Brandon Valley defeated Sioux Falls Washington 28-22 on Saturday night to win the Class 11AAA state football championship.
The Lynx received to start the game. They took over five-minutes off the clock on their opening drive and got on the board with a two-yard touchdown run by Jesse Steffel. This put Brandon Valley up 7-0 over the Warriors.
Washington put together a solid drive on their opening offensive possession of the game, but it came to an abrupt halt when Ethan Tellinghuisen picked off a Jayden Johannsen pass, giving the ball back to the Lynx.
This led to a 14-yard touchdown pass from Thomas Scholten to Carter Olthoff to give Brandon Valley a 14-0 lead with 2:28 to play in the opening campaign.
End of the first quarter: Brandon Valley 14 Washington 0
The Warriors got on the board early in the second quarter with a one-yard touchdown run by Tupak Kpeayeh. After a missed extra-point attempt, the Lynx still led 14-6.
Washington would score again with less than one-minute to play in the second quarter when Johannsen found Gabe Person for a 4-yard touchdown. Brandon Valley still held a slight 14-13 lead going into the intermission.
Halftime: Brandon Valley 14 Washington 13
Sioux Falls Washington received to start the second half of play, but a fumble a few plays into the drive by Kpeayeh gave the Lynx possession inside Warrior territory.
Brandon Valley would capitalize on the turnover, as Scholten would find his tight end Cole Siegfried for a 10-yard touchdown.
The Warriors would then turn the ball over on their next possession when Johannsen was intercepted for the second time in the game. This turnover would also turn into points for the Lynx as Tate Johnson took it in from the one-yard line. This gave Brandon Valley a 28-13 lead with 2:53 to play in the third quarter.
End of the third quarter: Brandon Valley 28 Washington 13
With 11:14 to play in the game, the Warriors tightened the gap. Johannsen found Anderson for the second time in the game, this time from four-yards away. The extra-point bounced off the post keeping it a two-possession game at 28-19.
Brandon Valley then had a drive stall, which gave the ball back to Washington. The Warriors were then able to add a 19-yard field goal from Freddy Frederic, which made it a 28-22 game in favor of Brandon Valley with 4:45 remaining.
Washington was able to get the ball back with roughly two minutes to play, but the Lynx defense held, forcing a turnover on downs. Time would expire, sealing the state championship for Brandon Valley.
Final: Brandon Valley 28 Washington 22
This is the first state championship for the Lynx since 1998 and their first in Class 11AAA.
Joe Robbie MVP: Thomas Scholten (Brandon Valley)
Outstanding Lineman: Jack Harvison (Brandon Valley)
Outstanding Back: Carter Olthoff (Brandon Valley)
