Bulldogs Face West Central in First Round Playoffs

The Milbank Area Bulldogs have secured a spot in the Class 11A high school football playoffs. The Bulldogs will travel to Hartford on Thursday, October 29, to face the West Central Trojans in the opening quarterfinal round. The Dawgs secured the number six seed with a 6-3 overall record. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

“The guys set a goal at the beginning of the season of making the playoffs. I am excited to see them reach it,” stated Bulldog head football coach Jeremy Tostenson. “We will face a good team, but we are excited for the opportunity and look forward to the task at hand.”

In other Class 11A matchups, number eight seeded Tea Area will go to number one seeded Madison; number seven Lennox will go to number two St. Thomas More, and number five Belle Fourche will play at number four Sioux Falls Christian. The winners of all four games will advance to the semi-final round scheduled for November 6 or 7.

Milbank Area suffered a 49-12 loss to Madison in its final regular season game Thursday, October 22, in the battle of the Bulldogs. The locals were caught unprepared to start the game. Milbank Area received the ball on the opening kickoff, but could not maintain control of the slippery ball and Madison recovered it on its own one-yard line. One play later senior running back, Brodie Frederiksen punched it in for a touchdown. The two-point conversion attempt failed, leaving Milbank Area behind 6-0.

Milbank Area took possession and was quickly held to a three-and-out. Jacob Jackson’s punt was blocked and dribbled out of bounds where Madison took over with a short field advantage. Frederiksen again found paydirt on the next play for a score. His conversion run was good, and Madison took the early 14-0 advantage. With three minutes left in the opening quarter, Frederiksen ran 98 yards for another Madison TD and widened the gap to 20-0.

Early in the second period, Isaac Snaza’s pass was intercepted which set up yet another TD by Frederiksen. The PAT was good which gave Madison a 28-0 advantage. Frederiksen finished up the scoring for the first half with a 33-yard TD run. The PAT was good and Milbank Area trailed 35-0 at the midway mark.

In the second half, Dalton Koch’s kickoff was returned 90 yards for another Madison TD. The extra point kick was good giving Madison a 42-0 lead.

Milbank Area got the ball back once again, but Snaza’s pass to Tristan Hall was picked off and returned for a score. The PAT kick was good giving Madison a commanding 49-0 lead.

Milbank Area finished out the scoring in the contest with two touchdowns in the third quarter. Kyle Montag returned the Madison kickoff to the house on its next play. The extra point kick attempt by Koch missed its mark, and Milbank Area trailed 49-6. Just seconds later, Milbank Area’s Riley Wollschlager picked off a Madison pass and returned it to the end zone for a TD. The PAT was again no good, leaving the score at 49-12. Milbank Area would not get any closer than that as the teams subbed down for the remainder of the contest.

Snaza led the Milbank Area ground attack with 47 yards rushing on 13 carries. He went 2-for-6 passing for nine yards and two interceptions. Tanner Gauer carried the ball 11 times for 30 yards while Montag collected 27 yards rushing on eight totes, 11 yards receiving and returned an 89-yard kickoff for a touchdown. Hall finished the game with 16 yards rushing on fifth carries.

Defensively, Jake Anderson led the locals with six tackles. Koben Huber followed with four while James Weber added three. Devin Stricherz and Snaza contributed two tackles each, and Tanner Kettwig and Gauer had one apiece. Wollschlager ended the game with two interceptions and one TD.

Milbank Area finished the game with 132 total yards of offense, including nine yards passing and 123 yards rushing. Madison wrapped up the win with 239 yards of offense. The opponent ended with 11 yards passing and 228 yards rushing.