a drive that culminated in Josh Elder’s 1-yard TD run with 4:45 left in the period and after an interception by Brody Lee was returned to EPJ’s 20-yard line, Sales scored on a 17-yard TD pass from Noah Wald for a 41-30 lead.
The Huskies opened the fourth quarter with a 1-yard TD run by Hanson and threatened to pull ahead before being stopped on downs at STM’s 10-yard line with 3:30 remaining.
The call of the game
After the fourth-down stop, the Cavaliers’ came up with the call and play of the game when a wide-open Sales hauled in the halfback pass from McLeod and dashed untouched to the end zone.
Lee recovered a fourth-down fumble on EPJ’s final possesion and STM ran out the clock.
Sales, who was named to the South Dakota Football Coaches Association’s outstanding back of the game also hauled in a 42-yard TD pass from Wald in the first quarter. He finished with five receptions for 167 yards, Wald, who was selected as the Joe Robbie Most Valuable Player of the game, completed 15 of 17 passes for 203 yards and three scores, including a 21-yarder to McLeod.
Grayden Juve rushed 13 times for 66 yards and scored on runs of 1 and 15 yards for the Cavaliers. McLeod caught four passes for 37 yards and Max Speed four for 34.
Elder tallied 13 tackles, Broeden Sales seven and Cooper Sales six to lead STM’s defense. Lee, with the two takeaways, was named the SDFBCA’s outstanding lineman of the game.
Galliant effort by Elk Point-Jefferson
EPJ’s solid performance included TD runs of 6 and 66 yards by Van Roekel and a 4-yard scoring run by Hammitt.
Beau Schmitz carried the football 13 times for 163 yards, Van Roekel nine for 11 and Luke Schmitz 16 for 102. Hanson completed three passes for 103 yards, two to Hammit for 80.
St. Thomas More entered the game allowing only 4.6 points per game and EPJ 14.3.
Hanson, Keaton Hinds and Luke Schmidt each tallied six tackles for EPJ.
Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on X (formerly known as Twitter) @PO_Sports or email: rmerriam@thepublicopinion.com
This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: State Class 11B high school football championship
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