Titans edge out Washington in regular season finale

In their final regular season game, the Tea Area High School Titans football team secured a dramatic 15-14 victory over Sioux Falls Washington at home on Thursday, Oct. 24. The win pushed Tea Area to a 5-4 record and secured them the sixth seed in Class AA playoffs.

The game opened with Washington scoring a quick touchdown, taking a 7-0 lead. The Titans responded as the first quarter wound down, with 35 seconds on the clock when Dawson Eimers powered through an eight-yard run into the end zone. Kicker Marshall Smythe’s extra point tied it up, ending the quarter 7-7.

Washington regained the lead in the second quarter, putting up another touchdown to go ahead 14-7. But the Titans weren’t finished. In the third quarter, Tyler Rhead found a gap and dashed seven yards for a touchdown, bringing Tea Area within one. Smythe rushed in a two-point conversion, pushing the Titans ahead 15-14—a lead they held for the remainder of the game.

Tea Area’s offense tallied 209 yards, with 192 on the ground and 17 in the air. Washington out-gained them with 305 total yards, including 128 rushing and 177 passing. Titans quarterback Daschle Lowery completed three of ten pass attempts for 17 yards but had two interceptions. Rhead caught two passes, while Carter Brown snagged one. The ground game was led by Cole McKinney, who carried the ball ten times for 99 yards. Rhead added 43 yards on ten carries, Eimers had 31 yards on six attempts, and Brown contributed 25 yards on seven carries.

Defensively, Parker Wilson led the Titans with eight tackles. Eimers, Brown, Kade Korleski, Smythe, and Jacob Jongejeugd each had five tackles. The Titans also forced turnovers with Korleski and Caleb Kuhnert recovering fumbles, while Smythe and Griffin Wiebenga each grabbed an interception. Both Smythe and Chase DeBoer forced fumbles, rounding out a strong defensive showing.

With the regular season wrapped up, the Titans (5-4) now head into the State quarterfinal playoffs, where they will face the third-seeded Brookings (7-2) at 7 p.m. on October 31 at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium in Brookings. The winner of this match-up will advance to the semi-finals, scheduled for Nov. 8.