The Sioux Falls Washington Warriors defeated the Brandon Valley Lynx 41-31 in the 11AAA championship game on Saturday night. This is back-to-back titles for the Warriors football program.
Kickoff
Brandon Valley got the ball to start the game, but on the first play, Matt Eigenberg fumbled the football after a 14-yard gain. Washington recovered, and it was 4-yard run by Tupak Kpeayeh to cap off the 34-yard drive for the Warriors.
The Lynx got a turnover midway through the opening quarter, courtesy of Matt Eigenberg, giving Brandon Valley great field possession. Alex Waltner gets a 5-yard touchdown pass to Spencer Grage to tie the game at 7-7.
On the first play of the next Washington drive, Jayden Johannsen threw a 73-yard touchdown pass to Thuro Reisdorfer, which gave the Warriors the lead back, 14-7, with 5:54 to play in the first quarter.
End of 1st Quarter: Sioux Falls Washington 14 Brandon Valley 7
Brandon Valley lessened the margin after Drew Jurgens knocked in a 28-yard field goal.
Washington answered on their next possession finishing an 80-yard drive with a 3-yard touchdown run by Sean Oromo. This gave the Warriors a 21-10 lead over the Lynx at the 8:09 mark in the second quarter.
The Lynx then put together a 92-yard, seven-minute drive. Quarterback Alex Waltner finished it with a 27-yard touchdown run. And with 56-seconds to play in the half, Sioux Falls Washington held onto a slight 21-17 lead.
Halftime: Sioux Falls Washington 21 Brandon Valley 17
Brandon Valley started the scoring in the second half when Waltner completed an 80-yard pass and catch to Wilson Kolbeck. That led to a 7-yard touchdown pass from Waltner to Grage giving the Lynx a 24-21 lead over Washington at the midway point of the third quarter.
Needing a big play, the Warriors rose to the occasion. Logan Uttecht stepped in front of Waltner pass for the interception. Two plays later Kpeayeh exploded through the middle for a 35-yard touchdown. This gave Washington the lead back, 28-24, with 2:31 to play in the third.
The Warriors got the ball back after a Brandon Valley three-and-out. On the next play Kpeayeh fumbled, recovered by the Lynx. Then, Braiden Peterson broke loose for a 39-yard touchdown. With 1:09 to play in the third quarter, Brandon Valley led Washington 31-28.
On the kickoff following the touchdown, Reisdorfer returned it 99-yards for a touchdown, which is an 11-man record for longest kick return. This gave the Warriors a 34-31 lead, due to a missed extra point.
End of 3rd Quarter: Sioux Falls Washington 34 Brandon Valley 31
Late in the game and with the Lynx desperately needing a third down stop, Kpeayeh broke loose for a 38-yard touchdown. That gave Washington a 10-point lead with only 1:31 to play in the game.
Time ran out on the Brandon Valley next possession, sealing the victory for Washington.
Final: Sioux Falls Washington 41 Brandon Valley 31
Tupac Kpeayeh of Washington is the 11AAA Joe Robbie MVP. In the game he had 231 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns.
