VOLGA – The No. 4 seeded Sioux Valley football team dominated from the opening whistle as they topped No. 13 seed Chamberlain 56-6 in the first round of the Class 11B Playoffs on Thursday night.
The Cossacks outgained the Cubs 380-89.
Jaxton Schiller had a monster night for the Cossacks. He had 198 total yards of offense, an 82-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and a 50-yard punt return for a touchdown. He ended the night with five total touchdowns.
“[Schiller] is pretty much one of the best guys in space in the state of South Dakota. I don’t see too many guys better than him on film or otherwise. He’s pretty special,” said Sioux Valley head coach Dan Hughes.
Schiller had a 62-yard touchdown catch from Parker Puetz with 10:25 left in the first quarter. Mckade Rentsch then found the end zone on a 28-yard run with 5:58 left in the first quarter to make it 16-0. Schiller caught a 30-yard pass from Puetz with 9:10 left in the first half to make it 22-0.
Chamberlain got on the board with 3:45 left in the first half on a 34-yard touchdown pass from Cruz Soulek to Hayden Evans to make it 22-6. Schiller returned the ensuing kickoff 82 yards to the house. The Cubs then went three and out and Schiller returned a punt 50 yards for a touchdown to make it 36-6 at halftime.
Raven Olson scored 45 seconds into the second half on a 50-yard run to make it 42-6. Schiller then had a 43-yard touchdown run to make it 48-6. The Cossacks put the nail in the coffin with 4:11 left in the game when Puetz found Damian Danzeisen for a 20-yard score. Jakob Ziegler ran in the two point conversion and the game ended.
“[The defense’s] focus and preparation has been off the charts,” Hughes noted. “Coach [Jordan] Fast has done a great job with the defense. Coach [Ken] Vigdal has done a great job with the offense. Giving us some great plays. So hats off to the assistant coaches. They prepared well all week and it really showed tonight.”
Puetz was 8-for-8 with 158 yards and three touchdowns. Olson had 85 yards on five carries. Schiller had six catches for 137 yards and 61 yards on six carries.
The Cossacks face No. 5 seed Elk Point-Jefferson next week in the quarterfinals. Sioux Valley defeated EPJ 44-26 in the regular season. The Cossacks trailed in that game 26-20 at halftime.
“We’re going to enjoy this for 24 hours and then we’re going to dive into EPJ. They have a nice team and we’re going to have to prepare well again and we’re going to have to play our best,” Hughes said.
Elsewhere ...
Colman-Egan beat Alcester-Hudson 40-32 on the road in a 9B first-round matchup.
In 9AA, Arlington/Lake Preston advanced with a 20-14 triumph at Baltic. Elkton-Lake Benton’s result was not available.
Estelline/Hendricks forfeited its game at Corsica-Stickney.
