Baltic

This week's game preview is sponsored by Fisk's Heating & Cooling of Emery!

Seahawks

Season Preview

Despite having lost some key players due to graduation, the Seahawks come into the 2022 season with a core group of players looking to lead BEE back to the 11B title game for the 6th year in a row.

Senior Sam Hofer (6'0", 175 lbs.) will take over at QB for the Seahawks after being named honorable mention All Conference last year. Sam was second on the team with 12 receptions in his junior season. He had 185 receiving yards and caught a team high 5 touchdowns. Sam has been the back-up QB the last two seasons and has had success, completing 8-of-9 passes for 290 yards and 5 TDs heading into his senior year. He was 5th on the team in tackles last year with 54.

Senior Sutton Arend (6'4", 190 lbs.) returns after being named to the All-Conference and All-State teams his junior year. Sutton caught 10 passes for 188 yards and 2 TDs. Sutton was also named the best defensive back in 11B by Digital Z. He had 60 tackles and led the team with 4 interceptions. Sutton looks to be a top target for Hofer this season.

Another starter returning from last year is Senior offensive lineman Brody Riggs (6'3", 230 lbs.). Brody was able to snap from under center and out of shotgun for an offense that average 26.3 points and 284.8 yards per game in 2021. Brody looks to be a leader on both the offensive and defensive lines this season after being named Honorable Mention All Conference in 2021 as well as receiving the team award for best offensive lineman.

Aguer VanSickle (6'4", 240 lbs.) comes into his senior season after being named honorable mention All Conference last year, Aguer started on both side of the ball and played both tight-end and offensive tackle, showing his versatility and athleticism. Aguer had 53 tackles and 3 tackles for loss in 2021.

Senior Riley Endres (6'0", 187 lbs.) had his junior year cut short after suffering an injury during the 7th game of the year last year. Up to his injury, Endres was playing a critical part on both side of the ball. Riley rushed for 284 yards on 30 carries (9.5 yards per carry) and 3 TDs, and had 10 receptions for 129 yards and 2 TDs.

Another potential key contributor for the upcoming season is Senior Jaden Eddy (6'2", 185 lbs.). Jaden saw his playing time increase as the season went on last year and he ended up 9th on the team with 27 tackles and also earned the team award for Most Improved.

The Seahawks will also be looking for contributions from Junior Camdyn Stoterau (6'2", 185 lbs.), Junior Drake Gustafson (6'3", 183 lbs.), Junior Korbyn Kayser (6'2", 190 lbs.), Senior Wyatt Sinkie (6'2", 187 lbs.), Sophomore Jason Zeeb (6'0", 185 lbs.), Senior Kody Klumb (6'0", 200 lbs.), Senior Aaron Horvath (6'0", 200 lbs.) and Sophomore Riley Weber (6'1", 200 lbs.).

The 5 returning starters from last year look to help lead BEE through the first half of the season and help the new starters gain experience and improve by the end of the season to once again contend for the 11B title. While the first four teams on BEE's schedule should be improved over last year, those four teams had a combined record of 8-25 and only one of them made the playoffs. The last half of the regular season will surely test the Seahawks as it includes matchups at Sioux Valley and McCook Central/Montrose and home contests with Elk Point-Jefferson and defending champion Winner.

Last Season

The Bulldogs made the jump up to 11-man football last season and after getting a season opening win over Parker, struggled the rest of the way. Baltic lost to Jim River (0-21), Sioux Valley (6-60), Flandreau (8-29), Elk Point-Jefferson (0-41), McCook Central/Montrose (6-54), and Beresford (0-28). The Bulldogs took on the Seahawks in the regular season finale and lost 54-0, ending their season with a 1-7 record.

This Season

Baltic returns 5 starters on offense and 7 starters on defense from last season. Among those include Senior RB/LB Isaac Weeman (6'0, 196 lbs.), Junior RB/LB Riley Shultz (5'10", 168 lbs.), Junior WR/LB Payton Anderson (6'2", 174 lbs.), Senior OG/DT Nate Cortes (5'8", 293 lbs.), Senior FB/DL Briley Kick (5'9", 200 lbs.), Senior Matt Muston, Senior LB Carson Roach (5'9", 155 lbs.), Junior QB/S Tate Feucht (6'0", 180 lbs.), and Senior WR/S Beau Keith (6'1", 171 lbs.)

Being a member of the Big East Conference, Baltic will play some of the best teams 11B has to offer during the regular season. After tonight's game against the Seahawks, the Bulldogs host 2021 semi-final team Elk Point-Jefferson. Following that Baltic goes on the road for consecutive games, traveling to McCook Central/Montrose and Flandreau. The Bulldogs then host Jim River on September, 16th before traveling to Parker the following week. Baltic closes out the regular season with a home game against Sioux Valley, a bye week on October 7th, and hosts Sisseton in their regular season finale.

Last Match-Up

The Seahawks amassed over 400 yards of offense and scored on every offensive possession on their way to a 54-0 win over Baltic in the 2021 regular season finale.

Koby Kayser scored a pair of rushing TDs in the opening quarter from 18 and 27 yards out to take a 14-0 lead after one quarter. Clay Hohn scored on a 1 yard run early in the second quarter to take a 21-0 lead. Kayser scored his 3rd rushing TD of the afternoon on a 15 yard run to make the score 28-0 midway through the 2nd. Kaden Klumb had a hand in the final 2 Seahawk TDs of the first half. The first a 1 yard run and the second a 11 yard pass to Sam Hofer as time expired in the half to take a 42-0 lead.

The Seahawk junior varsity team finished out the second half offensively for BEE. Taite Klumb scored his first varsity TD on a 6 yard run in the third quarter to make the score 48-0 heading into the final quarter. Skylar Hopkins scored his first varsity TD on a 2 yard run to end the game early in the fourth quarter due to the 50 point mercy rule.

Kayser paced the Seahawks with 178 rushing yards and 3 TDs. Klumb completed 2-of-3 passes for 18 yards and a TD and also rushed for 65 yards and a score. Hopkins rushed for 53 yards and a score. Taite Klumb had 41 yards rushing and a TD.

Defensively, Kaden Klumb led the way with 6 tackles. Hunter Bailey had 5 tackles, a tackle for loss and a fumble recovery. Clay Hohn added 4 tackles and an interception. Rounding out the top 5, Jay Storm and Aguer VanSickle had 4 tackles each.

For Baltic, Isaac Weeman rushed 9 times for 46 yards. James Leffring completed 3-of-10 passes for 18 yards and rushed for 16 yards.

The Seahawks had 406 yards of total offense (388 rushing, 18 passing), their second highest offensive output of the season. BEE held Baltic to just 81 yards of offense (63 rushing, 18 passing).

Game Bits

This is the second all-time matchup between the Seahawks and Bulldogs, with BEE getting the 54-0 win last season.
In the preseason South Dakota Prep Media Football Poll the Seahawks are ranked #2. The defending champion Winner is ranked #1, receiving all 18 1st place votes. Elk Point-Jefferson is 3rd, followed by Sioux Valley and St. Thomas More. Teams receiving votes include Aberdeen Roncalli, Tri-Valley, Mt. Vernon/Plankinton, McCook Central/Montrose and Hot Springs.
Games of interest tonight in 11B include: Winner at Tri-Valley, Mt. Vernon/Plankinton hosts Woonsocket/Wessington Springs/Sanborn Central, Aberdeen Roncalli hosts Groton, Sioux Valley hosts Jim River, and Elk Point-Jefferson hosts Parker.
The forecast at kickoff tonight in Bridgewater at 7pm calls for mostly cloudy skies, a temperature of 67 degrees and winds out of the northwest around 15 mph.
The Bridgewater-Emery student boosters will be hosting a tailgate meal with hamburgers and hotdogs prior to the game tonight at the football field. Serving will start at 6 pm.
Tonight's game will be broadcast on Bridgewater-Emery's YouTube page. A link can be found on our home page.
The Junior High and Junior Varsity teams will kick off their seasons on Monday in Bridgewater against Baltic. The JH game will start at 4:30 pm with the JV game to follow.