Titans remain undefeated: Earn shutout in Homecoming win over Dells
The stands were full and the fences were lined with Titan fans wanting to cheer on their Tea Area Titans in the 2016 Homecoming match-up against Dell Rapids Friday night, Sept. 16.
Fans hoping for a Titan win were not disappointed as the Titan football team shut out the Quarriers 19-0 to remain undefeated on the season.
Tea scored quick, as senior Adam Heien took the opening kick-off 84 yards for the touchdown. Kade Stearns point was no good but the Titans took an early 6-0 lead.
After the two teams traded punts, Payton Conrad went to work. Conrad found Heien for a short gain, found Jacob Rotter for another completion and then after a carry by Rotter that lost yards, Conrad completed the 12 yard pass to Rotter for the touchdown with less than a minute left in the first quarter.
Neither team found the endzone in the second quarter, but in the third, the Titans added to their lead as Conrad forced the Dell Rapids’ ball carrier to fumble. Conrad stripped the ball right out of his hands and returned it for the defensive score. The point after was blocked but the Titans had a 19-0 lead.
The Titans defense had several key fourth and goal stops, securing the shutout and the Homecoming victory.
The Titans finished the night with 143 yards of offense, 108 in the air and 35 rushing. Despite the shutout, the Quarriers had 237 yards of offense, 165 rushing and 71 passing.
Conrad finished the night completing eight of 14 pass attempts for 108 yards. Evan Munkvold caught four passes for 66 yards, Rotter two for 25 and Heien two for 17.
On the ground, Heien had 40 yards on eight carries, Kendon Rensch finished with five yards on three carries, Sawyer Schwebach and Conrad each had two yards.
The Titans’ defense forced five fumbles in the game, two of which they recovered, one by Conrad and one by Carter Slykhuis. They also had two interceptions, one by Heien and one by Slykhuis.
Blake Ensz and Sawyer Schwebach combined to sack the Dells quarterback. Jeremiah Maka had a strong night, leading the team in tackles with 23. Heien had 12 tackles on the night, Conrad had nine, Logan Hoon, Kaleb Joffer, Munkvold and Trevor Hewitt seven each, Ensz six, Schwebach and Hunter Otten three each, Slykhuis, Wyatt VanTol, Josh Cooper, Corey Knutson, and Nathan Ochsner had two each, Haidyn DeJean, Cole Barthel, Gavin Graff, Isaac King, Rensch, and Taten Thomassen one each.
The Titans will be on the road this week on Friday, Sept. 23 when they take on Bridgewater-Emery-Ethan. BEE is 2-2 in Class B, winning over Beresford (28-14) and Flandreau (50-0). Their two losses are to Sioux Falls Christian (0-14), and West Central (20-7).