Mitchell Kernels Football 2016

KERNELS PATH TO THE

DOME 11AA STATE CHAMPIONSHIP SPECIAL PUBLICATION NOVEMBER 2016

2 • KERNEL FOOTBALL • NOVEMBER 2016

Friday, November 11, 2016

What’s Inside

No. 1 Mitchell Kernels (10-1) vs.

No. 2 Harrisburg Tigers (9-2)

Game Day Preview ............3 Five Items ...........................4

Defense DT: Myles Horton, 12, 6-0, 245 DT: Michael Horton, 12, 6-0, 235 DE: Bryce Geraets, 12, 6-2, 240 DE: Spencer Mohr, 12, 6-4, 245 LB: Carson Max, 10, 6-0, 190 LB: Cody Reichelt, 12, 6-2, 205 LB: Spencer Neugebauer, 12, 6-1, 185 LB: Briggs Havlik, 11, 5-9, 165 DB: Sam Michels, 12, 6-0, 175 DB: Connor Morgan, 12, 6-2,180 S: Jed Schmidt, 12, 5-11 175

Team's Stats .......................6 Season Recap ....................7 Young Leader ...................10

Special Teams P/K: Seth Paulson, 12, 6-0, 160 LS: Spencer Mohr, 12, 6-4, 245

MITCHELL PROJECTED STARTERS (Position, name, year, height, weight) Offense QB: Kiel Nelson, 10, 6-2, 180 RB: Spencer Neugebauer, 12, 6-1, 185

Credits Cover art & Layout design: Jen Phillips/Republic Guide editors: Marcus Traxler/Republic Publisher: Rory Palm/Republic

* Harrisburg’s projected starting lineup wasn’t available when this section went to press.

Kernels going All the Way

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GO KERNELS!!

Kernels vs. Tigers..............2

RB: Sam Michels, 12, 6-0, 175 RB: Carson Max, 10, 6-0, 190 WR: Reed Overweg, 12, 6-2, 180 TE: Cody Reichelt, 12, 6-2, 205 RT: Spencer Mohr, 12, 6-4, 245 RG: Zeb Parsons, 12, 5-11, 230 C: Alex Klingaman, 12, 6-1, 210 LG: Bryce Geraets, 12, 6-2, 240 LT: Chris Corbett, 12, 6-3, 299

WHEN/WHERE: 7 p.m. on Friday at the DakotaDome in Vermillion.

LAST MEETING: Harrisburg defeated Mitchell 27-10 on Aug. 27 in Mitchell.

COACHES: Mitchell’s Kent VanOverschelde, 10th year; Harrisburg’s Brandon White, seventh year.

FORECAST: Dome stadium.

NOTES: Mitchell enters the game against Harrisburg having lost its last four games against the Tigers. The Kernels fell to Harrisburg twice in 2014, once in 2015 and in the first game of the season this year. …Both teams lost in the Class 11AA semifinals last year. … This is Harrisburg’s first-ever Class 11AA state championship appearance and Mitchell is playing in the title game for the first time since 1993.

Harrisburg played in the Class 11A state title game in 2012. … Mitchell is scoring 45.5 points per game and allowing just 13 points per contest, while Harrisburg averages 34 points per game and allows 16 points per contest. … The game will broadcasted on South Dakota Public Broadcasting. … The head official will be Derek Ohme, of Sioux Falls.

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NOVEMBER 2016 • KERNEL FOOTBALL • 3

Kernels, Tigers both after first-ever class 11AA title Mitchell looking to avenge its lone loss this season A familiar foe stands in the way of the Mitchell High School football team’s first playoff-era state championship.

And the Kernels are fine with that.

When the No. 1 Kernels (10-1) and No. 2 Harrisburg Tigers (9-2) clash in the Class 11AA title game at 7 p.m. on Friday at the DakotaDome in Vermillion, a first-ever 11AA champion will be crowned.

Harrisburg, which has won a Class 11B state title, handed the Kernels their lone loss this season

27-10 in both teams’ first game of the season.

Since the season-opening loss, Mitchell has won 10 straight games and sophomore linebacker Carson Max said the Kernels will be looking for revenge as well as a state title.

“We want to show Harrisburg who the real Kernels are,” Max said. “I think we’re a smarter, better team.

We’ve worked our butts off to get here and overall, we’ve gotten better.”

Both teams have changed dramatically since the Aug. 27 meeting, but both teams can also draw positives from that game. Mitchell dominated the first half and earned a 10-0 lead at the break, before Harrisburg

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flipped the script and scored 27 unanswered points for the win.

“We had some good things happening and then the wheels fell off and it was self-inflicting,” said MHS head coach Kent VanOverschelde.

“Having Harrisburg as an opponent, just makes us want it that much more. It’s going to be exciting to play in that atmosphere and that level of a state championship.”

For Harrisburg head coach Brandon White, the Tigers know they’ll have to be ready for a different Mitchell team.

“That’s 10 games ago, everybody is blocking different on schemes and we have some sort of different personnel on offense, defense and special teams,” White said. “It’s almost two completely different teams.”

One aspect that hasn’t changed for the Kernels, is the the team’s rushing attack. Mitchell did most of its damage on the ground against Tigers and have had a historic offensive season. The Kernel offense

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has rushed for 3,694 yards and 59 touchdowns.

“We’re physical up front, we’re going to find a weakness and try to expose it,” said Max, who has 36 carries for 184 yards and two touchdowns. “We’re going to stick to what we know how to do the best.”

Spencer Neugebauer leads the way with 193 carries for 1,955 yards for an average of 10.1 yards per carry and 35 touchdowns. The senior speedster had a 82-yard touchdown run against the Tigers and will be Mitchell’s go-to weapon.

“We have to limit their big plays,” White said. “Spencer is a great running back, but watching the film, a lot of his yards come after contact with kids just missing tackles. We need to have 11 guys rally to the football, we have to play fast and we have to control the line of scrimmage. It’s going to be a tough task, but when we get to him, we have to get him down.”

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By Eric Mayer

The Daily Republic

4 • KERNEL FOOTBALL • NOVEMBER 2016

Five items to watch between the Kernels and Tigers on Friday Friday’s Class 11AA championship game could hinge on a single play favoring either Mitchell or Harrisburg. But for the time being, here’s a few guesses at what are the keys to the game.

IN THE AIR Mitchell had a pretty heady pass defense this season, making 23 interceptions in 11 games and 19 pass breakups. That will be necessary against a talented quarterback-receiver connection in signal-caller Hunter Headlee and receiver Justis Clayton. Headlee has thrown for 1,326 yards this season and completed 50 percent of his passes, tossing 14 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Clayton is the most likely target, catching nine touchdowns this season for more than 500 yards. He averages nearly 27 yards per catch, meaning he’s the big-play threat. The Kernels picked Headlee three times in the first meeting.

ON THE FRONT LINES Friday’s game will involve a pair of offenses that run the ball with one primary running back for more than 1,500 yards on the ground, with Mitchell going to Spencer Neugebauer and Harrisburg’s Jack Anderson running up 1,541 yards.

Opponents have ran for about 130 yards per game against the Harrisburg front and Mitchell has only had one game where they’ve run for less than 200 yards this

season: 166 against Harrisburg in the season opener.

A potential advantage for the Kernels is their run game is a bit more diverse, even with Neugebauer getting the bulk of the carries. Five players on the Kernels’ team have at least 35 carries for the season, while Anderson and Headlee are the two main runners for the Tigers, with a combined 380 carries.

THE KICKING GAME Mitchell has been quite steady in the kicking game

behind senior Seth Paulson, who has hit five field goals this season, including one from 44 yards and is 63-for-66 on extra point tries. Inside a domed stadium, the Kernels will have a legitimate weapon if they’re stalled out inside the redzone.

For the Tigers, they haven’t had a kicker hit a field goal all season and have made 80 percent of their extra point attempts. Both teams average less than 30 yards per punt, while Harrisburg has not returned a kickoff for a touchdown all season.

The Kernels head out onto the field for the start of their game against Yankton earlier in the season at Joe Quintal Field in Mitchell. (Matt Gade/Republic)

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PRESSURE THE QUARTERBACK Mitchell will have to get to the quarterback to pressure Headlee, who has the ability to pick apart the Kernels. The Kernels have shown an ability to get pressure in a variety of ways and that will be necessary against a strong offense, averaging three sacks per game. If Mitchell can meet that total or surpass it, the black and gold will be in good shape.

The Tigers were 5-of-10 on third downs in the first meeting and Harrisburg hits on 39 percent of their third-down chances. If Mitchell can get off the field on defense when they get the chance, it will lift momentum for the Kernels on both sides of the ball.

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SOMETHING HAS TO GIVE Both of these teams have scored a bunch and allowed very little this season. Mitchell is scoring 45.5 points per game and allowing just 13 points per contest. Harrisburg averages 34 points per game and allows 16 points per contest but have won by 38- and 54-point margins in the last two playoff games.

An indoor game on a fast track might very well lead to a highscoring shootout between a pair of teams looking for their first 11AA titles in the playoff era. Or maybe nothing will give until the very end: the last two Class 11AA championship games -- both won

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The Daily Republic

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By Marcus Traxler

From Page 3

Sophomore quarterback Kiel Nelson did not start against Harrisburg and had helped guide the Kernels to 10 wins this season.

Nelson is 22-of-44 for 551 yards passing and nine touchdowns, while adding 182 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

Mitchell is averaging 45.5 points per game and allowing just 13 points per contest but the Kernels allowed a season-high 27 points against the Tigers earlier this season. Harrisburg averages 34 points per game and passed for 197 yards against the Kernels. Tiger quarterback Hunter Headlee has completed 75 of 150 passes for 1,326 yards and 14 touchdowns this season, while adding 605 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground. The dual-threat junior quarterback poses a number of challenges for the Kernel defense.

“They have multiple formations and lots of sets,” VanOverschelde said. “The key is going to be alignment first and then execution and our tackling.”

Headlee’s top target has been Justis Clayton, who has 22 catches for 544

NOVEMBER 2016 • KERNEL FOOTBALL • 5

Mitchell’s Gregory Guthrie (52) chases down Harrisburg’s Hunter Headlee (12) for a loss during a game on August 29, 2016 at Joe Quintal Field in Mitchell. (Matt Gade/Republic)

VanOverschelde acknowledged Harrisburg’s second half success rate and said his team will focus on playing its style.

“It’s going to be a good one and we hope to be in a position to win the fourth quarter,” VanOverschelde said. “We’ve played best when we have a lead. We want to score quick and allow our defense to settle in.

Then we let our offense do what it does, grind it out and put the points up.”

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If recent history is any indication, the game could be determined in the final moments or possibly overtime.

The past two Class 11AA state championship games were decided by one point each in overtime with Yankton pulling out narrow victories in each contest.

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yards and nine touchdowns.

Jonah Rasmussen has 19 catches for 219 yards and one touchdown, while running back Jack Anderson has 188 carries for 1,541 yards and 17 touchdowns. Anderson has nine catches for 126 yards and one touchdown and White said he expects his offense remained balanced.

“I don’t know if we need to throw the ball more, but just at the right time,” White said. “We still need to run the football, but we have to balanced. We are going to have to use our passing game to our benefit and hopefully make some big plays with it.”

Throughout the season, Mitchell has won many games by racing to a large lead and bleeding the clock throughout the second half with its rushing attack. Harrisburg has found itself in closer contests only to pull away in the second half and White said the Tigers tend to settle down in the second half, just like they did against the Kernels.

“Resiliency, that’s one word that comes to mind,” White said about his team. “We’ve been in some tough spots at halftime and our kids have responded. We’re not going to back down.”

6 • KERNEL FOOTBALL • NOVEMBER 2016

TEAM STATS

Mitchell Kernels Yards 1955 629 422 184 182 112 101 58 33 30 4 1 4 -1 -6 -11

Completions Attempts 22 44 6 18 1 2

Receiving Cody Reichelt Spencer Neugebauer Reed Overweg Connor Morgan Sam Michels Tate Larson

Catches 10 8 4 4 2 1

Yards 223 204 58 82 12 2

Defense Cody Reichelt Briggs Havlik Carson Max Spencer Neugebauer Jed Schmidt Kyle Foote Damian Krogman Sam Michels Drew Kitchens Gregory Guthrie Jordan Dirkes Levi Winne Max Schoenfelder Logan Rietveld Tate Larson Michael Horton Jarod Uher Connor Morgan Dylan Krogman Jared Street Seth Paulson Carter Max Tegan Alm Reed Overweg Bryce Geraets Peyton Olson Spencer Morgan Myles Horton Austin Jennings Jose Tovar Lalo Reyes Oliver Rolandi Zach Mohr Trevor Kerr Michael Loudner Landon Huls Spencer Mohr Kaden Soukup Sabastian Antaya Logan Sparks Zeb Parsons Koby Larson

Tackles 94 87 66 59 52 43 41 32 28 16 15 14 12 12 12 12 11 11 11 10 8 8 6 6 6 5 5 5 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 2 2 2 2 1 1 1

TFL 15.5 16.5 6.5 11 2 16 10.5 3 1 4 0 3 0 4 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Avg 10.1 6.9 6.5 5.1 4.8 4.7 5.6 58 8.3 4.3 0.8 1.0 0.2 -1.0 -0.5 -2.2

Long 85 55 42 35 68 30 20 58 14 27 7 1 2 0 0 2

TD 35 8 5 2 3 1 1 1 1 1 0

Yards 551 28 2

TD 9 0 0

Int. 5 1 0

Avg 22.3 25.5 14.5 20.5 6.0 2.0

Long 60 58 32 42 10 2

TD 4 4 0 1 0 0

Sacks 2.5 1.5 1.5 4.5 0 8.0 3.5 0 0 4.0 0 0 0 3.0 0 2.0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Int. 2 0 1 4 5 0 0 4 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

WAY TO GO KERNELS! GOOD LUCK!

FF 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

FR 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Kicking Seth Paulson

0 0 0 0

PAT att/made 63/66

0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0

Long 44

Attempts 7 4 4 3 3 2 2 2 1 1 1

Yards 143 97 42 26 59 0 0 0 33 15 15

Avg 20.4 24.3 10.5 8.7 19.7 0 0 0 33 15 15

Long 27 29 17 13 33 0 0 0 33 15 15

TD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Punt returns Sam Michels Jed Schmidt Damian Krogman Jordan Dirkes

Attempts 11 6 1 1

Yards 162 100 15 30

Avg 14.7 16.7 15 30

Long 39 44 15 30

TD 0 1 0 0

Avg 8.20 3.15 7.14 7.94 4.63

Long 80 34 36 33 20

TD 17 10 2 3 2

Yards 1,326 11 6

TD 14 0 1 Long 81 36 75 43

Harrisburg Tigers Rushing Jack Anderson Hunter Headlee Curstin Conway Jack Rabern Sam Loos Passing Hunter Headlee Troy Knecht Lucas Koolstra

Carries 188 192 37 16 19

Yards 1,541 605 264 127 88

Completions Attempts 75 150 1 2 1 1

Receiving Justis Clayton Jonah Rasmussen Jack Anderson Sam Loos

Catches 21 19 9 7

Yards 564 219 126 104

Avg 26.9 11.53 14.0 14.86

Defense Logan Warzecha Michael Curry Gage Anderson Curstin Conway Sam Loos Tanner Johnson Brock Harris Jackson Garnes Tanner Kippes Peyton Voss Lucas Koolstra Nick Schriado Cole Teigen Cade Bruggeman Jonah Rasmussen Noah Hovorka Michael Hybertson

Tackles 83 74 47 43 32 29 28 27 23 21 21 15 15 14 7 7 5

TFL 2 6 9 3 7 8 1 0 5 0 1 0 0 0 1 2 1

Sacks 1 1 5 0 2 4 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1

Kicking Mallek Nour Kickoff returns Jack Anderson Sam Loos Nick Schriado

PAT att/made 36/45 Attempts 14 3 2

Field goal att/made 0/0 Yards 256 21 17

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Int. 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Int. 11 0 0 TD 9 1 1 2

FF 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

FR 0 2 1 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0

Long 0 Avg 18.29 7.00 8.5

Long 43 12 11

TD 0 0 0

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Passing Kiel Nelson Chris Wahlen Jordan Dirkes

Carries 193 91 65 36 38 24 18 1 4 7 4 1 4 1 1 5

1 1 1 1

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Rushing Spencer Neugebaue Sam Michels Drew Kitchens Carson Max Kiel Nelson Logan Sparks Max Schoenfelder Taylor Reichelt Tate Larson Jordan Dirkes Sabastian Antaya Jarod Uher Austin Jenning Trevor Harms Jed Schmidt Chris Wahlen

Chris Corbett Reese Sievert Mathew Lambert Trevor Harms

NOVEMBER 2016 • KERNEL FOOTBALL • 7

Kernels’ season at a glance

Mitchell rolls into title game with a 10-game winning streak

By The Daily Republic A loss. And then 10 straight wins.

The Mitchell Kernel football team has had quite the season and below is a game-by-game look at how it all unfolded: HARRISBURG 27, MITCHELL 10: AN EARLY LETDOWN In what was the ultimate tale of two halves, Mitchell let a 10-0 halftime lead slip away in a 27-10 loss on Aug. 27, a Saturday-night debut of the Kernel Bowl event.

The Kernels built an early lead thanks to a touchdown run from Spencer Neugebauer from 82 yards out and a Seth Paulson field goal of 28 yards, seemingly putting Mitchell in position to take down the Tigers after three losses in the previous two seasons.

Harrisburg quarterback Hunter Headlee led the Tiger comeback. The junior went 10-of-19 passing for 197 yards with two touchdowns, three interceptions and added a six-yard touchdown run. Jack Anderson also added a 45-yard touchdown run against a depleted Kernel defense that saw a number of starters miss large parts of the second half to leg cramps.

MITCHELL 35, YANKTON 6: WINNING FEELING There wasn’t a better opponent for Mitchell to bounce back against than the top-ranked and two-time defending state champion Yankton Bucks. The Kernels rebounded from their season-opening loss with a 35-6 win over the Bucks, as Spencer Neugebauer recorded 179 rushing

yards and three touchdowns and added a receiving touchdown in the win on Sept. 2.

Sophomore quarterback Kiel Nelson, younger brother of current SDSU freshman quarterback Kanin Nelson, got his first varsity start under center. In his first career win, Nelson went for 4-of-8 passing for 28 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions.

After posting a first-half shutout then allowing 27 points, Mitchell’s defense dominated Yankton, holding the Bucks to 142 yards and only six points.

MITCHELL 17, WATERTOWN 7: HISTORIC WIN It was a win 25 years in the making, as Mitchell beat Watertown 17-7 in Watertown for the first time since 1991 on Sept. 9. Boosted by another strong defensive performance and a pair of Spencer Neugebauer touchdowns, the Kernels improved to 2-1 on the season with an impressive win over a Class 11AAA foe.

The Kernels forced five Arrow turnovers (four interceptions and one fumble) and held the Watertown rushing attack to 38 yards.

Neugebauer totaled 182 rushing yards, including an 85-yard touchdown run, while adding an interception and a touchdown-saving tackle in the fourth quarter.

Mitchell picked up its first road win of the season and racked up 259 yards of offense.

The defense, which adopted the motto “all gas, no brake,” had only allowed 13 points in the last eight quarters and

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MITCHELL 68, STURGIS 8: FIREPOWER OUT WEST Mitchell scored 41 points on 18 offensive plays in the first half and earned a commanding 68-8 victory over the Sturgis Scoopers on Sept. 16. Seven different Kernels scored touchdowns, while Spencer Neugebauer had three rushing touchdowns and one receiving touchdown and finished with 88 rushing yards on five carries in one half of action.

Sophomore Drew Kitchens led the Mitchell rushing attack with 129 yards and one touchdown, while Logan Sparks, Max Schoenfelder and Tate Larson each scored one rushing touchdown in the win. The Kernels recorded RECAP: Page 8 Mitchell’s Seth Paulson (1) kicks the football at a game earlier in the season at Joe Quintal Field in Mitchell.

(Matt Gade/Republic)

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8 • KERNEL FOOTBALL • NOVEMBER 2016

RECAP From Page 7

400 yards of rushing and held Sturgis to 103 yards of offense. Kiel Nelson went 5-for-5 passing for 64 yards and two touchdowns.

Mitchell improved to 3-1 and saw its defense hold an opponent under 10 points for the third straight game.

Good Luck Mitchell Kernels!

MITCHELL 55, BROOKINGS 20: BOBCAT BREAKTHROUGH Mitchell racked up 519 rushing yards and shutout Brookings in the second half to record a 55-20 win on Oct. 7 in Brookings. The Bobcats took an early 7-0 on the Kernels in the first quarter. It was the first time the Kernels had trailed in a game since the season opener, but the Kernels

rallied with scoring runs of 50 yards or more from Sam Michels and

Spencer Neugebauer and Mitchell led 34-20 at halftime.

Neugebauer had 236 rushing yards and four touchdowns, while Michels added 119 yards and one touchdown. Kiel Nelson had a 68-yard touchdown run and had a 32-yard touchdown RECAP: Page 9

Mitchell’s Tayler Reichelt (43) celebrates the Kernels 55-20 win over Spearfish on September 24, 2016 at Joe Quintal Field in Mitchell.

(Matt Gade/Republic)

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MITCHELL 55, SPEARFISH 20: HOMECOMING VICTORY It was another dominating first half for Mitchell, which scored 55 unanswered points on the way to a 55-20 homecoming game victory on Sept. 23.

The Kernels outgained the Spartans 321-86 in the first half, scoring six touchdowns in the second quarter.

Spencer Neugebauer finished the game with 158 rushing yards on 10 carries and four touchdowns, while Sam Michels added one touchdown and Jed Schmidt had a 30-yard interception return for a touchdown. Drew Kitchens added two rushing touchdowns as Mitchell finished the game with 346 yards of offense in the win.

After the defensive starters shutout the Spartans in the first half, Spearfish scored 20 points in the second half. Kyle Foote led the Kernel defense with eight tackles, three tackles for loss and one sack.

MITCHELL 28, SIOUX FALLS LINCOLN 7: DEFENSIVE STAND In Kent VanOverschelde’s 10 years coaching the Mitchell High School football team, the Kernels were winless when playing in Sioux Falls.

With a stout defensive showing Sept. 30 at Howard Wood Field, the Kernels downed Lincoln 28-7.

Mitchell led 21-0 at halftime thanks to three Spencer Neugebauer touchdowns. The senior running back had a pair of two-yard touchdown runs and scored on a 55-yard pass from Kiel Nelson. He finished the game with carries for 122 yards and three rushing touchdowns, while Sam Michels added 67 yards and Nelson chipped in 39 yards on the ground.

Mitchell’s defense recorded eight sacks and three interceptions against the Patriots. DJ Krogman had seven tackles and three tacks, while Cody Reichelt had two interceptions and Michels had one. The Kernels improved to 5-1 and earned wins their fifth-straight game and third-straight road game.

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NOVEMBER 2016 • KERNEL FOOTBALL • 9

RECAP

Krogman and Michels each had an interception for the Kernels, who improved to 7-1.

From Page 8

pass to Cody Reichelt in the win. Mitchell outscored Brookings 21-0 in the second half.

On defense, Reichelt led Mitchell with 15 tackles, while Neugebauer added 11 tackles and an interception. Briggs Havlik finished with nine tackles, Carson Max added eight and Michels had four tackles and one interception as Mitchell improved to 6-1 on the season.

MITCHELL 42, PIERRE 13: REVENGE Facing the team that ended its season the year before, Mitchell didn’t waste anytime jumping all over the Pierre Governors. The Kernels raced out to a 42-0 lead after three quarters and earned a 42-13 win on Oct. 14 at Joe Quintal Field in Mitchell.

A Sam Michels interception jumpstarted the Kernel offense, which scored touchdowns on six consecutive drives to build its 42-0 lead.

The Kernels outgained the Governors 382-139 on Senior Night, as Spencer Neugebauer had 27 carries for 197 yards and four touchdowns.

Sophomore quarterback Kiel Nelson connected with Cody Reichelt on three passes for 80 yards, including a 34-yard touchdown and finished the game 3-of-5 passing.

The Kernel defense shut down Pierre quarterback Peyton Zabel, who went 6-of-16 passing for 20 yards and one interception. Reichelt finished the game with a team-high 10 tackles, while Logan Rietveld and Jared Street each added four tackles. Rietveld also had a sack, while Dylan

MITCHELL 59, HURON 0: BLANKED For the first time in decades, the rivalry game between the Kernels and Tigers had much more on the line than just pride, with the Kernels and Huron both ranked in the top-3 of the Class 11AA poll. It couldn’t have been more one-sided, in a 59-0 contest.

But it was all Mitchell from the start, scoring on its first eight possessions of the first half and running up a 56-0 halftime lead. The offensive explosion began on the first possession when sophomore quarterback Kiel Nelson hit senior Spencer Neugebauer for a 58-yard touchdown pass on the game’s first third down. Nelson found Connor Morgan on the next drive for a 22-yard scoring strike and Spencer Neugebauer scored four rushing touchdowns in the second quarter, as part of a 266-yard rushing day on 15 carries.

Sam Michels had 83 yards rushing and Mitchell ran for 473 yards on 47 carries in the win.

Huron was hampered by the injury of quarterback Hyland Heinz in the first half and mustered just 173 yards of offense.

MITCHELL 79, STURGIS 22: PLAYOFF VICTORY Mitchell homecoming king Tayler Reichelt scored the final touchdown on a 58-yard run in one of the Kernels’ most memorable moments of the 2016 season. Reichelt’s touchdown run, aided

by Sturgis head coach Chris Koletzky and the Scoopers, was the icing on the cake for Mitchell’s

79-22 Class 11AA first-round playoff win on Oct. 27 at Joe Quintal Field.

Spencer Neugebauer had 101 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns as Mitchell recorded 476 yards of total offense with 374 on the ground and 102 in the air. Kiel Nelson went 2-of-3 passing for 102 yards and one touchdown -- a 60-yard strike to Cody Reichelt.

Defensively for Mitchell, Briggs Havlik had 11 tackles and a fumble recovery, while Reichelt had seven tackles and a forced fumble.

The Kernels extended their winning streak to nine games and improved to 9-1, setting up a semifinal rematch with Pierre, which knocked off Douglas 35-7.

MITCHELL 52, PIERRE 14: DOME BOUND Spencer Neugebauer rushed for a school-record 325 yards and had four touchdowns as Mitchell booked its first trip to the Class 11AA state championship game since 1993 with a 52-14 win over Pierre on Nov. 4 at Joe Quintal Field. Mitchell jumped out to a 17-0 lead and held a 24-7 halftime advantage against the Governors.

Mitchell gained 424 yards of offense, all on the ground, in the win, as Sam Michels added 77 rushing yards and one touchdown.

Defensively, Briggs Havlik led the Kernels with 12 tackles and one sack, while Cody Reichelt added eight tackles and Kyle Foote chipped in six tackles and three sacks. Jed Schmidt had two interceptions, while Kiel Nelson and Drew Kitchens each added rushing touchdowns in the fourth quarter for the Kernels.

Mitchell’s Kiel Nelson (3) fires a pass downfield while getting protection from his offensive line during the first round of the Class 11AA state playoffs at Joe Quintal Field in Mitchell. (Matt Gade/Republic)

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10 • KERNEL FOOTBALL • NOVEMBER 2016

Kiel Nelson pilots Kernels to victories

Sophomore maturing quickly to lead high-powered offense

By Marcus Traxler The Daily Republic

As a starting quarterback, Kiel Nelson doesn’t yet know what it’s like to lose.

He’s not expecting that to change on Friday, either.

Nelson, who took over as the team’s starter in week two’s game against Yankton, has won each of the 10 games he’s started for the Kernels. He is the first to admit that he’s only part of the success and credits his linemen and running game for making his job a bit easier.

“There’s so much focus this week,” he said. “We’re just settling in, getting ready for a good Harrisburg team. It’s an exciting game to be playing.”

Nelson has passed at 50 percent, 22-for-44 for the season for 551 yards, with nine touchdowns and five interceptions. Mitchell coach Kent VanOverschelde said the improvements Nelson has made over the course of the season have been vast.

“You can see it in his efficiency and his ability to run the offense, his understanding of it,” VanOverschelde said. “It really has, from the beginning, been really seamless in our transition.”

Nelson said he can tell he has matured from the start of his season, which began with an interception against Yankton.

“Well, I guess I’ve just matured over the season pretty good,” he said. “I could only go up from there. I put a lot of trust in my guys and I know they can get it done.”

But in an offense that runs the ball for more than seven yards per carry, Nelson knows where the Kernels’ bread is buttered.

“We know we can run the ball. I mean, we have Spencer Neugebauer,” he said, laughing. “I don’t know what more I can say about him. And we have a lot of guys that are right there with him.”

VanOverschelde said he was impressed with quickly Nelson took hold of the offense.

“The learning curve wasn’t as large as we thought it would be,” VanOverschelde said. “He brought about a presence about him that was really confident.”

Mitchell offensive coordinator Joe Kramer said Nelson has the tools to throw the ball and be successful but is in an offense where the Kernels don’t need to air it out.

“It’s a situation where it’s probably a disadvantage to Kiel to have me as the offensive coordinator,” Kramer said.

“I’m a run-oriented guy. We’re not going to throw it much, but when we do throw it, we want to be successful … He doesn’t get a lot of opportunities, but we know he can do it. We’ve seen him do it.”

Nelson said the team’s success is proof that the work in the offseason paid off.

“I can’t say there’s been anything special but we just work our butts off every single day,” he said.

Mitchell quarterback Kiel Nelson runs the ball during a game Oct. 20 at Huron. (Matt Gade/Republic)

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NOVEMBER 2016 • KERNEL FOOTBALL • 11

Mitchell’s Tayler Reichelt (43) is hoisted up by his teammates after scoring a 58-yard touchdown score during a game in the first round of the Class 11AA state playoffs at Joe Quintal Field in Mitchell. (Matt Gade/Republic)

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12 • KERNEL FOOTBALL • NOVEMBER 2016

The Mitchell High School football team runs onto the field at a game earlier in the season at Joe Quintal Field. (Matt Gade/Republic)

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