Titans clinch 13th consecutive season opener win with narrow victory over Huron

With a 27-26 road win over Huron on Friday, Aug. 25, the Tea Area High School football team have opened their season with a win for the 13th year in a row.

The Titans came out strong, scoring twice in the opening quarter to built a 13-0 lead.

Tea Area got things going quickly as Ethan Vis returned the opening kickoff 97 yards for the score. The point after attempt failed but the Titans were on the board, leading 6-0.

With just over four minutes left in the quarter, Dawson Eimers took the carry 51 yards for the score. Carson Hall kicked through the extra point to give the Titans a 13-0 advantage.

In the second quarter, Eimers again scored, running it in from four yards out. Hall kicked through the extra point to put Tea Area up 20-0 — a lead they would take into halftime.

In the third quarter, Huron managed to get on the board, scoring on a 32 yard touchdown pass. The point after was good, pulling them within 13. That marked the only score for both teams in the quarter.

In the fourth, Tea Area managed to score again as Keegan DeYoung ran it in from eight yards out. Hall’s point after increased the Titan lead to 27-7.

However, Huron went on a run, scoring on a 29 yard pass and again on a nine yard carry. With just 13 seconds left on the clock, Huron scored again on a three yard pass to pull within one point. The two point conversion failed, giving the Titans the narrow victory after a successful recovery of the onside kick.

The Titans finished the game with 319 yards of offense, gaining 244 on the ground and 75 in the air. Huron found their success passing, gaining 328 yards in the air. They finished the night with 413 yards.

The Titans fumbled three times in the game, with Huron recovering two of them.

At quarterback, Brenner Konrad completed seven of ten pass attempts for 75 yards. He found Vis four times in the game for 60 yards. Riley Svanda caught two passes for eight yards and DeYoung one pass for seven yards.

On the ground, Svanda led the rushing attack with 82 yards on ten carries. Eimers finished with 69 yards on five carries, DeYoung had 66 yards on 12 carries and Conrad 19 yards on 11 carries.

Defensively, Sam Werdel led the team in tackles with nine in the game. Carter Turek had eight, Jessen Wiebenga seven, Eimers, DeYoung, and Chase DeBoer each had six. DeYoung also had a forced fumble in the game. Carter Christensen had four tackles, Andrew Opland and Svanda three each, Vis and Garrett Wiebenga two each, and Caden Bohnenberger, Carter Brown, Caleb Kuhnert, and Brady Tapia one each.

The Titans will hold their home-opener this Friday, Sept. 1 when Aberdeen Central comes to town. Aberdeen Central opened the season with a 32-0 loss to Pierre. Kick-off is set for 7 p.m. On Friday, Sept. 8 the Titans travel to Sioux Falls O’Gorman before hosting Douglas on Sept. 15 for the 2023 Homecoming match-up.