Titans football shuts down Aberdeen 35-0

By Anne Homan,

Sports Reporter

Winning their 19th regular season game in a row, the Tea Area High School football team shut out Aberdeen Central 35-0 on the road to open the season 2-0.

The game featured a quiet first half, but in the second, Tea Area opened things up scoring 28 points and holding Aberdeen Central to a bleak 18 yards of offense total in the half.

The first score of the game came in the second quarter when Keegan DeYoung scored an 85-yard touchdown. Chase VanTol kicked through the extra point. Neither team scored in the final ten minutes of the quarter, leaving the Titans with a 7-0 advantage at the half.

In the second half, however, things picked up for Tea Area who scored twice in the third quarter and twice more in the fourth.

In the third, DeYoung scored his second touchdown of the night, running it in from 23 yards out. Still in the third, Blake Thompson managed a rushing touchdown of his own, scoring on a four-yard run. VanTol’s extra points were good on both attempts and the Titans had built a 21-0 lead.

In the fourth, Tea Area continued to score as Maddix Slykhuis ran it in from three yards on, scoring on the quarterback keeper and DeYoung earned his third touchdown of the night, running it in from five yards out. VanTol kicked through both extra points and with Aberdeen Central having no answer the Titans took the 35-0 victory.

The Titans finished the night with 296 yards of offense, gaining 234 on the ground and 62 in the air. Tea Area’s defense held Aberdeen central to just 111 yards in the game, basically shutting down their rushing game as they netted only three yards on the ground.

Leading the ground attack for the Titans was DeYoung who rushed for 121 yards on eight carries. Slykhuis netted 60 yards on ten carries, Nathan Babb 22 on five carries, VanTol 21 on 11 carries, and Thompson ten on four carries.

In the air, Slykhuis completed four of eight pass attempts for 62 yards. Thompson grabbed two passes for 26 yards, VanTol snagged one for 19, and Parker Mulder had one grab for 17.

Defensively, Jackson Smythe led the way for the Titans with ten tackles in the game. Reis Kirschenman and VanTol each had eight, Griffen Schnider seven, Jensen Wiebenga six, and DeYoung four.

Schnider was explosive off the line, getting to Aberdeen Central’s quarterback three times in the game to record three solo sacks.

Wiebenga and Thompson both recorded an interception.

The Titans will be at home this Friday, Sept. 9 when they take on Sioux Falls O’Gorman. Kick-off is set for 7 p.m.