Titans dominate in home opener, defeat Aberdeen Central 39-7

Brenner Konrad takes down the Aberdeen Central quarterback and forces the ball loose during play this past Friday night.

The Tea Area High School football team put on a commanding performance in their home opener, defeating Aberdeen Central 39-7 on Friday, Sept. 6. The Titans, now 1-1 on the season, extended their undefeated record against Aberdeen Central to 5-0 and secured their 14th consecutive home opener victory, a streak dating back to 2010.

Tea Area set the tone early with a strong offensive showing. Quarterback Brenner Konrad connected with Riley Svanda for a 10-yard touchdown, followed by a successful point after kick from Grifin Wiebenga, putting the Titans up 7-0. Sam Werdel added to the lead with a 4-yard touchdown run, though the point after attempt was blocked, bringing the score to 13-0 by the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Konrad kept the momentum going with a seven-yard quarterback keeper for a touchdown. A two-point conversion attempt failed, but the Titans still extended their lead to 19-0.  

Daschle Lowery followed up with a three-yard touchdown run, but another blocked kick kept the score at 25-0. Konrad and Svanda connected again, this time for a 55-yard touchdown pass, followed by Konrad running in the two-point conversion to give Tea Area a commanding 33-0 lead heading into halftime.

Aberdeen Central managed to get on the board in the fourth quarter, scoring their only touchdown of the night to make it 33-7. However, Tea Area quickly responded with Werdel’s 51-yard touchdown run. Despite a third blocked point after attempt, the Titans capped off their victory with a final score of 39-7.

Tea Area dominated on both sides of the ball, finishing with 375 total yards, including 260 rushing and 115 passing. Konrad completed three of seven passes for 115 yards and two touchdowns. Svanda was the top receiver with two catches for 65 yards and two touchdowns, while Carter Brown had a 50-yard reception.

In the rushing game, Konrad led the way with 101 yards on 14 carries, followed by Werdel with 69 yards on seven carries. Cole McKinney added 27 yards on four carries, and Lowery chipped in with 16 yards on four carries.

Defensively, the Titans were equally impressive, holding Aberdeen Central to just 19 rushing yards and 179 total yards. Werdel led the defense with 10 tackles, while Carter Brown and Konrad added seven each. Brown also recorded a sack, and Konrad had two sacks along with a forced fumble. Chase DeBoer contributed with a fumble recovery. Carter Christensen  and Dawson Eimers had four tackles each and Marshall Smythe, Riley Svanda, Caleb Kuhnert, and Wiebenga had three each.

With the victory, the Titans look ahead to their next game against Huron on Friday, Sept. 13, where they will seek to to go 2-1 on the season against a 0-2 Tigers team. Kick-off is set for 7 p.m.