TEA, SD – The Sturgis defense bent but it didn’t break, as the Scoopers won their sixth game in a row with a 21-14 first round playoff victory over the Tea Area Titans on Thursday night. The Titans came into the game as the #4 seed, on a two game losing streak. Sturgis earned the #5 seed with a regular season finale win over Spearfish. Tea Area put together a 16 play, 64-yard on their first possession of the game, ending in a one yard Devyn Rhodes touchdown run. The point after kick was good and Tea led 7-0. The Scoopers pieced together a good opening drive of their own, starting at the Sturgis 18-yard line, but turned the ball over on downs when Thiik Lual sacked Austin Flohr for a loss on 4th down. Tea Area punted on their next possession and pinned Sturgis back on their own 18 yard line. A few plays later, Scooper running back Zhoel Irion broke off a 41-yard run to give Sturgis good field position at the Titan 32. Irion finished off the drive with 4:15 left before halftime with a 12-yard touchdown run. Izaak Smith’s kick was good and the score was tied at 7-7 at intermission. Sturgis made a statement after halftime with an eight play, 80-yard drive that took up just over four minutes, culmination with a 37-yard scoring strike from Flohr to Gage West, giving the Scoopers a 14-7 lead. The Titans drove the football to their own 18-yard line early in the fourth quarter, hoping to tie the game with a touchdown. The Sturgis defense held strong on fourth and three, breaking up a Rhodes pass to gain possession of the ball. The Scoopers established the run on the ensuing drive, moving the ball downfield on runs by Irion and Flohr. The Tea Area defense had no answer for Irion as he took a handoff down the middle for a 37-yard touchdown run to give Sturgis a 21-7 lead with 8:56 left. Scooper defensive back Parker Anderson stepped in front of a Rhodes pass on the Titans next drive, picking off the football and stalling another Tea Area drive. Sturgis went three-and-out on their next possession and punted the ball, giving Tea Area good field position at their own 41-yard line. The Titans scored quick, as Rhodes ran the football into end zone with 4:25 left to make the score Sturgis 21, Tea Area 14. The Scoopers kept running the football and burned more than three minutes off the clock. Sturgis had a fourth and short and hoped to seal the game with a first down , but the Titan defense stuffed an Irion run to take over at their own 25-yard line with :47 seconds left. After two incompletions, Tea Area perfectly executed a ‘hook and ladder’ play, moving the ball to the Titan 44. On the next play, Rhodes found receiver Grant McKnelly down the right sideline for a 32-yard completion. Griffin Wiebenga caught another pass and the Titans spiked the ball at the Scooper 12-yard line with :04 seconds left. Devyn Rhodes stepped up into the pocket and tried to hit Lane Sieber in the left corner of the end zone on the game’s final play, but the pass was too high and time ran out on the Titans, giving Sturgis its first ever win over Tea Area and a first round playoff victory. Sturgis (7-3) finished with 336 total yards, 224 on the ground and 113 through the air. Irion continued his rushing prowess, carrying the ball 22 times for 176 yards and two scores. Gage West caught six balls for 91 yards and a touchdown. The Scoopers did not have a turnover and had five penalties for 48 yards. Tea Area wrapped up their season with a 6-4 record, amassing 284 yards of total offense. The Titans had 114 yards rushing and 170 yards passing. Rhodes led Tea Area with 16 carries for 87 yards and two scores. The Titans had one turnover, an interception, and two penalties for 10 yards. Sturgis travels to Hollister Field in Pierre next Friday night as they take on the unbeaten Pierre Governors in the 11AA playoff semifinals.The Govs pummeled Mitchell 47-7 on Thursday night. The other semifinal features the Watertown Arrows at the Yankton Bucks. Share via: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn More