Sioux Falls Lincoln defeated Brandon Valley 31-21 on Saturday night at the Dakota Dome in Vermillion to win the 11AAA championship. This is back-to-back titles for the Patriots and their fifth state championship in program history.
These two teams met in early October at Howard Wood Field, and it was Brandon Valley who grabbed a dominating win. Tonight, it was a flip of the script. From the very first drive, Lincoln looked poised and ready to go.
“The first game it seemed like whatever could go wrong did. We didn’t react very well, we weren’t ready for their physicality,” explained Lincoln head coach Jared Fredenburg. “We had a great week of practice, these guys believe in each other and coming back from last year's team, these guys wanted it so bad. They wanted to prove that it wasn’t just a fluke with one class, that we’re building a program. We’re building young kids like this coming up through. Couldn’t be happier for a group of young men.”
One of the main reasons for the Patriots success on Saturday night was the performance of their sophomore quarterback Brody Schafer. He threw for 226-yards with three touchdown passes. Schafer also ran for 122-yards, average five-yards a carry.
“Our thought process coming into the game, I think it was amazing. We knew they were going to play press man, challenge us to beat them,” stated Schafer. “Our skills guys, hats off to them. Our offense is just a team first offense. It’s amazing how so many people can put each other first. That’s why I’m so happy because the family we created on offense was amazing.”
Lincoln received to start the game, and they wasted little time hitting the big one. Brody Schafer hit Everett Starks in stride for a 63-yard touchdown. This put the Patriots up 7-0 with less than two-minutes into the opening quarter.
Brandon Valley would answer back on their first offensive possession to tie it up. The Lynx capped off a near six-minute drive with a nine-yard touchdown pass from Briggs Knutson to Kolton Welch.
On the Patriots second drive, Schafer hit Louison Akossi for a 51-yard gain to put Lincoln into Lynx territory. The drive would stall, however, as the Patriots turned it over on downs near the red zone.
The Lynx followed up the big defensive stop with a 27-yard run by Levi Veskrna to get onto the Patriots side of the field.
End of the 1st Quarter | Lincoln 7 Brandon Valley 7
A big fourth down conversion from Knutson to Wyatt Melcher kept Brandon Valley’s drive going. On a third and goal, Landon Dulaney scored on a four-yard shuffle pass end around that saw Dulaney stretch ball out over the pylon. This put the Lynx up 14-7 with 7:59 to play in the second quarter.
Lincoln answered right back to tie the game when Javin Augustus broke loose down the left sideline for a 38-yard score.
The Lynx got near midfield on their next possession, but Tatum Bell punched the ball out of Veskrna’s hands, which was recovered by Kishmar Eberline – possession arrow Lincoln.
On the final play of the half, Edison Noll knocked a 19-yard field goal through the uprights to give Lincoln a three-point lead at the break.
Halftime | Lincoln 17 Brandon Valley 14
Brandon Valley started the third quarter with the football. A key fourth down conversion run by Veskrna, a big third down throw from Knutson to Dulaney, and a third down power run by Veskrna put the Lynx at the door. Briggs then hit Dulaney for a 4-yard touchdown pass to put Brandon Valley ahead 21-17. It was an impressive 71-yard drive that took up over nine-minutes of play.
Schafer quickly got the Patriots onto the Brandon Valley side of the field with a 37-yard keeper down the sideline on Lincoln’s first possession of the second half. A few plays later, Schafer hit Samuel DeGroot for a 5-yard fade into the end zone. With 1:02 to play in the third quarter, the Patriots retook the lead at 24-21.
End of the 3rd Quarter | Lincoln 24 Brandon Valley 21
Faced with a third and long, Knutson connected with Gus Scott on a screen pass that went 57-yards. This put Brandon Valley into the red zone. The Patriots held their ground, however, coming up with a big stand that forced a turnover on downs inside the five-yard line.
With 4:13 to play in the game, Schafer hit Michael Roche in stride for a 63-yard touchdown to extend Lincoln’s lead to ten-points.
The Lynx went into a hurry up offense with an urgency to get points. Knutson hit a couple nice passes but then threw an errant toss that got picked off by Bell. Brandon Valley got the ball right back on the next play, though, as Chase Leary forced a fumble on Schafer, which was recovered by Parker Coughlin.
Faced with a third down, Knutson threw a pass over the middle that deflected off the hands of Scott and into the hands of Gabriel Brunz for an interception.
From there, the Patriots went into ground-and-pound mode, forcing Brandon Valley to burn through their timeouts.
Lincoln’s drive did stall out near midfield, which led to a punt, but the kick pinned the Lynx at their own two-yard line with 98-seconds to go – and down two scores.
Time quickly ran out for Brandon Valley.
Final | Lincoln 31 Brandon Valley 21
The Patriots were led by Brody Schafer, who threw for 226-yards and three touchdown passes. He also ran for 122-yards. Michael Roche and Everett Starks combined for 154-yards of receiving for the Patriots as well – each with a touchdown catch to their box score.
Briggs Knutson led Brandon Valley with 230-yards passing and two touchdown passes. He also threw three interceptions in the contest. Levi Veskrna ran for 167-yards for the Lynx.
Outstanding Lineman – Luke Krempges (Lincoln)
Outstanding Back – Brody Schafer (Lincoln)
Joe Robbie MVP - Brody Schafer (Lincoln)
