A fourth quarter, oneyard touchdown by Rapid City Christian broke a scoreless game last Friday in Wessington Springs, moving the Woonsocket/Wessington Springs/Sanborn Central Blackhawks to 7-1 on the regular season. The 11B sixth seed Blackhawks will host Rapid City in Wessington Springs once again Thursday, October 19 in the first round of playoff football. Kickoff is at 5 p.m.
“Obviously we had a really good regular season — 7-1 — most teams would sign up for that,” said Blackhawks Head Coach Kenny Huether. “I knew they would be the best team we had seen at that point. I have to give credit to Rapid City Christian for how well they played. In the end, it was a hard fought game on both sides.”
With over four inches of rainfall in Springs last week, soggy field conditions made moving the football difficult. But CoachHeatheralsopointed out that improvements can be made with the run game.
“We ran 19 times for 38 yards and that’s just not going to cut it. As good as we are at our throwing game, we have to show our ability in running it too. Football is a game of balance,” he said, adding that the field conditions and cold, damp weather definitely was a factor. “Two things that worry me are big, physical teams and bad weather. Bad weather throws a wrench in our passing game — the weather took things away from us.”
Looking to Thursday, the weather is promising with the forecast calling for temperatures in the high 60s. Coach Huether said the Blackhawks have also been making some changes during practice since last Friday.
“We’ll try and surprise them with some new things offensively,” he said. “In the end, it comes down to execution. Hopefully we defend well like we did on Friday.”
Huether said he and the boys know they are up against a tough opponent. Quick and athletic, Rapid City Christian played eight games and defensively only gave up five touchdowns all season.
“Clearly what we want to do is move on and keep the season going. To get a taste of winning in the post season would be amazing for these kids,” Huether expressed. “As good of years as we’ve had, the one thing we lack is that postseason win. Hopefully this year is the charm.”