Midgets commit 5 turnovers, fall short against Custer County after rallying in 2nd half
Custer County, Mont., came out swinging and soon the Dickinson High football team was in a 22-point hole after just one quarter.By: Royal McGregor, The Dickinson Press
- Dylan Skabo
- Taren Staduinger
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Custer County, Mont., came out swinging and soon the Dickinson High football team was in a 22-point hole after just one quarter.
The Midgets managed to make a comeback in the second half, tying the game at 28, but the Cowboys scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to win 42-28 on Friday at the Badlands Activities Center.
“We’ve been preaching to play confident and almost play a little bit cocky,” Dickinson head coach Dennis Morris said. “I think what happened tonight was we were over confident. We came out and got caught in the quicksand.”
The Midgets had four turnovers in the first half, including three fumbles and a Dylan Skabo intercepted pass.
On the flip side, Custer County took full advantage of the short field position in the first quarter, scoring back-to-back TDs in a span of 14 seconds.
“When we came out, got a couple turnovers and started moving the ball, it gave our guys a lot of confidence,” Custer County head coach Dan Stanton said. “Dickinson made a nice run on us, but we were able to get a nice score after that.”
The Cowboys received a gift after a high snap sailed over the head of Dickinson junior punter Levi Jordheim for a safety. Custer County finished off the first quarter with a 27-yard TD pass from Alec Haughian to Brett Keith.
Haughian had a masterful game on the ground and through the air. The sophomore quarterback was 10 of 16 for 154 yards and four TDs and ran 23 times for 95 yards and a TD.
“He’s just a real good athlete,” Stanton said. “He’s a confident player. He had a tough first week, but he played an excellent game tonight.”
Dickinson didn’t back down after a demoralizing first quarter and outscored the Cowboys 28-6 in the second and third quarters.
“I’ve never seen a football game or been part of a football game when the first five possessions were turnovers,” Morris said. “You can’t do that and expect to win a football game.”
After the first-quarter fumbles, the Midgets didn’t turn the ball over on the ground anymore.
Instead, they started picking themselves up.
Skabo broke a number of tackles in the backfield and found Jordan Krieg open near the sideline. Krieg then proceed to juke and jive for a 30-yard TD reception with 7 minutes, 17 seconds left in the second quarter.
“After the first quarter, we were able to do anything we wanted to on their defense,” Skabo said. “If we wouldn’t have had that first quarter, we probably would have won the game.”
Dickinson scored a pair of touchdowns on the ground with Jace Dukart running one in from 24 yards out in the second quarter and Skabo following up after halftime with a 6-yard plunge into the end zone.
The Midgets’ final TD to tie the game at 28 was on a 19-yard pass to Jordheim from Skabo. Dickinson’s junior quarterback finished 6 of 13 for 99 yards with two TDs and two interceptions.
Just as Dickinson neared a comeback, the fourth quarter began.
The Cowboys scored two TDs in the final 7:15 — the biggest punch was a 13-play, 4:45 drive that resulted in a 20-yard pass connection between Haughian and Keith.
Keith finished with three catches for 57 yards and two touchdowns. Devin Begger added four catches for 61 yards and a TD. Tim Regan corralled two catches for 34 yards and a TD.
For the Midgets, Krieg caught three passes for 39 yards. Jordheim added two catches for 39 yards.
Dickinson had 146 yards rushing on 29 carries. Junior Michael Cherwinski led the team with 58 yards on eight carries. Senior Alec Stieg 48 yards on four carries.
Dickinson regroups to host West Region opponent Bismarck Century at 7 p.m. Friday.
“This is the hardest lesson learned, but sometimes when you think you have a pretty decent team, the best thing to have happen is to get your butts kicked,” Morris said. “I think enough of our guys are angry about this situation and aren’t going to accept losing. We’ll go back to work Monday and come out against Century with everything we have.”
CC 22 6 0 14 — 42
Dickinson 0 14 14 0 — 28
First quarter
CC–Tim Regan 1 run (Trevor Harbaugh kick no good), 7:18.
CC–Regan 20 pass from Alec Haughian (Evan Haughian run good), 7:04.
CC–safety, 4:58.
CC–Brett Keith 27 pass from A. Haughian (run failed), :56.
Second quarter
D–Jordan Krieg 30 pass from Dylan Skabo (Anthony Kostelecky kick good), 7:17.
CC–Devin Begger 14 pass from Alec Haughian (pass failed), 1:48.
D–Jace Dukart 29 run (Kostelecky kick good), 1:17.
Third quarter
D–Skabo 6 run (Kostelecky kick good), 7:15.
D–Levi Jordheim 19 pass from Skabo (Kostelecky kick good), 1:17.
Fourth quarter
CC–Keith 19 pass from Alec Haughian (kick no good), 7:32.
CC–A. Haughian 1 run (Beau Peaslee pass from A. Haughian good), 3:58.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: CC, Alec Haughian 23-95, Tanner Treu 5-7, Evan Haughian 12-50, Matthew Blunt 1-2, Tim Regan 3-(-minus 7). D, Alec Stieg 4-48, Michael Cherwinski 8-58, Jace Dukart 4-24, Dylan Skabo 7-17, Jacob Shypkowski 4-14, Preston Theurer 1-5, Levi Jordheim 1-(-minus 20).
PASSING: CC, A. Haughian 10-16-2, 154. D, Skabo 6-13-2, 99; Mac Rohr 3-5-0, 32.
RECEIVING: CC, Devin Begger 4-61, Brett Keith 3-57, Regan 2-34, Beau Peaslee 1-2. D, Jordan Krieg 3-39, Taren Staudinger 2-47, Jordheim 2-39, Dukart 1-4, Theurer 1-2.
Tags: dickinson midgets, high school football, custer county cowboys, sports, preps
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