Titans fall to Brookings in hard-fought battle

On Friday, October 4, the Tea Area High School football team faced a tough challenge, traveling to Brookings to take on the top-ranked team in Class AA, the Brookings Bobcats. The Titans put up a valiant fight but ultimately fell short, losing 29-22 in a tightly contested game.

Brookings struck firast, scoring with 6:34 left in the opening quarter. However, Tea Area’s Carter Brown made a key defensive play, blocking the point-after attempt, leaving the Titans trailing 6-0.

The second quarter saw Brookings extend their lead with a 35-yard field goal at the 9:37 mark, making it 9-0. Tea Area responded with a crucial defensive play when Chase DeBoer sacked the Brookings’ quarterback, forcing a fumble. Sam Werdel recovered the loose ball and returned it for a Titans’ touchdown, narrowing the gap to 9-6. Unfortunately, the extra point attempt by Marshall Smythe was no good.

Brookings capitalized in the third quarter, scoring with 9:03 left and adding the extra point to extend their lead to 16-6. They struck again later in the quarter, increasing the score to 23-6. Things worsened for the Titans when Daschle Lowery was intercepted, and Brookings returned it for a touchdown, pushing their lead to 29-6.

Tea Area didn’t back down, however. 

In the fourth quarter, Lowery connected with Riley Svanda for a 26-yard touchdown, and Lowery then ran in the two-point conversion, cutting the deficit to 29-14. Later, Lowery found Werdel for a 13-yard touchdown, followed by Werdel running in the two-point conversion, narrowing the score to 29-22.

Despite a late push, time wasn’t on Tea Area’s side, and they dropped the game 29-22.

Offensively, Tea Area finished with 241 total yards, 191 rushing and 50 passing. Brookings ended with 292 total yards, including 215 through the air and 77 on the ground. Lowery completed four of 15 pass attempts for 50 yards but was hampered by three interceptions. Riley Svanda led Tea Area’s receiving corps with two catches for 28 yards, while Werdel and Tyler Rhead each contributed a catch. On the ground, Cole McKinney rushed 13 times for 88 yards, followed by Rhead with three carries for 35 yards. Brown added 29 rushing yards, and Werdel chipped in 17 yards on seven carries.

Defensively, DeBoer stood out with eight tackles, one sack, and a forced fumble. Hayden Bialas also had a sack, while Griffin Wiebenga forced a fumble. Werdel and Carter Christensen each recovered two fumbles. Austin Eimers, Wiebenga, and Werdel led the team with five tackles each.

Tea Area, now preparing for their next matchup, will travel to Watertown on Friday, October 11, for a 7 p.m. game. Watertown currently holds a 4-2 record.