Lead-Deadwood

Seahawks

Last Game

The Bridgewater-Emery/Ethan Seahawks went punch-for-punch with Woonsocket/Wessington Springs/Sanborn Central two weeks ago Friday night, but missed conversions and a late defensive stand left BEE just short in a 13-12 defeat.

The Blackhawks struck first, marching 73 yards in less than three minutes on the opening drive. Quarterback Luke Larson capped it with a 25-yard touchdown pass to Hayes Havlik for a 7-0 lead. BEE responded in the second quarter when senior quarterback Holden Wollmann broke the game open with a deep ball down the sideline, connecting with sophomore Jaxx Kurtenbach for a 45-yard touchdown that electrified the Seahawks sideline. The conversion attempt failed, leaving the score at 7-6.

Momentum continued to swing toward the Seahawks on their next possession. A key reception by KJ Ripley set BEE up at the goal line, and Wollmann finished the drive himself with a one-yard plunge. The two-point attempt was stopped, but BEE carried a 12-7 advantage. That lead was short-lived. With less than a minute remaining before halftime, Larson struck again, this time finding Grant Edwards on a 33-yard touchdown pass. The score gave W/WS/SC a 13-12 edge heading into the half.

The Bucks’ first possession of the second half took them all the way down to the Seahawks’ 5-yard line, but BEE forced an incomplete pass on 4th down, causing a turnover on downs. Taking over on their own 5-yard line, the Seahawks drove to the Bucks’ 9-yard line. BEE’s first and second-down rushing attempts gained zero yards, a sack on third down pushed them back to the 16, and after back-to-back penalties, Wollmann threw an incomplete pass on 4th-and-goal from the 26 to end the scoring threat with around four minutes remaining. The Seahawks’ defense forced one more stop to give their offense a chance, but with limited time and no timeouts left, BEE was unable to reach scoring position.

Wollmann had a stellar start to his senior season, completing 8-of-19 passes for 101 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 87 yards and another score. He also added five tackles and an interception on defense. Kurtenbach had four receptions for 70 yards and a touchdown, along with 17 rushing yards on four carries.

Defensively, Creighton Klumb led the way with 17 tackles and two tackles for loss. Jackson Weber tallied nine tackles, a sack, and a tackle for loss.

The Seahawks finished with 214 yards of total offense (101 passing, 113 rushing) compared to the Bucks’ 250 yards (147 passing, 103 rushing).

Last Week

The Lead-Deadwood Golddiggers opened their football season Saturday with a 32-10 loss to Woonsocket/Wessington Springs/Sanborn Central in the annual Prospector Bowl at Ferguson Field.

The Bucks built a commanding first-half lead behind quarterback Luke Larson, who threw three touchdown passes, including strikes to Wesley Molnar, Nathan Gaikowski, and Colby Flowers. Molnar also had an interception that set up an early score, while Flowers added a 75-yard catch-and-run to help W-WS take a 20-0 advantage into halftime.

Lead-Deadwood’s struggles continued after the break, as Flowers hauled in another long touchdown—this time a 52-yarder from Grant Edwards—before Molnar punched in a 6-yard run to push the margin to 32-0.

The Golddiggers found some momentum late, sparked by Garrett Rantapaa’s blocked punt that set up a Blake Janssen field goal. Oliver Pray later added a 13-yard touchdown run to cap the scoring at 32-10.

Lead-Deadwood falls to 0-2 on the season while the Bucks improve to 2-0. W/WS/SC has tonight off and travels to Webster next Friday.

This Season

The Golddiggers enter the new season under the direction of first-year head coach Michael Barnaud. He succeeds Kyle Kooima, who guided the program to an 11-22 record over the past four years, including a playoff appearance in 2022. A Belle Fourche native, Barnaud starred as a linebacker at Dakota Wesleyan from 2010-12, earning All-Great Plains Athletic Conference honors twice before continuing his career in professional football overseas.

Lead-Deadwood will lean on a core group of seniors to set the tone this fall. Quarterback/defensive back Canon Rogers (6'1", 160 lbs.) leads the offense, joined by running back/linebacker Tyrel Seaman (6'1", 185 lbs.) and wide receiver/defensive back Peyton Percy (5'7", 140 lbs.). On the line, senior Brady Rantapaa (6'2", 197 lbs.) anchors both sides of the trenches.

Previous Match-Up

The Bridgewater-Emery/Ethan Seahawks traveled to face Lead-Deadwood in the Prospector Bowl for an early season match-up last year. After clinging to an 8-7 halftime lead, BEE pulled away in the second half to secure a 32-14 victory.

The Seahawks had trouble finishing drives early. On their opening possession, they reached the red zone in just four plays, but a holding penalty stalled the drive, and they turned the ball over on downs. Following a three-and-out by the Golddiggers, BEE again moved deep into Lead-Deadwood territory before losing a fumble. The Golddiggers capitalized two plays later with a 61-yard touchdown run to take a 7-0 lead. BEE responded just before halftime, grinding out a 15-play, 81-yard drive capped by a 10-yard touchdown run from Macklen Weber. A successful conversion put the Seahawks ahead 8-7 at the break.

The second half belonged to BEE’s defense, which forced turnovers on four straight Golddigger possessions. The offense took advantage, with Weber powering in from three yards out to start the scoring surge. Later in the third quarter, quarterback Holden Wollmann connected with a wide-open Jaxx Kurtenbach for a 35-yard touchdown strike, extending the lead to 24-7 heading into the fourth. Kurtenbach added a 4-yard touchdown run in the final period, while Lead-Deadwood tacked on a late score to close the gap to 32-14.

Weber led the Seahawks’ offense with 127 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries. KJ Ripley added 58 yards on 13 attempts, while Wollmann went 3-of-6 passing for 54 yards and a touchdown, also rushing for 50 yards on 11 carries. Kurtenbach chipped in six carries for 25 yards and a score, along with one reception for 35 yards and a touchdown.

On defense, Jason Zeeb paced BEE with nine tackles and four tackles for loss. Kean Stevenson tallied seven tackles, half a sack, a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. Creighton Klumb added six tackles and half a sack, while Wollmann contributed six tackles, a fumble recovery, and an interception. Braeden Nebelsick also picked off a pass.

Lead-Deadwood was powered by Zade Seaman, who ran for 147 yards on 14 carries, including touchdown runs of 50 and 61 yards. Cruz Mollman added 41 yards on 14 attempts, while quarterback Beau Wichterman completed 3-of-8 passes for 41 yards with two interceptions.

BEE finished with 321 yards of total offense (267 rushing, 54 passing) compared to Lead-Deadwood’s 239 (198 rushing, 41 passing). The Seahawks also held a 19-9 edge in first downs.

This Day in Seahawk History

2003 – Emery/Ethan opened the season with an 18-6 win over Freeman in Emery. Daniel Duba rushed for 131 yards and two touchdowns, while Russell Fergen added 85 rushing yards and a score for the Seahawks, who led 12-6 at halftime. Jeff Schnabel paced the defense with 13 tackles.

2008 – Emery/Ethan improved to 2-0 with a 28-8 victory over Marion/Hurley in Marion. Tanner Duba carried the offensive load, rushing 24 times for 119 yards and two touchdowns while also hauling in a 34-yard touchdown reception. Cory Wegehaupt contributed 35 rushing yards and a score and threw for 44 passing yards and a touchdown. Defensively, Tim Olinger led the way with 20 tackles.

Game Bits

BEE is 2-0 against Lead-Deadwood all time, winning last years match-up 32-14 and a first round playoff game in 2020 that the Seahawks won 53-0.
Big East Conference games tonight include:
Beresford @ McCook Central/Montrose
Elk Point-Jefferson @ Mount Vernon/Plankinton
Flandreau @ Parker
Sioux Valley @ Baltic
Another 11B game to watch tonight has 2nd ranked Wagner traveling out to Hot Springs. The Red Raiders upset then top-ranked Winner last week 34-20, handing the Warriors their first regular season loss since 2018. Hot Springs fell to Winner 18-14 on August 22nd.

The forecast at kickoff tonight in Bridgewater calls for partly cloudy skies with a temperature of 58 degrees and winds out of the northwest at 10-15 mph.
The Bridgewater-Emery Boosters will be serving a tailgate meal starting at 6PM tonight.

Tonight's game will be livestreamed on LiveTicket.TV. A livestream link is on the home page of this website.
The BEE JH team will host Mount Vernon/Plankinton on Tuesday at 4:30 PM in Bridgewater. The previously scheduled JV game with MVP has been cancelled.
Next week is Homecoming week for the Seahawks! Coronation will be held in Emery for Bridgewater-Emery and in Ethan on Monday night at 7:30 PM.