New head coach Brent Johnson leads Titans into 2026 football season
- 7 days ago
- 4 min read
The Tea Area High School Titans will enter the 2026 football season under new head coach Brent Johnson, who brings extensive experience within the Tea Area football program as the Titans prepare for another competitive season in Class 11AA.
Johnson is no stranger to the Titan program. The 2026 season marks his 12th year coaching with Tea Area Football. Prior to his time with the Titans, Johnson spent two years coaching at Flandreau Public Schools and one year at Gayville-Volin. He also played college football at the University of South Dakota from 2007-2011.
Johnson takes over a Titans program that finished the 2025 season with a 5-5 record, falling to the Pierre Governors in the first round of the playoffs.
Assisting Johnson this season will be Matt Brue, Mason Scheidegger, Logan Shockman, Austin Koehler and Tyler Schwartz.
The Titans will have some holes to fill following the graduation of several key players from last year’s team, including Cody Peterson, Carter Brown, Brenner Konrad, Carter Christensen, Caden Bohnenberger and Kingston Nyberg.
Despite those losses, Tea Area returns significant experience, including ten players who started last season.
Among the returning starters are Mitch Grant (QB/DB), Hayden Bialas (FB/DE), Thiik Lual (OL/DL), Trey Krell (OL/DL), Dawson Bunkofske (OL/DL), Gavin Stahnke (OL/DL), Kade Korleski (RB/LB), Grifin Wiebenga (DB/WR), Lucas Randall (WR/DB) and Cameron Hillestad (WR/DB).
One of the Titans’ biggest strengths entering the season will be their offensive line, where four of five starters return. Johnson said that the experience should help the Titans’ running game while also providing protection for the quarterback.
At quarterback, Grant returns for his second full year as a starter.
“Mitch is a dynamic playmaker and will look to take a more active leadership role on our offense,” said Johnson.
Bialas also returns after a breakout junior season in which he earned Honorable Mention All-State honors as a defensive end. This season, he will play fullback on offense while continuing at defensive end.
“He is the heartbeat of our team,” Johnson said of Bialas. “Hayden truly has a motor that never quits.”
Tea Area will also have plenty of options at wide receiver, with Wiebenga, Randall, Hillestad, Adam Berglund and Lane Sieber among the players expected to contribute.
“We will try and utilize their talents by getting them the ball in space,” Johnson said.
One of the biggest areas of transition for the Titans will come on defense following the graduation of Carter Brown, who served as a defensive leader and play caller last season.
Tea Area has spent the offseason competing for that leadership role, and Johnson said the coaching staff is confident senior Brayden Gniffke can step into the position.
“He has embraced that defensive leader role,” Johnson said. “We are excited for Brayden going into his senior season.”
Other players Johnson identified as players to watch include Tyson DeYoung (OL/DL), Devyn Rhodes (QB/DB), Adam Berglund (DB/WR), Lane Sieber (LB/WR), Sam Stansbury (LB), Brayden Gniffke (LB), Noah Severson (LB) and Darryn Rhodes.
The Titans will face a challenging 11AA schedule, with Johnson pointing to Pierre, Yankton, Huron and Spearfish as some of the teams to watch.
Pierre enters the season as a perennial 11AA power with Johnson noting they bring back a loaded roster with talent all over the field on both sides of the ball, while Yankton returns to the field after finishing as the State 11AA runner-up. Huron brings back the Porisch brothers, whom Johnson described as among the top athletes in the state, and Spearfish returns considerable talent on both sides of the ball.
Tea Area’s season opens Friday, Aug. 28, at home against Huron at Titan Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Other key dates include the Titans’ Sept. 18 Homecoming game against Sturgis Brown, a Sept. 25 trip to Pierre, and the Oct. 22 Senior Night match-up against Yankton.
The complete regular-season schedule includes:
• Aug. 28: vs. Huron, 6 p.m.
• Sept. 4: at Aberdeen Central, 7 p.m.
• Sept. 11: at Watertown, 7 p.m.
• Sept. 18: vs. Sturgis Brown, 6 p.m. — Homecoming
• Sept. 25: at Pierre T.F. Riggs, 7 p.m.
• Oct. 2: vs. Brookings, 6 p.m.
• Oct. 9: vs. Mitchell, 6 p.m.
• Oct. 16: at Sioux Falls Roosevelt, 5 p.m.
• Oct. 22: vs. Yankton, 6 p.m. — Senior Night
The Class 11AA playoffs are scheduled to begin with the quarterfinals on Oct. 29, followed by the semifinals Oct. 6 and the State Championship at the DakotaDome on Nov. 13.
After two straight seasons of being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, Johnson and the Titans are hoping their experience can help them take the next step in 2026.
“We have had a great offseason and look forward to getting over the hump on the trend of getting beat in the first round of playoffs,” Johnson said. “11AA is a loaded class with no real easy week on our schedule,” he said. “We will look to utilize our speed, athleticism, and experience to compete each and every week.”
For Johnson, the foundation has already been laid during the offseason.
“We have had a great offseason and are excited to get the season rolling,” he said. “The energy and enthusiasm this team brings each day is contagious.”
Now, the Titans will look to turn that offseason work into results when they take the field Aug. 28.
“The sky is the limit with this team,” Johnson said. “If we trust in each other and do the little things the right way, we hope the big thing will take care of itself.”