SPEARFISH, SD – The Sturgis Scooper football team wrapped up their 2024 football season with a big 15-10 win over their rival, the Spearfish Spartans on Thursday night at Lyle Hare Stadium.
The Scoopers put together two long touchdown drives late in the game and got some heroics from their defense to secure the win.
Sturgis came into the game with a 2-6 record and were mathematically eliminated from the postseason playoffs. Spearfish had a 6-2 record and were tied with the Brookings Bobcats for fourth place in power points. The top eight teams in Class 11AA football make the postseason playoffs.
The first half was a defensive battle with both teams trading punts until Scooper kicker Sully Jost banged a 31-yard field goal through the uprights with 4:42 left before halftime, giving Sturgis a 3-0 lead.
Spearfish kicker Samuel Marcus did the same for the Spartans, splitting the goal posts with a 33-yard field goal to tie the game at 3-3 with 2:21 left before the halftime break.
Both teams made adjustments after intermission and Spearfish scored the first touchdown of the game on a 34-yard pass from Thomas Hughes to Kade Vavruska with 6:21 left in the third quarter. The extra point was good and the Spartans led Sturgis, 10-3.
The Sturgis offense finally started moving the football late in the third quarter as the Scoopers started a series on their own 35-yard line and drove the ball to the Spartan two, where Jost dove across the goal line for a Sturgis score with 7:43 left in the game. The extra point by Jost went to the right of the goal post and was no good. Spearfish held on to a razor-thin 10-9 lead.
The Scooper defense held strong on the next offensive series by Spearfish, forcing a punt that put Sturgis back to their own 31-yard line. Kalvin Ketelsen lined up in the backfield with Jost and Scooper quarterback Carter Williams, giving the offense a much-needed boost with positive yardage. The Spartan defense keyed on Jost which allowed Ketelsen to break off runs of nine and four yards, moving the ball to the Spearfish 47-yard line. Williams then found Wormstadt down the left sideline for a 24-yard completion with 3:45 remaining. The running backs did the rest as Jost and Ketelsen methodically moved the ball to the Spartan 10, when Ketelsen took a handoff from Williams and followed his blocks into the end zone for the go-ahead score with just 1:33 left. The two-point conversion was no good and Sturgis led 15-10.
Spearfish took over after the ensuing kickoff on their own 22-yard line and moved the ball to the 36, when backup quarterback Karsen Seyer threw a rainbow pass down the right sideline to Hughes, but Scooper cornerback Jaxon Cano ripped the ball away from Hughes to intercept the football, sealing the 15-10 Sturgis win over Spearfish.
The Scoopers finished with 204 yards of total offense. Sturgis ran the ball 36 times for 122 yards and two touchdowns. Williams completed 11 of 17 passes for 82 yards and had one interception. The Scoopers had six penalties for 45 yards. Jost had 63 yards rushing on 24 carries with one score, with Ketelsen adding a touchdown on 46 yards rushing. Wormstadt caught four balls for 45 yards.
Spearfish (6-3) compiled 216 total yards of offense, 112 on the ground and 104 through the air. Hunter Walters ran the ball 22 times for 88 yards and Vavruska caught two passes for 75 yards and one score. The Spartans had three turnovers, two fumbles and an interception, and seven penalties for 55 yards.
The Spartans fall to #5 in power points after the loss and will travel to Pierre next Thursday, Oct. 31 to take on the Governors in the first round of the Class 11AA football playoffs. Sturgis finishes their season with a 3 and 6 record and narrowly miss the postseason, finishing #9 in power points behind Aberdeen Central.
