BROOKINGS — Team Blue used a long touchdown and a short one to prevail over Team Red 14-8 in the South Dakota Football Coaches Association’s 2026 High School Senior Bowl.
The game, which featured eighty recently graduated seniors from across the state, was played on Saturday, June 6 at South Dakota State’s Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.
Here’s some highlights from the game:
Scoring Plays
Team Blue opened the scoring with a 96-yard TD pass from Alec Austin of Centerville to Jesiah Baum of Warner and closed it with a 1-yard TD run by Carter Gross of West Central.
Team Red scored on a 55-yard interception return by Laythan Lucas of Spearfish and took an 8-6 lead with a successful conversion.
Baum received was named the Offensive Most Valuable Player of the Game with his 96 yards receiving.
Lucas, who added another interception and four tackles, earned Defensive Most Valuable Player honors.
Other statistics, honors
Team Blue finished with 75 yards rushing and 11 yards passing compared to 38 yards rushing and 48 yards passing for Team Red.
Brody Jacobson of Team Blue earned overall MVP honors with two tackles, including a game-ending stop, an interception and two pass breakups.
Other statistical leaders for Team Blue included Austin, who completed five of 14 passes for 96 yards. Gannon Knebel of Wagner rushed for 29 yards and Gross 21.
Other leaders for the Blue defense included Dylan Williams of Brandon Valley (five tackles), Weiland Benbo of Rapid City Central (four tackles, one interception), Troy Catches of Rapid City Central (quarterback sack and forced fumble), Stephen Anawski of Brookings (two QB sacks for a minus-20 yards) and Chase Leary of Brandon Valley (three tackles, one interception and one pass breakup).
Owen Eidsness of Yankton finished with 51 yards receiving and Lincoln LeBrun of Dell Rapids St. Mary recorded four tackles for Team Red.
Blue Team Roster
Stephen Anawski and Jay Harris of Brookings; Alec Austin, Centerville; Bryce Bangasser, Chase Leary and Dylan Williams of Brandon Valley; Jesiah Baum of Warner; Carter Barron and Preston Karstens, Gayville-Volin; Ayden Behm and Max Bogenhagen of Pierre; Weiland Benbo, Troy Catches, Easton Graff and Brayden Jackson of Rapid City Central; Aden Good Voice and Haysten Wooden Knife of Todd County; Carter Gross of West Central; Landon Hulst of Huron; Brody Jacobson of Sioux Falls Jefferson; Lincoln Juracek and Colt Keiser of Gregory; Grayden Juve and Cole Nielsen of St. Thomas More; Gannon Knebel of Wagner; William Krenz of Great Plains Lutheran; Devin Lodmell, Carson Maeschen, Kenny Swanson and Ben Veldkamp of Dell Rapids; Spencer Melius of Faulkton Area; Karter Moody of Groton Area; Matthew Mount of Webster Area; Al’Shamon Gunter and Randall Powers of Avon; Landyn Reiser of Tri-Valley; Caleb Richmond of Wolsey-Wessington; Stetson Riggs of Hanson; Westyn Thorpe of Leola-Frederick Area; and Ayden Wood of Mitchell.
Red Team Roster
Prayden Acheson of Canistota; Louison Akossi, Avanny Kony and Preston Marty of Sioux Falls Lincoln; Edly Amaro Jr., Owen Eidsness and Drace Gaskins of Yankton; Brody Bass and Leonard Wernke of Castlewood; Dalin Billmeier, Thomas Loehr and Hayden Pearson of Colman-Egan; Jaxon Cano and Cole Litzen of Sturgis; Jack Coauette, Laythan Lucas and Asher Peil of Spearfish; Chase DeBoer of Tea Area; Garrett Feldhaus and Nolan Mentele of Howard; Colby Flowers of Woonsocket-Wessington Springs-Sanborn Central; Shawn Glines of Harding County-Bison; Keaton Hinds and Jace Shatswell of Elk Point-Jefferson; Tegen Hoffman and Jayce Hutchinson of Dakota Valley; Kyle Kneeland of Waverly-South Shore; Connor Kramer of Hot Springs; Lincoln LeBrun and Carlo Pica of Dell Rapids St. Mary; Nate Middletent of Lower Brule; Cayden Patterson of Kadoka; Gavin Pearson of Belle Fourche; Dain Richardson of Vermillion; Rip Siemonsma of O’Gorman; Camden Stahl of Mount Vernon-Plankinton; Tobin Squires and Hunter Steinhaus of Sioux Valley; Dawson Unruh of Sioux Falls Christian; and Slayten Wilkinson of De Smet.
Coaches
Team Blue coaches included Bob Kornely of Todd County (head coach) and assistants John King of Gregory, Eric Struck of Sioux Falls Jefferson, Dru Strand of Huron and Ryan Kornely of Todd County.
Team Red coaches included Brady Muth of Yankton (head coach) and assistants Ross Flemmer of Dell Rapids St. Mary, Jared Smith of Sioux Falls Christian, Brett Eckert of Hill City and Thomas Tieszen of Spearfish.
Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on X (formerly known as Twitter) @PO_Sports or email: rmerriam@thepublicopinion.com
This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Game recap from S.D. Football Coaches Association’s 2026 Senior Bowl
