On Monday, Nov. 2, the SCW Lady Blackhawks played in their first round of the Region 6 Tournament in Forestburg against the Mitchell Christian Golden Eagles. SCW came out on top and won in three sets, which advanced them to the second round on Tuesday night. Monday’s scores were 25-22, 25-14 and 25-15.

The next night, the ladies traveled to Colman to take on the Colman-Egan Hawks with hopes of advancing to the Region Championship from there. SCW had to play without their head coach, Dayna Rodriguez, an assistant coach, Bailey Moody, and without their starting middle hitter, senior Cassidy Slykhuis. The coaches were in quarantine due to COVID-19, and Slykhuis injured her knee in Monday’s game against Mitchell Christian.

SCW fought hard and played some great volleyball, but the C-E Hawks proved to be too much for the girls, and the Lady Blackhawks suffered their final loss of the season. The sets scores were 18-25, 15-25 and 19-25.

The Lady Blackhawks Volleyball team ended their season with a record of 9-13. Things were different with the pandemic going on, but they are very thankful that they got to have a full season, and they look forward to a promising season next year with many young girls ready to step up and fill positions.

…Read details and see pictures of the games at this week’s issue of the Sanborn Weekly Joural!

The Woonsocket/Wessington Springs/Sanborn Central Blackhawks (WWSSC) were defeated by undefeated Bridgewater-Emery/Ethan (BEE) in the 11B State Quarterfinals last Thursday in Bridgewater. BEE defeated WWSSC by a score of 42-6 and will move on to face undefeated Mobridge-Pollock on Friday, Nov. 6.

Both teams entered with similar team philosophies, run the football and play physical defense. The Seahawks’ senior heavy line paved the way on both sides of the ball. The veteran BEE team handled the upset-minded Blackhawks and controlled the pace of the game.

The Seahawks marched down the field on the opening drive of the game. However, Koby Kayser fumbled the ball at the goal line, and Carter Grohs recovered it in the end zone for a touchback. The Blackhawks were unable to get a first down and were forced to punt. The next possession for BEE saw QB Kaden Klumb run 11 yards for the first score of the game to take the lead. 

After a 40-yard kick return by Clay Olinger, the Blackhawks were close to midfield. The next play resulted in a botched snap that was recovered by the Seahawks. They converted the turnover into quick points finished by Kayser running in from 27 yards out. The PAT made it 14-0 after the first quarter.

The second quarter saw BEE score twice more with a Brodie Burnham 3-yard run, and a Kayser 9-yard run. Trailing 28-0, the Blackhawks forced a Seahawk punt with 35 seconds left in the half. BEE would muff the punt, and WWSSC was in possession at BEE’s 27-yard line. With under 30 seconds left, Tryce Slykhuis hit Clay Olinger on a flat route that ended with the ball inside the BEE 10. Slykhuis then scrambled from 7 yards out to the end zone with four seconds left to make the score at half 28-6.

Hoping to gain momentum, WWSSC stalled out on the first drive and were forced to punt. BEE picked up where they left off and Kayser would add on a 33-yard run. Burnham would tack on another scoring run from 3 yards out at the end of the third. The final quarter saw no score, and the game ended 42-6.

The Blackhawks’ offense was stymied throughout the game by the Seahawk defense and were outgained 68-388 in total yards. Both teams committed two turnovers, but BEE converted theirs into 14 points. Olinger led the team with 21 rushing yards and 20 receiving yards.

Defensively, WWSSC was paced by Quinten Christensen’s eight tackles and one sack. Toby Kneen and Brady Larson each finished with six total tackles. Larson also added a sack.

Bridgewater-Emery/Ethan moved to 10-0, while Woonsocket/Wessington Springs/Sanborn Central finish the season 7-3.

…See photos in this week’s issue of the Sanborn Weekly Journal! 

On Monday, Oct. 26, the SCW volleyball team traveled to Howard for a rescheduled game, and it turned out to be worth the drive for the Lady Blackhawks. The seventh grade started by winning their game in three sets with scores of 21-10, 11-21 and 21-17. The eighth grade followed and ended their game in a tie with set scores of 21-19 and 26-28. 

Up next was the C-team, and SCW continued to win with set scores of 25-11 and 25-13. 

The junior varsity had to go to three sets, but the Lady Blackhawks prevailed again with set scores of 25-21, 22-25 and 15-7. 

The varsity girls lost their marathon of a first set with a score of 31-33, but they then went on to win the next three sets and take the match from the Howard Tigers. Other set scores were 25-19, 25-23 and 25-15. 

The last regular-season game for SCW was on Tuesday, Oct. 27 in Plankinton against the Mt. Vernon/Plankinton Titans. The night started with the seventh grade winning with set scores of 28-26 and 15-10. The eighth graders won their game, as well, with set scores of 27-25 and 25-18. 

The C-team followed with a loss in two sets. Set scores were 15-25 and 12-25.

The junior varsity fought a tough battle but ended up short and added a loss to their record in three sets. Set scores were 18-25, 25-22 and 11-15.

The varsity ladies started their post season play this week against Mitchell Christian on Monday, Nov. 2, in Forestburg for the first round of Region play. The region tournament continued on Tuesday, with the winner from Monday’s game traveling to Colman to go up against the Colman-Egan Hawks to advance to the Region Championship game to be played on Thursday, Nov. 5. Results will be in next week’s issue of the Sanborn Weekly Journal.

…See pictures and details about the games in this week’s issue of the Sanborn Weekly Journal!