(St. Thomas More and Elk Point Jefferson face off in the Class 11B high school football championship game. Photo credit: SDPB Sports/Josh Jurgens Photography)
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Simplified: Top-ranked and unbeaten Elk Point-Jefferson avenged last year’s Class 11B championship loss to St. Thomas More on Friday afternoon in Vermillion, and this one got out of hand in a hurry. EPJ dominated throughout with a 61-13 win.
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Top-ranked and unbeaten Elk Point-Jefferson avenged last year’s Class 11B championship loss to St. Thomas More on Friday afternoon in Vermillion, and this one got out of hand in a hurry.
EPJ raced to 48-6 halftime lead, built it to 61-6 after three quarters, and capped a perfect 12-0 season with a 61-13 dismantling of STM. The win is EPJ’s second title in school history. The Huskies also won it in 2022.
EPJ senior running back Brody Van Roekel was named the Joe Robbie MVP after rushing for 178 yards on 12 carries with three touchdowns. He was one of eight EPJ running backs to carry on Friday as the Huskies amassed 390 yards of rushing. Aiden Hammitt also rushed for three touchdowns and finished with 78 yards on 11 carries.
Van Roekel was huge all day for the Huskies. Along with his dominance running the ball, he also finished with an interception for a touchdown in the second quarter.
“We were so pumped to get and play these guys at the dome,” Van Roekel said of the rematch from last year’s title game. “We knew right away from that first snap that this was going to be a fun game.”
EPJ attempted just one pass all day, an incompletion. It was total domination up front as the Cavaliers had little answer to the potent EPJ running attack.
“Our kids played their hearts out,” EPJ head coach Jake Terry said. “They came in, they were prepared, they knew what they were doing, they were confident, played physical football.”
STM actually cut it to 14-6 in the first quarter before the Huskies poured it on.
“We told them the whole time, take care of our end of things and the score will take care of itself, and that’s exactly what they did,” Terry said. “These kids worked so hard. To come up short last year, but then this year to be able to come out and make a statement the way they did.”
It’s been a rough dome experience for St. Thomas More. Last year’s championship is the only one in school history. The Cavaliers are now 1-6 in championship games.
Miss the game? Catch our quarter-by-quarter recaps here:
First quarter: Elk Point-Jefferson 14, St. Thomas More 0
St. Thomas More entered the game averaging 43.5 points per game, the most in Class 11B. But they went quietly to open the game against EPJ when they were forced to punt on the game’s opening possession.
The Huskies took advantage and took it 57 yards for a score for a quick 7-0 lead. The drive was capped by a 34-yard touchdown run from Brody Van Roekel.
The Cavaliers got it back, but quarterback Noah Wald was intercepted by EPJ’s Ben Trudeau.
And the Huskies made them pay, again. This time, Aiden Hammitt capped a seven-play drive and ran it in from two yards out for the 14-0 lead.
After one, Van Roekel has 55 yards on five carries to lead EPJ’s rushing attack. STM has managed just 38 yards of total offense.
Halftime update: Elk Point-Jefferson 48, St. Thomas More 6
Elk Point-Jefferson entered today’s game averaging 340 rushing yards per game. The Huskies have stayed true to that approach and have now opened a 48-6 lead over St. Thomas More.
EPJ threw just one pass in the first half and have now amassed 241 yards rushing, led by Brody Van Roekel with 104 yards on eight carries with three touchdowns. The pass attempt by Nicholas Prouty was, of course, incomplete.
The Cavaliers got on the board after a 4th-and-2 from the EPJ 45-yard line to make it 14-6 early in the second. Zander Zandstra caught a swing pass from Noah Wald and advanced to the EPJ 15 yard line. Three plays later, Wald took it in from five-yards out, but he took a massive hit at the goal line. Wald remained in the game. The score was set up by a spectacular catch from Henry Wojtanowicz, who was hit initially after he made contact with the ball. But Wojtanowicz stayed with it and completed the catch on the ricochet.
The Huskies seemed unfazed by STM’s score and increased the lead to 21-6 on a Van Roekel 41-yard rushing touchdown with eight minutes to play in the half.
After a STM punt, EPJ began to pour it on and scored twice in a four-minute span, capped by a three-yard rush from Aiden Hammitt for a 34-6 lead with three minutes to play.
On STM’s next possession, Wald was intercepted by Hammitt at the 43-yard line. He returned it to the EPJ 2-yard line and one play later, Van Roekel scored again for a 41-6 lead.
Van Roekel scored again on STM’s next possession when Ward threw back-to-back interceptions. Van Roekel ran the interception back from 37 yards out for the current 48-6 lead.
The SDHSAA mercy-rule running clock will be engaged for the second half.
Third quarter: Elk Point-Jefferson 61, St. Thomas More 6
The running clock is rolling in Vermillion, but it hasn’t slowed Elk Point-Jefferson. The Huskies increased their lead to 61-6 over St. Thomas More, and are now just a quarter away from their second state title in school history.
With 10 minutes to play in the third, Aiden Hammitt scored his third touchdown on the day for the 48-point lead. Later with under a minute to play, Dawson Fullenkamp scored on a 21-yard run and things were completely out of hand with one quarter yet to go.
Through three quarters, St. Thomas More has managed just 150 yards of total offense. Meanwhile, EPJ is cruising with 360 yards of offense, all on the ground. The Huskies have attempted just one pass all day.
Six different EPJ players have rushed the ball for the 360 total yards.
Fourth quarter: Elk Point-Jefferson 61, St. Thomas More 13
St. Thomas More finally got on the board in the second half when Quan Harper caught a five-yard pass from Noah Wald late in the fourth quarter.
Although a bit of a lift for the Cavaliers before the long drive back to Rapid City, it was little consolation to the second-largest margin of defeat in Class 11B history.
Elk Point-Jefferson finished with 390 yards of total offense, all on the ground as the Huskies attempted just one pass all day. Brody Van Roekel finished with 178 yards rushing on 12 carries and three touchdowns.
Meanwhile, STM finished with 232 yards of offense, led by Noah Wald’s 209 passing yards.
Catch up on other championship games
Tom A. Savage
Tom A. Savage
Tom A. Savage
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