This week's game preview is sponsored by the JL Arend Insurance Agency of Emery!
Seahawks
Last Week
The Seahawks stuck right with the second ranked Huskies of Elk Point-Jefferson, but ultimately fell, 28-14. After being shutout the previous two weeks by Winner and McCook Central/Montrose, BEE put 14 points up on an EPJ defense that had allowed just 14 points all season.
Things didn't look that good from the start though. The Huskies took the opening kickoff and marched 57 yards in just 3 plays to score on a 2 yard run by Lucas Hueser less than a minute into the game. The Seahawks went 3-and-out and Hueser tacked on another rushing TD, this one from 6 yards out, to take a 14-0 lead with 5:28 left in the opening quarter. That score would hold until a few minutes into the second quarter. On 3rd and 2 from their own 38 yard line, BEE's Aguer VanSickle forced a fumble on a sack and the Seahawks recovered on the 32 yard line. Seven plays later BEE was facing a 3rd and goal from the 3 yard line and Macklen Weber found Sutton Arend to cut the lead to 14-6 with 8:10 left in the half. EPJ answered back quickly, with a 6 play drive that covered 67 yards, to extend the lead to 21-6 on a 23 yard run by Noah McDermott.
That would stay the score until the very last play of the third quarter when EPJ's Benjamin Swatek plunged in from 1 yard out to take a 28-6 lead. Weber connected with Arend midway through the 4th quarter on a 40 yard TD pass to cut the lead to 28-14. The Seahawks forced an EPJ punt on the following drive, but being backed up inside their own 20, were unable to get a first down and forced to punt. The Huskies then ran the remainder of the clock out to get the win and finish their first undefeated season in school history.
Sutton Arend led BEE offensively, rushing for 82 yards on 21 carries and catching 3 passes for 51 yards. Macklen Weber completed 5-of-16 passes for 86 yards.
For the Huskies, Hueser rushed 15 times for 116 yards and Swatek added 88 rushing yards on 16 carries. McDermott completed 5-of-12 passes for 92 yards.
Weber led the way defensively for the Seahawks with a season high 9 tackles. Korbyn Kayser added 9 tackles and a tackle for loss. VanSickle tallied 8 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 tackles for loss and a forced fumble. Taite Klumb added 8 tackles as well.
The Seahawks had 180 total yards of offense (94 rushing, 86 passing). That is the most yards the Huskies have given up this season. EPJ had a total of 356 yards of offense (264 rushing, 92 passing).
This Season
Through eight games, BEE has outscored it's opponents 162-155, or an average of 20.3-19.4 points per game. The Seahawks have 1,730 yards of total offense (216.3 per game), 1,259 rushing (157.4 per game) & 471 passing (58.9 per game). The defense has allowed 1,646 yards of total offense (205.8 per game), 1,141 rushing (142.6 per game) & 505 passing (63.1 per game).
Riley Endres is still the leading rusher for BEE, with 488 yards and 8 TDs through the first 5 games of the year until he suffered a season ending injury. Macklen Weber has rushed for 284 yards and 4 TDs. Sutton Arend has 283 rushing yards and a TD. Arend has also caught 13 passes for 291 yards and 3 TDs. Weber has completed 17-of-48 passes for 232 yards and 4 TDs.
Aguer VanSickle leads the way defensively with 53 tackles, 9 tackles for loss and 4 sacks. Aaron Horvath also has 53 tackles with 2 tackles for loss, a sack and an interception. Sutton Arend is third with 43 tackles and 2 interceptions. Kean Stevenson also has 43 tackles with a tackle for loss and an interception. Korbyn Kayser rounds out the top 5 with 39 tackles, 4 tackles for loss and 2 sacks.
Hot Springs
Last Week
The Bison piled up 42 first half points to shutout Hill City by a final score of 42-0. Hot Springs led 28-0 after one quarter.
For Hot Springs, Preston Iverson carried the ball 4 times for 147 yards and 2 TDs. Camron Maciejewski rushed for 128 yards and 2 TDs on 5 carries and Landon Iverson carried the ball 3 times for 64 yards and 2 TDs. Preston Iverson completed 2-of-3 passes for 14 yards.
As a team the Bison had 431 yards of offense, 417 of which came on the ground.
Hot Springs improved to 6-2 while Hill City's season came to an end with a record of 2-6.
This Season
Hot Springs comes into this first round playoff match-up with a 6-2 record. They have defeated Redfield, Lakota Tech, St. Thomas More, Lead-Deadwood, Rapid City Christian and Hill City. Their two losses came to teams that are a combined 15-1 in McCook Central/Montrose and Class 11A Dell Rapids.
Opponent
Aug 20
Aug 27
Sep 02
Sep 09
Sept 16
Sept 23
Oct 07
Oct 14
Redfield
McCook Centra/Mon.
Lakota Tech
Dell Rapids
St. Thomas More
Lead-Deadwood
Rapid City Christian
Hill City
Result
Opponent W-L
W 14-13
L 7-16
W 54-0
L 21-41
W 49-14
W 44-0
W 42-0
W 42-0
5-3
7-1
0-8
8-0
5-3
4-4
4-4
2-6
Hot Springs is led by Preston Iverson. The Senior QB has completed 37-of-74 passes for 572 yards and 8 TDs with 2 interceptions. He has also rushed for 604 yards on 91 carries and has 11 rushing TDs. Landon Iverson has carried the ball 77 times for 649 yards and 9 TDs and also has 11 receptions for 172 yards and a TD. Camron Maciejewski has 397 rushing yards and 7 TDs on 43 carries. The leading receiver for Hot Springs is Matt Close as the junior has 13 receptions for 254 yards and 5 TDs.
Defensively, Maciejewski leads the Bison with 83 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 2 sacks and an interception.
The Bison are averaging 34.1 points per game and allowing 10.5 points per game. They have outscored their opponents 273-84. Defense has definitely been their strong suit, as Hot Springs has allowed 2 TDs or less in every game this season besides their loss to Class 11A Dell Rapids.
The will be the third straight time that the Bison have faced the Seahawks in the first round of the playoffs. Hot Springs took on BEE in the first round last year after going 6-2 in the regular season, missed the playoffs in 2020, and lost to the Seahawks 36-0 in the first round of the 2019 playoffs. The Bison's last playoff win came in 2014 when they competed in Class 11A. Hot Springs went 8-3 that year and advanced to the semi-finals before falling to Madison.
Last Match-Up
The Seahawks scored on their first 6 possessions of the game and amassed over 400 yards of offense for the second straight week in a 48-6 win over Hot Springs in first round playoff action last season in Bridgewater.
BEE took the lead on the second play of the game as Koby Kayser scored on a 55 yard run. After a Sam Hofer interception halted the Bison's next drive Kayser scored once again, this time from 18 yards out, to take a 14-0 lead with 3:50 left in the opening quarter. The Seahawk defense forced a 3-and-out on Hot Springs' next possession and Kayser returned the punt inside the Bison 30 yard line. Two plays later Kaden Klumb connected with a wide open Hunter Bailey down the middle of the field on a 23 yard TD pass to make the score 21-0 at the end of the first quarter.
The Bison were able to put together their best offensive possession of the game to open the 2nd quarter. Driving 43 yards in 15 plays to get inside the Seahawk 30 yard line. BEE's defense was able to clamp down and forced a turnover on downs, stopping the Hot Springs drive. Just three plays later, Kayser scored his third rushing TD of the night, this time from 63 yards out. That gave BEE a 28-0 lead with 3:35 left in the half. Hofer intercepted his second pass of the night on the next Hot Springs possession. The Seahawks capped off a 6-play, 40-yard scoring drive on a 15 yard TD pass from Klumb to Sutton Arend to make the score 34-0 with just over a minute left in the half. The Bison answered back as quick as they could, taking the following kickoff 87 yards for a TD. Two plays into the Seahawks' next possession, Klumb connected with Jay Storm down the sideline on a 76 yard TD pass to make the score 34-0 as we headed into the half.
Hot Springs received the ball to start the second half but was once again forced to a quick 3-and-out. The Seahawk offense drove 65 yards in 11 plays and scored on a 5 yard run by Clay Hohn to take a 48-6 lead and the final score.
Kayser led BEE with 15 carries for 208 yards and 3 TDs. Hohn rushed for 69 yards and a TD on 13 carries. Klumb completed 3-of-4 passes for 114 yards and 3 TDs. Storm, Bailey and Arend each had a TD reception.
Defensively Hohn led the way with 9 tackles. Joe Kirby tallied 7 tackles and 2 tackles for loss. Hofer was third with 5 tackles and 2 interceptions. Jaden Eddy and Aguer VanSickle each had 5 tackles. Klumb and Storm each had a fumble recovery.
The Bison were led by Camron Maciejewski with 13 carries for 50 yards. Brynn Thompson completed 1-of-6 passes for 5 yards and rushed for 30 yards on 7 carries.
The Seahawks had 430 yards of total offense (316 rushing, 114 passing). The Bison had 106 yards of total offense (101 rushing, 5 passing). BEE forced 4 Hot Springs turnovers. The Seahawks improved to 6-3, and the Bison's season came to an end at 7-2.
This Day in Seahawk History
2011 - BEE improved to 7-1 on the year as they defeated Corsica/Stickney 40-0 in the regular season finale in Stickney. The Seahawks, who led 22-0 at the half, outgained the Jaguars 414-196 in total yardage. Anthony Huber rushed for 156 yards and 2 TDs on 9 carries to lead the way. Kendall Lindeman rushed for 79 yards and a TD and Kyelle Herrick had a TD and 62 yards rushing. The Seahawks had 397 total yards of rushing and 9 different players had at least one carry in the win. Defensively, Seth Wethor led the way with 8 tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery.
2016 - The Seahawks defeated Sioux Valley 17-14 in the regular season finale to finish with a 5-3 record heading into the playoffs. Sioux Valley led 7-0 after one quarter. After a pair of Seahawk TDs in the second quarter, by Sam Arend and Cole Gassman, BEE led 14-7 heading into the half. Jesse Grosdidier connected on a 20 yard field goal in the third to stretch the lead to 17-7. Cole Gassman carried the ball 36 times for 184 yards and a TD. The 36 rushing attempts by Gassman was the BEE record for carries in a game until last season when Koby Kayser had 37 carries in a game. BEE outgained Sioux Valley 243-208 in total yardage.
Game Bits
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The Seahawks are 2-0 all-time against Hot Springs with both match-ups coming in the first round of the playoffs. BEE defeated the Bison 36-0 in the 2019 playoffs and 48-6 in the 2021 playoffs.
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This is the 16th consecutive season that the Seahawks have made the playoffs. Since moving up to 11-man in 2015, BEE has not lost a first round playoff game.
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BEE is 19-6 in playoff games in 11-man since 2015, with 4 of those losses coming in state championship games.
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The winner of tonight's game will play the winner of #2 Aberdeen Roncalli vs #15 Mobridge-Pollock. That game is being played in Aberdeen tonight with kickoff scheduled for 7pm.
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By the Miles: The Seahawks have the second longest road trip in 11B today, traveling 357 miles to Hot Springs, a roughly 5 hour trip. The longest road trip belongs to St. Thomas More who is traveling to White to take on Deuel which is 404 miles and a near 6 hour trip. St. Thomas more also had the longest road trip in the opening round of last year's playoffs, making the 408 mile trek to Elk Point.
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The forecast at kickoff tonight in Hot Springs calls for partly cloudy skies with a temperature of 64 degrees and winds out of the northwest at 5-15 mph.
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Tonight's game will be livestreamed with a link on our home page!