A strong rushing attack propelled Herreid-Selby Area to victory on Friday.

The Wolverines rushed past Britton-Hecla for a 46-14 non-conference win to conclude the regular season at Dacotah Bank Stadium.

Herreid-Selby Area coach Clayton Randall said a balanced running game was the goal heading into the game.

“Balance for us is kind of what we want to hang our hat on,” Randall said. “The past few years we’ve had a real top tier back, you know, everybody knows he’s getting the ball. Now with three guys, we hope those three guys can do what he did last year, and tonight was like the best example we’ve had.”

The Wolverines struggled early on to establish the running game, while Britton-Hecla moved the football. However, Herreid-Selby Area scored the first points of the game on a Houston Hauge 3-yard run late in the first quarter, putting the Wolverines up 8-0.

The Braves answered back early in the second with a Jace Rein 5-yard touchdown run of their own, cutting the deficit to 8-6. However, it was all Herreid-Selby Area from there.

“I think we just kind of hit a rut,” Britton-Hecla coach Jacob Skogstad said. “We turned the ball over, they went down and scored, and then we answered. We scored right away, and then I think they just took our soul with a long drive. It just seemed like that was happening every drive they had the football.”

That long Herreid-Selby Area drive resulted in a Wayde Grage touchdown pass to Trevor Gill, chewing up over four minutes of clock. Randall said his team’s experience began to kick in during the second quarter.

“I think our guys decided that we’ve been here before,” Randall said. “We’ve played a lot of football the last four years, and I think our guys that are seniors kind of flipped the switch, and we started turning three yard runs into five, and we kind of controlled the game the entire second half.”

The Wolverines’ rushing attack was led by Hauge, who finished with 134 yards and two touchdowns. The sophomore said an alteration in the team’s mindset helped get the running game going.

“I think the main thing that really changed is our attitude,” Hauge said. “We came from a team that’s been pretty good for the past couple of years, and some people doubt us. That gives us a pretty big boost of energy, and I think that’s what kind of puts it in gear and makes us go a little bit harder.”

The defense also got involved in the scoring for the Wolverines late in the first half as eighth-grader Porter Gregg intercepted a pass and took it to the end zone, giving Herreid-Selby Area a 22-6 lead at the break.

Randall credited the defensive scheme that allowed Gregg to make the play.

“It was a huge play,” Randall said. “I’m going to put that one on the coaching scheme, having our guy in the right spot, and we had guys over the top so the deep ball’s not there.”

In the second half, Herreid-Selby Area was able to control the ball and chew up the clock with the running of Hauge, Gregg, and fullback Mason Vetter, while limiting the Braves’ possessions.

“I think our run game is definitely our most effective because our quarterback is young and we’ve got a young backfield and a somewhat experienced fullback,” Hauge said. “We make our way.”

Meanwhile, Britton-Hecla struggled to get its offense in rhythm, which allowed the pressure to build mentally for the Braves.

“I think it just got to a point where we were forcing a little bit too much,” Skogstad said. “We fell behind. They did a really good job of managing the clock, so we had to force it to try to keep scoring points and stay in the football game. Anytime you turn the ball over four times and you don’t force any turnovers, you’re not going to win a lot of football games like that.”

Hauge added another touchdown run in the third quarter, while Vetter and Cole Zabel each added touchdowns in the final period. Vetter finished with 82 yards rushing, while Gregg added 48 yards on the ground.

For Britton-Hecla (5-3), Jaxon Zuehlke passed for 71 yards. Bryce Hawkinson rushed for 161 yards, while Graham Fosness added a touchdown run.

The Braves will now focus on making corrections to prepare for the first round of the Class 9AA playoffs.

“I think we’ve just got to execute better. We saw a lot of good things offensively,” Skogstad said. “Got to be more physical at the point of attack defensively, and just execute. Football is a game of execution, and we didn’t execute tonight.”

Herreid-Selby Area, which has played in three state championship games in the last four seasons, will look to once again be in contention for another trip to the title game. Hauge says it will take attitude to make another deep playoff run.

“Our attitude is our big mood swing,” Hauge said. “We’re definitely a second-half team too, as people can probably tell. We like to start off slow and start pumping the train a little bit and keep going. Usually at the end of the game, we come out on top.”

Randall said it will take a team performance like Friday’s to make another trip to the DakotaDome a reality.

“Tonight’s the closest we’ve been to playing the kind of football that we need to play to make one of those runs,” Randall said. “So now, with everybody zero and zero, the fun begins.”

Herreid-Selby Area (7-2) 8 14 8 16 – 46

Britton-Hecla (5-3) 0 6 8 0 – 14

First Quarter

HSA – Houston Hauge 3 run (Hauge run), 0:29

Second Quarter

BH – Jace Rein 5 run, 10:42

HSA – Trevor Gill 18 pass from Wayde Grage (Hauge run), 6:18

HSA – Porter Gregg interception return, 1:42

Third Quarter

HSA – Hauge 18 run (Hauge run), 7:41

BH – Graham Fosness 2 run (Daniel Person pass from Jaxon Zuehlke), 4:59

Fourth Quarter

HSA – Cole Zabel 13 pass from Grage (Zabel pass from Grage), 10:23

HSA – Mason Vetter 14 run (Zabel run), 2:44

OFFENSE: Herreid-Selby Area, rushing 51-274 (Hauge 22-134, Vetter 11-82, Gregg 13-48), passing 7-10-0 for 92 (Grage 7-10-0 for 92), receiving (Zabel 2-39, Gill 2-27); Britton-Hecla, rushing 33-216 (Bryce Hawkinson 17-161), passing 2-11-3 for 71 (Zuehlke 2-10-3 for 71), receiving (Bennett Suther 1-43, Rein 1-28).

DEFENSE: Herreid-Selby Area, Gregg interception, Vetter interception, Grage interception, Collin Tisdall fumble recovery.