Knights at State!
SHICKLEY - In an action packed football game that went down to the wire, Class D2 No. 2 Sandhills-Thedford fell short 36-28 to Class D2 No. 1 Bruening-Davenport-Shickley in the D2 State Championship game held in Schickley on Nov. 20. Despite losing in tough fashion, the Knights were very respectful and held their heads high after the contest. A true testament
The 2020 Class D2 State Football Runner- Up’s Sandhills-Thedford. Front row L to R: Matt Dailey, Reed McFadden, Grant Ahlstrom, and Skylar Anderson. Second Row: Brodie Stengel, Lan Wilde, Kaden Haake, Seth Scranton, Reece Zutavern, Parker Ballenger, Brayden Guggenmos. Third Row: Head Coach Josh Deines, Trae Hickman, Brayton Branic, Tyson Stengel, Drew McIntosh, Reed McFadden, Connor Cooksley, Andrew Furrow, Rhett McFadden, Zeb Wilde, Brady Dahlberg, Assitant Coach Andrew Christen, Dane Pokorny, and Assistant Coach Tyson Cox.
to the coaching staff and parents of these athletes.
“I told our guys in the huddle after the game, that now you see what it takes to get to this point and now you see what a winning program like BDS looks like,” head coach Josh Deines said. “We know what it takes now and hopefully next year we build off this momentum and try to get back here again.”
The scene throughout the game was spectacular for S-T. Despite having to travel over 200 miles for the championship game, the Knights faithful showed up in full force to cheer on their boys.
In the beginning, S-T was able to give their fans something to cheer about with a big play.
It was Reece Zutavern who broke free around the outside on a sweep for a 55-yard touchdown. The two-point try was unsuccessful, and after one-quarter of play, it was 6-0.
In the second, senior quarterback Grant Ahlstrom did everything that he possibly could to help the Knights retain the lead. He did exactly that with a perfect fake handoff to the running back Dane Pokorny and then broke free around the right side for a 56-yard score.
He followed that up with a two-yard touchdown run with 59.5 seconds left in the half. Pokorny was successful on the two-point attempt and S-T had a 20-14 halftime advantage.
“In the first half we were really able to run the ball,” Deines said. “We switched it up with some inside power and outside power that kept them off balance.”
After the Knights had to punt on their first drive of the half, BDS was able to capitalize and score on a two-yard run by Quinones. The score remained tied after the Eagles were stopped on the two-point conversion.
S-T put together an impressive drive after this, using their traditional smash-mouth football to get inside the BDS ten.
It was at this point where the experience factor for the Eagles in this situation kicked in. Despite the noise of the crowd and the tiredness they were experiencing, they were able to hold the Knights out of the end zone and took over inside their own five.
BDS continued moving the ball with a mixture of run and pass and were inside the S-T 35-yard line to start the fourth.
The Eagles regained the lead with a two-yard run by Kleinschmidt around the outside. BDS threw the ball on the two-point play and were able to complete it.The Knights were not able to get any rhythm going on their next possession and ultimately had to line up to punt. The snap on the play nearly went over the kicker Matt Dailey’s head, but he was able to save the ball and get the kickoff.
S-T got BDS into a 3 and 8 position on their side of the field and the Eagles decided to take a timeout. With under three minutes left, Quinones was able to complete a pass to Schroeder for a 47-yard touchdown.
They were able to connect once again on the two-point try and BDS had their largest lead of the game 36-20.
Despite trailing by two possessions, the Knights didn’t give up and were able to string together a quick score.
Ahlstrom found Drew McIntosh on the left side with a five-yard pass in the end zone for a touchdown. Pokorny was able to power his way in on the two-point attempt to cut the deficit to one possession.
With not enough timeouts to keep the Eagles from running out the clock, S-T lined up for the onside kick. BDS was able to field the kick by Dailey perfectly and the Eagles secured their third state title in six years.
“In the second half they made some good adjustments and we were able to as well by getting Reece going on the ground more to switch some things up,” Deines said. “Ultimately when they needed a big play they got one.”
Leading the way for the Knights was Ahlstrom with 51-passing yards and a throwing score and then 61-rushing yards and two touchdowns. Zutavern had 98 yards on the ground and a score and Pokorny pilled up 148-rushing yards.
Hauling in two catches for ten yards and a touchdown was McIntosh.
Defensively, Pokorny had one sack and 16 tackles. Reed McFadden finished the game with 19 tackles.
S-T ends the season with a program-best 12-1 record and took home their first state trophy as a co-op in football.
After the game, Deines talked very highly of his senior group of players. He stated that this group struggled through tougher times to get to this point.
“This senior group has come a long way,” Deines said. “I mean Reed was a four-year starter and Matt Dailey was also a four year starter,” Deines said. “To go 4-5 as freshman and then fast forward to now getting to a state championship game as seniors is a big accomplishment.”
Overall, this was a year that won’t be forgotten anytime soon by the black and green faithful. This group set the bar for the Knights football program in the future.