Coming into Thursday night, both Bennett County and Sully Buttes owned a single loss. Sully Buttes came to Timber Lake, who earned the one-seed in the 9A bracket (Panthers would go on to lose 38-0 to Kimball-White Lake in the quarter-finals), while Bennett County’s lone loss came on the opening ni ght of the season to an undefeated, one-seeded Wall Eagles team (Wall beat Herreid-Selby Area 59-8 in their quarter-final matchup). Both teams boasted a powerful offense, Sully Buttes bringing a more balanced attack leaning on the run while Bennett County relied on their superb quarterback Maddux Risse to pull rabbits out of his hat. Sully Buttes opened the game with a commanding march down the field, only turning to the arm of sophomore quarterback Easton Moore once as they pounded the ground for a 73-yard touchdown drive to take a 6-0 lead. Although it wasn’t “quick”, the Warriors offered an answer of their own matching the 73-yards with a touchdown drive of their own early in the second quarter which would make it 8-6. Things got away from Bennett County a bit in the second quarter as the Chargers offensive line continued to open up huge holes for running backs Zach Weinheimer and Bretton Barber. Sully Buttes scored after forcing a turnover on downs inside Warrior territory leading to a Bryson LaRosh 32-yard pass and catch for a score followed by a Bretton Barber touchdown to open up a 22-8 score. The first half ended with a goal-to-go stand at the six yard line by the Charger defense, and Sully Buttes felt like they held all control of the contest. In the second half, both traded posessions and no one would find paydirt in the third quarter. In the fourth, Sully Buttes manufactured a drive into Bennett County territory and looked like they might be marching in for a touchdown that would put it out of reach for the Warriors. However, a fumble on the handoff exchange breathed new life into Bennett County. The Warriors would string two big plays back-to-back together starting with a leaping grab from Ryker Heath to get them into Charger real estate and followed by a Heath catch and run to the three yard-line. The score would come on a flick of the wrist to Kade Harris to bring Bennett County within a score. On the ensuing kick-off, Hayden Risse would kick and recover his own onside kick to fully swing momentum to the visitors. Two plays later, Isaiah Mesteth would score on a 28-yard touchdown pass after turning on the jets to get to the corner of the endzone. They would come up empty on the two-point try, but cut the deficit to just two making it 22-20. The Chargers would opt to roll the dice with six minutes left and go for a 4th and 10, but would turn it over again on downs giving the red-hot Warriors offense the ball back with time. In the blink of an eye, Maddux found Hayden on the sideline for a 40-yard pass and catch. The next play, the Warriors would find the go-ahead score to Mesteth again to take a 28-22 lead. Sully Buttes defense would earn a stop with :55 left, but could not drive the distance and the game would end. Sully Buttes finishes the year 8-2 while Bennett County moves on to face Kimball-White Lake who upset Timber Lake 38-0. ...read more read less